Still Missing CA - Michaela Garecht, 9, Hayward, 19 Nov 1988 *ARREST*

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To be honest, I had figured it was her. I try to keep positive, and I'm glad Sharon got the answer she was hoping for.

Now the question is - who's the girl in the well?
 
Okay...so we know it's not Sharon's little girl in the well (I am happy hope's still alive for her)...but this means it's someone else's little girl. And this brings us back to the question of...what happened to Michaela?!
 
I must say that I am surprised. I do wonder about this new dig though. Who will they find this time? I feel so very sorry for Sharon. She is still on this roller coaster. I believe there was another child that was considered in the beginning. This is difficult given that there is not even close to a full skeleton for this child.
 
Sharon's blog (wondering heart) has posted that the remains were identified as belonging to Kimberly Billy. Kimberly was already recovered from the well, it's just that somehow one of the fragments ended up with this other set of remains. So it is not a separate victim. Despite LE's estimation that it belonged to a person 5-13 years old, Billy was actually 19. All this per Sharon's blog.
 
Oh my god I can't believe it. I'm so happy and sad for Sharon! I'm so happy that they aren't Michaela's like she wanted, I had a gut feeling it was hers but I'm glad my gut was wrong. But I'm sad because she still has no answers about her daughter and this leads us back to the start and what happened to her. Although it is possible she could be identified in another well. Herzog looks like the sketch so much. I'm hoping Shermantine is lying and just doing it for publicity. I really do want Michaela to be reunited with her mother though, I'd love for her to be alive. If I could solve one missing child case, this would be the one. It hits home very hard for me for some reason.

I'm so sad for Kimberely Billy's family though. It's a disgrace that her remains, which I believe have been returned home, were given to JoAnn's parents. But why did they say the remains were of a child between 7-13? (Or whatever the estimation was). Wasn't Kimberely a teenager? I thought Kimberely was older than JoAnn when she went missing? ETA: Kimberely was 19 when she went missing. Found Deceased CA - Kimberly Ann Billy, 19, Stockton, 11 Dec 1984 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community How do they mix up the bones of a young adult and think they belong to a child? Furthermore, how do they mix up the bones when someone's been identified? I assume they would've had all of Kimberely's data on there, so it just seems like such a weird slip up. Kimberely was 5'5 and 130lbs, Joann was 4'8 and 80lbs, Michaela was 4'8 and 75lbs. Joann had the build of a child, so the slip up there is more... realistic, I guess the word is, to be mixed with a child who has pretty much the exact same build, but Kimberely was much taller than both of them, so I find it strange that they confused the bones of a 5'5, 130lbs girl with the bones of a 4'8, 80lbs girl. Not only that, but confused her bones as belonging to a child.
 
hoshizora said:
Oh my god I can't believe it. I'm so happy and sad for Sharon! I'm so happy that they aren't Michaela's like she wanted, I had a gut feeling it was hers but I'm glad my gut was wrong. But I'm sad because she still has no answers about her daughter and this leads us back to the start and what happened to her. Although it is possible she could be identified in another well. Herzog looks like the sketch so much. I'm hoping Shermantine is lying and just doing it for publicity. I really do want Michaela to be reunited with her mother though, I'd love for her to be alive. If I could solve one missing child case, this would be the one. It hits home very hard for me for some reason.

I'm so sad for Kimberely Billy's family though. It's a disgrace that her remains, which I believe have been returned home, were given to JoAnn's parents. But why did they say the remains were of a child between 7-13? (Or whatever the estimation was). Wasn't Kimberely a teenager? I thought Kimberely was older than JoAnn when she went missing? ETA: Kimberely was 19 when she went missing. Found Deceased CA - Kimberly Ann Billy, 19, Stockton, 11 Dec 1984 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community How do they mix up the bones of a young adult and think they belong to a child? Furthermore, how do they mix up the bones when someone's been identified? I assume they would've had all of Kimberely's data on there, so it just seems like such a weird slip up. Kimberely was 5'5 and 130lbs, Joann was 4'8 and 80lbs, Michaela was 4'8 and 75lbs. Joann had the build of a child, so the slip up there is more... realistic, I guess the word is, to be mixed with a child who has pretty much the exact same build, but Kimberely was much taller than both of them, so I find it strange that they confused the bones of a 5'5, 130lbs girl with the bones of a 4'8, 80lbs girl. Not only that, but confused her bones as belonging to a child.
Click to expand...

Hopefully things will go smoother with the FBI now involved. Such a disgrace to the families, like Sharon Murch and Gayle Marks' mother! (Gayles Marks vanished from Stockton, CA, outside of a driver's bureau in the '80s. Many are confident she is a SFK victim).
It distresses me that those remains were estimated so poorly...is there a chance they got her remains messed up with Joanne's instead while trying to identify them? Kimberly was clearly not a child, or built like one...I will def. keep this in mind when drawing up PMs.
 
I was glad that this bone isnt Michaela's but wow where do we look for her at? so many leads have come and gone and still no answers. and Sadly this doesnt mean that Herzog is innocent in this crime either. He is still a suspect and they are still digging.

The way the Sheriff has handled this case is criminal. remains should not be mingled or treated like something that a dog buried! I am glad the FBI is taking over and using anthropologists to help in the recovery.

Where are you Michaela?
 
I'm surprised but glad.

Not pleased, however, that Michaela's mother went through such an agonising wait all because bones were mixed up.
 
Herzog is still a strong suspect. :(

I was searching through old news articles and came across this one:

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/shermantine-suggests-police-search-hayward-wells-m/nTBJs/

In it, Shermantine said he believes Herzog killed Michaela and told Hayward police to look in wells in the Hayward-Castro Valley area.

On www.missingmichaela.com, Sharon stated that Trina, Michaela's best friend and witness to the kidnapping, thinks Herzog looks just like the kidnapper.

She also posted this in the comments of her most recent blog about the news on the bone fragment:

"I think there is a possibility it may still be Herzog. It was not this bone that made him a suspect, so having it ruled out as not being Michaela's doesn't eliminate him as a suspect. They do have some other significant information that points to him."

The Herzog link is far from over.
 
lilsleuth said:
Herzog is still a strong suspect. :(

I was searching through old news articles and came across this one:

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/shermantine-suggests-police-search-hayward-wells-m/nTBJs/

In it, Shermantine said he believes Herzog killed Michaela and told Hayward police to look in wells in the Hayward-Castro Valley area.

On www.missingmichaela.com, Sharon stated that Trina, Michaela's best friend and witness to the kidnapping, thinks Herzog looks just like the kidnapper.

She also posted this in the comments of her most recent blog about the news on the bone fragment:

"I think there is a possibility it may still be Herzog. It was not this bone that made him a suspect, so having it ruled out as not being Michaela's doesn't eliminate him as a suspect. They do have some other significant information that points to him."

The Herzog link is far from over.
Click to expand...

I still feel in my gut Herzog may have been the one. Shermantine has not led us astray so far...that bone mix up wasnt from him, it was more from careless investigation.
I still think Herzog would make a good suspect, because it makes sense that someone on speed would feel invincible enough to take someone in broad daylight in front of a witness, and leave the witness alive. (He is also a suspect in Gayle Marks' disappearance-I believe she also went missing in broad daylight).
I'm just sad that the bone fragment caused Sharon so much anguish...and it doesnt even eliminate him. Sadly, this chapter isn't over yet.
 
I've always thought Herzog was a deadringer for the sketch. I wonder if he had bad skin when he was younger?

Prayers to Michaela's family.
 
I read that strong methamphetamine use can lead to severe acne.

I agree. I really think Herzog has something to do with it. He looks so much like the composite. I'm surprised the link was only made so recently, actually. Granted I don't know the other suspects. Sharon just says that they have a few suspects, including Herzog, but she just needs to find that one overwhelming piece to clear the others.

Hopefully a lot of families get answers. I wonder if they could also be responsible for some missing peoples cases in other states? They've admitted they've killed in other states.
 
hoshizora said:
I read that strong methamphetamine use can lead to severe acne.

I agree. I really think Herzog has something to do with it. He looks so much like the composite. I'm surprised the link was only made so recently, actually. Granted I don't know the other suspects. Sharon just says that they have a few suspects, including Herzog, but she just needs to find that one overwhelming piece to clear the others.

Hopefully a lot of families get answers. I wonder if they could also be responsible for some missing peoples cases in other states? They've admitted they've killed in other states.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your post! I also read that meth can cause sever acne...I just think the puzzle pieces are falling into place...have they searched that well Shermantine spoke of awhile back that he believes Michaela is in? (I will have to find the snippet that gives more detail).
 
This just in from Michaela's facebook memorial page:
"There was a man in the 1980's who was involved in trafficking of child *advertiser censored* between the United States and Mexico. His name was Richard Helwig. In March 1989 he was stopped at the border as he was returning from a trip to Mexico, and he was discovered to have child *advertiser censored* in his vehicle, along with cut-outs of articles about Michaela and Amber Swartz.... Authorities interviewed his girlfriend, who possessed earrings like the ones Michaela was wearing. She said Helwig had given them to her, but later changed her story and said that she got them from the flea market.... Her two daughters were also interviewed, separately, and each girl independently verified that both Michaela and Amber had been there, in Mexico."
Source: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelaJoyGarecht
http://www.dearmichaela.com/2013/01/so-what-now.html
 
amber1 said:
This just in from Michaela's facebook memorial page:
"There was a man in the 1980's who was involved in trafficking of child *advertiser censored* between the United States and Mexico. His name was Richard Helwig. In March 1989 he was stopped at the border as he was returning from a trip to Mexico, and he was discovered to have child *advertiser censored* in his vehicle, along with cut-outs of articles about Michaela and Amber Swartz.... Authorities interviewed his girlfriend, who possessed earrings like the ones Michaela was wearing. She said Helwig had given them to her, but later changed her story and said that she got them from the flea market.... Her two daughters were also interviewed, separately, and each girl independently verified that both Michaela and Amber had been there, in Mexico."
Source: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelaJoyGarecht
http://www.dearmichaela.com/2013/01/so-what-now.html
Click to expand...

Yeah I posted on her blog, and I found this very interesting! When Michaela's case is solved one day, I am sure there are going to be some interesting stories that come out of this. It seems to get weirder and weirder.
The UAE is a high possibility if she was indeed in Mexico, but short of having Bill Gates type of Money so You can hire mercenaries that have experience in these things, I wouldnt know where to start! Its frustrating to read it so I cant imagine what its like to live it......and I dont want to.

But one thing that came to mind about child sex traffickers, is that they seem to have their hunting grounds for a certain amount of time and then move on. Now I am going from stories about kids like Johnny Goesch and others that were suspected of being put in sex rings, so this may not be the case.....But it seems they go into an area......take a few kids and then when the heat comes on and people start to connect the dots, they move on.

and Sadly people in power do NOTHING! Michaela may not be a part of a trafficking ring but we all know they exist! So do politicians and law enforcement but I just dont see the push. Its treated like a theory rather than a reality!
 
I read that Helwig had AIDS back in the 80s, did he eventually die??? Unfortunately if he did sexually assault those girls, there chances of being alive wouldn't be high due to AIDS :(.
 
Never mind, I looked it up on PACER and he is deceased. It must have happened quickly, the charges were dropped in 1991 due to "defendant deceased". So I guess he can't exactly be "interviewed" (and by that I mean interrogated off the record...)
 
Leprikawn-
Thank you for your post! Here are 55 facts on human trafficking that will shock you...sadly, since this is such a "hush hush" issue, it looks like human trafficking is suspected to surpass the issue of drugs within the next few years to come, because no one cares to do anything. We hear about the war on drugs all the time, but where is the war on human trafficking??!
SOURCE: http://facts.randomhistory.com/human-trafficking-facts.html

The facts I found disturbing are:
People are trafficked for mainly labor, sex and even organ harvesting.
50% of people in human trafficking are children, with 30% of them being sold into the "sex industry".
People now are trafficking pregnant women for trafficking...yes, children are now being BORN into human trafficking!
Human trafficking is most common in FL, CA and NY.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise because it is low risk with high profit, and it is expected to surpass the drug trade in less than 5 years.
Human traffickers also work with corrupt government officials to obtain travel documents and seize passports.

There are many more mind boggling facts at the link...if we think slavery ended decades ago with African Americans, we are ignorant because it is more prominent now than ever before in history, and it's all happening right under our noses.
 
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