The kidnapping of Michaela Garecht
When I was a kid, in the early 90s, I loved watching Unsolved Mysteries. Never missed an episode, even though it terrified me and gave me nightmares more often than not.
One case I remember vividly is the kidnapping of Michaela Garecht. She was only 9 years old in November 19, 1988, when she and her friend Katrina Hogue left Michaela’s house in South Hayward, California, and rode their scooters to the Rainbow Market, a store only a couple of blocks away to buy some treats. When they finished and went to fetch their scooters, Michaela’s wasn’t where she initially left it. Instead, they spotted it next to a car in the parking lot. When she went to get it, a man jumped out of a parked car, grabbed Michaela and drove away with her. It was barely after 10 am.
Katrina, who was only a child herself and the only witness to the crime, went inside the store to ask for help. A store clerk called the police to report the kidnapping, but unfortunately she gave them the wrong description of the perpetrator, because she thought it was a man she had seen earlier. For the first 48 hours of the investigation, a time we know it’s crucial in any abduction, police and the public were looking for a man in his 30s, with a mustache and driving a burgundy car, when in reality the suspect looked very different.
Once they realized their mistake and talked to Katrina, they corrected the description. The man who took Michaela, the girl said, was in his 20s with shoulder length dirty blonde hair and bad complexion, possibly pockmarked or with acne. His car was an old beat up model, tan or gold. Here’s the sketch that was released to the public:
The case attracted a lot of interest and was extensively covered by media, including segments in America’s Most Wanted and the aforementioned Unsolved Mysteries. Police claim that they received and followed over 15,000 leads, with no positive results: Michaela has never been seen again, and to this day, the man responsible for her disappearance hasn’t been identified. The case is still open and every once in a while a new plea for information will come up.
At one point, a man called Timothy Bindner was considered a person of interest in this and other disappearances of little girls. He had some questionable habits, such as sending letters and money to several little girls and according to Michaela’s mom, he would interfere with the investigation and taunt them with the pretense of wanting to help. However, he was never arrested or charged with anything.
Another person who was looked at was James Daveggio, who is currently on death row for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 22 year old Vanessa Lei Samson in 1997, a crime he committed with his then lover Michelle Michaud.
In 2012, Wesley Shermantine, one half of the serial killer duo dubbed as the Speed Freak Killers, suggested that his partner in crime, Loren Herzog, could be the culprit because of his resemblance to the police sketch. Unfortunately, Herzog had just committed suicide so it was pretty much a dead end for the police.
Michaela’s mother, Sharon Murch, keeps the hope that she will find out what happened to her daughter. She posts often in this Facebook page and her blog. She has said she believes she could have been a victim of human trafficking and was taken out of the country.
If you have any useful information about the case, please call 1-800-222-3999 or email [email protected]
