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

[SkipperKey3]

Like all of you, I was astounded by this news. I have followed this case for many years. And yes, Wow! is an accurate exclamation.

 

[cvaldez1975]

Who knows how many more murders they can connect to this guy. I’m betting unfortunately that there’s more

how about this?

CA - CA - Newark "Mowry Ave Jane Doe" WhtFem UP53306 <40, Oct 85

 

[faithx]

how about this?

CA - CA - Newark "Mowry Ave Jane Doe" WhtFem UP53306 <40, Oct 85

I thought about that case too. According to parole suitability hearing transcripts, he was working in Newark after he was paroled in January 1984.

 

[Jackalyn]

I agree, Michaela's mother posted about Richard Helwig who was involved in trafficking of child . In March 1989 he was stopped at the border after returning from a trip to Mexico. He was discovered to have child in his vehicle, along with articles about Michaela and Amber Swartz. Helwig had a girlfriend in Mexico and two daughters who were deaf. Authorities interviewed the girlfriend who had earrings just like the ones Michaela was wearing, she told them that Helwig had given it to her, then changed her story and said she had gotten them from the flea market. She also said Helwig had given her a T-shirt just like the one Michaela was wearing but the police never found it.

Both his daughters were interviewed separately, and both independently confirmed that both Michaela and Amber had been there, in Mexico. Helwig died of AIDS in prison, even on his death bed he refused to talk about Michaela and would neither confirm or deny his involvement.

San Diego Here's an article about Helwig. He was 54 in 1990, so he obviously wasn't Michaela's abductor. I think the abductor was simply someone who was working as a middleman for a trafficking network, he was described as having severe acne that was like boils all over his face which might suggest drug abuse. It's possible he was doing this to pay off a drug debt. He might not even be from the area.

 

[Jackalyn]

But then who are the girls the daughters saw? Now we know they did not see Michaela, what other girls went missing? Does this deserve a separate thread so as not to take attention away from Michaela? Is there a link to a wider ring in some way?

 

[SkipperKey3]

But then who are the girls the daughters saw? Now we know they did not see Michaela, what other girls went missing? Does this deserve a separate thread so as not to take attention away from Michaela? Is there a link to a wider ring in some way?

How do we know they didn't see Michaela? I don't believe this guy has confessed to actually killing her. I'm glad he is caught, but there are still plenty of questions.

 

[ffaely]

Does anyone here read her mother’s blog: Seeker’s Road? Her post on the 21st December was heartbreaking. Seeker's Road I cannot imagine losing a child like that. Poor Michaela, I hope she’s peace

 

[worldwatcher]

I hope that questions will be answered, for family's that also have to deal with the awful uncertainty, about what happened with their loss of a child.
I just re-read the disappearance of Amber Swartz, it truly heartbreaking what they have gone through.
Also for other family's, I do hope that LE will enforce information from the perp.
Convicted Killer Charged In 32-Year-Old Cold-Case Kidnapping and Murder of 9-Year-Old in the East Bay

 

[worldwatcher]

Just in case..,if some one is interested,Danelle Hallman posted an update - podcast, about Michaela. (on YouTube)

 

[imstilla.grandma]

'Dating Game' serial killer connected to victims decades after their deaths

 

[robdawg925]

Found this article SF Examiner archives. It was a foiled kidnapping attempt that occurred a few months after Michaela's disappearance and was only a 6 minute drive from where Michaela was kidnapped. Suspect description matches David Misch physically. clipping_32980897.pdf

Here is a picture of David Misch around the time of the kidnapping: https://i.ibb.co/zPN4TTq/F0-C8621-D-4815-4-EB5-B574-8125-FD613-C3-C.png

 

[worldwatcher]

Found this article SF Examiner archives. It was a foiled kidnapping attempt that occurred a few months after Michaela's disappearance and was only a 6 minute drive from where Michaela was kidnapped. Suspect description matches David Misch physically. clipping_32980897.pdf

Here is a picture of David Misch around the time of the kidnapping: https://i.ibb.co/zPN4TTq/F0-C8621-D-4815-4-EB5-B574-8125-FD613-C3-C.png

Thanks for the post.
She is very lucky not to be taken, it must have been shocking for her.

Anyway, there isn't much known about this perp, is there?
Only, that he is a long time jailed.

I just took a look at his face, and really thought his skin would have pockmarks, but I didn't noticed, it so far on the pictures, I have seen.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In a statement, Sharon said in the last year, she’d come to a place of accepting that Michaela was probably no longer alive.

“But somehow, that acceptance was far more wrapped up in the idea of Michaela sitting on fluffy pink clouds, walking streets of gold, dancing on grassy hills, soaring among the stars,” she added. “What I did not envision was my daughter as a dead child. It was only when I heard this news, that this vision of reality appeared, and I honestly have not figured out what to do with it.”

Last year, Sharon was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She is currently receiving treatment, but says it is not curable.

“I love you forever, baby girl,” she wrote on her blog recently. “Rest well. I have some things to do here yet, but I will see you in the not terribly distant future.”
https://www.***********.au/michaela-garecht/

 

[katydid23]

Thanks for the post.
She is very lucky not to be taken, it must have been shocking for her.

Anyway, there isn't much known about this perp, is there?
Only, that he is a long time jailed.

I just took a look at his face, and really thought his skin would have pockmarks, but I didn't noticed, it so far on the pictures, I have seen.

I have wondered the same thing, about his face....

I wonder if the witness was mistaken about the pockmarks? Or maybe it was something else, something more temporary, like Poison Oak or a severe allergic rash or something?

His face ins this^^^ picture is way too clear for him to have such bad pockmarks and acne just months earlier.

 

[JMapes]

I have wondered the same thing, about his face....

I wonder if the witness was mistaken about the pockmarks? Or maybe it was something else, something more temporary, like Poion Oak or a severe allergic rash or something?

For what it's worth, that photo isn't the highest quality (and what we're viewing is a photo of a photo, which makes it that much blurrier imo). I can't make out a single eyelash, how are we supposed to see acne scars!

All of his booking photos are also low quality. I'm trying to compare photos to tell if I can really see his skin texture (what a weird thing to do lol). He has some moles, he has what looks like old acne scarring (but its been 30+ years, and again, they're not using HD cameras in jail).

My best guess is that he had cystic acne, and the witness who saw it described it as pockmarks. If he did suffer from this kind of acne, it could have been hard on him socially, emotionally, mentally, likely starting in his early teens. Lots of kids in school get bullied for acne, and if he were outcast or rejected because of it, he could've developed a real hatred for others, perhaps young women?? moo.

 

[worldwatcher]

"At this time, we do not have any evidence linking David Misch to the disappearance of Ilene Misheloff, but Dublin Police will be working with Hayward PD, Fremont PD and the FBI to determine what evidence was collected and if any of that evidence can assist in the Misheloff investigation," Dublin police Capt. Nate Schmidt told the Weekly.
News Digest: Remembering Ilene Misheloff, Clipper START for Wheels & Rotary Clubs' speech contest

 

[mjm076]

Bumping for Michaela Garecht

Though her killer is found, until he is charged for her murder and his prison sentenced added to for her murder, the case
isn't fully closed as far as I’m concerned.

I hope David Misch confesses to killing Micheala and tells what he did with her. Her body needs to go home to her poor mother so she can lay in peace!

Why no further updates since December 2020?

 

[Legally Bland]

There's a hearing on April 14:



Search Hearings - Alameda Superior Court - Online Records Search

 

[Mysteries1974]

They have released a photograph of David from 1988 when he abducted and murdered Michaela. He looks very similar to the suspect sketch.

 

[Mysteries1974]

Found this article SF Examiner archives. It was a foiled kidnapping attempt that occurred a few months after Michaela's disappearance and was only a 6 minute drive from where Michaela was kidnapped. Suspect description matches David Misch physically. clipping_32980897.pdf

Here is a picture of David Misch around the time of the kidnapping: https://i.ibb.co/zPN4TTq/F0-C8621-D-4815-4-EB5-B574-8125-FD613-C3-C.png

Yes, this girls name is Alecia Christopherson. I believe David was the one who tried to take her. It’s also known that her attempted kidnapping took place in Union City, where Misch sped away too with Michaela in his car.