Missing Michaela
Michaela Joy Garecht
Kidnapped November 19, 1988
Forever in our hearts
P.O. Box 55844
Hayward, CA 94540
ph: (510) 995-7085
missingm
News and Events
November 19, 2009
21st Anniversary of Michaela's Kidnapping
On Thursday, November 19, 2009, we will be remembering Michaela on the anniversary of her kidnapping. We will be meeting at 10:00 a.m. at Mexico Super (formerly Rainbow Market) at the corner of Mission and Lafayette in Hayward, California. This is the place where Michaela was kidnapped. We will be tying ribbons to the tree next to where the kidnapper's car was parked, to let Michaela know that we are still looking for her.
You are invited to come and bring ribbons of any color you like. If you are not able to attend, I would appreciate it if you would hang a ribbon at home, and send a photo of it to missingmichaela@gmail.com.
Thanks and God bless!
Dateline NBC
Friday, October 2, 2009
9:00 p.m.Dateline NBC will is doing a story on Michaela, which will air this Friday, October 2, 2009, at 9:00 p.m., on your local NBC affiliate. This program will also feature Trina, Michaela's friend who was with her at the time of her kidnapping.
America's Most Wanted
Saturday, September 26thAmerica's Most Wanted is scheduled to air a program about Michaela on Saturday, September 26th. (Check your local listings for station and time.) AMW had actually scheduled this program well before Jaycee Dugard was found. There were many who have been working hard on this 20-year old NOT-cold case all along. Kudos to you!
Our eyewitness speaks out
September 16, 2009
I have talked about what our eyewitness, Michaela's friend, has told me about whether or not she thinks Garrido could be the kidnapper. In the following video and article, you can hear her own words.
If anybody wishes to get in touch with Trina, send an e-mail to me at missingmichaela@gmail.com, with "TRINA" as the subject, and I will forward it to her. No promises that she will respond, and if she does, please be nice to her and remember what this is all about. Trina has not been speaking to the press and has only broken her silence because she felt that she wanted to be able to do more to help Michaela. So if you speak to her, please do it with that in mind.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7018532
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/16/BA7E19O5F1.DTL
Good Morning America
September 16, 2009
Thank you to Good Morning America for a heartfelt and meaningful interview!
Hayward Investigators Searching Garrido Property
September 15, 2009
This morning Hayward Police Department investigators are beginning a search of the Garrido property for evidence that may link the Garridos to Michaela's kidnapping. Although this property has been searched by a couple of different agencies, their searches have been in connection with other cases. This search will be specifically for evidence linking Garrido to Michaela. Also taking part is the Dublin Police Department, looking for evidence regarding Ilene Misheloff, who disappeared from Dublin, California, two months after Michaela was kidnapped. I believe that this search will be as thorough as any search could possibly be, and I will tell you that I believe our investigators are absolutely the best. I offer my thanks also to all those search and rescue volunteers who are taking part in this very difficult endeavor. If there is anything to find, they will find it. I can only hope and pray that it is a positive resolution.
San Mateo Mothers Club
September 14, 2009
I will be speaking on September 14th at 7:00 p.m. at the San Mateo Mothers Club on the subject of child safety. This event is open to the public. Location: Parents Place, 2001 Winward Way, San Mateo, CA.
JAYCEE IS ALIVE!
August 27, 2009
My husband woke me up this morning with a kiss on the cheek as he whispered in my ear the news that Jaycee Lee Dugard, who had been kidnapped 18 years ago at age 11, had walked into the Concord Police Department yesterday, alive, at age 29.Jaycee was kidnapped in 1991 from Lake Tahoe. We San Francisco Bay Area residence consider that to be our back yard, even though it takes us a few hours to drive there. She was found in Concord, which is just over the hill from us, about 15 miles from where I live. Jaycee and Michaela also looked a lot alike. So this hits very close to home for me.
There is so much that goes through my mind and my heart at hearing this news. I have posted a blog about it at www.thewonderingheart.blogspot.com. I am so happy for Jaycee's family -- and of course so envious. But it affirms in my heart the truth that Michaela could still be alive, and I just hope and pray that we will find her soon! And please, let's all remember to pray for healing for Jaycee, and also for the little girls she gave birth to in her captivity.
Child Safety Book by Michaela's Mom
July 2009
LISTEN TO YOUR SMART VOICE is a child safety book for children, written by Michaela's mom. It instructs kids in all the child safety basics, but also teaches them to use their own intelligence, and use their "smart voice" to stay safe. Available now on amazon.com.
Channel 2 story on Michaela
2009
KTVU Channel 2 recently ran a story about the continuing investigation into Michaela's kidnapping. You can view it here:
Every year on the anniversary of Michaela's kidnapping, we go to the spot where she was kidnapped. There is a "tree" next to the parking space where Michaela was kidnapped. We hang ribbons on it, usually yellow, sometimes other colors, in memory of Michaela.
Others who are not able to make it to the market on the anniversary have hung ribbons on their own trees. This photo was sent by Cabrina and Tiana.
A NOTE TO THE MEDIA
We very much appreciate your coverage of Michaela's story, but I have a request. PLEASE include this website address in your coverage! I was talking to a reporter yesterday who had covered the Shawn Hornbeck case. She said that during the time he was gone, he visited the website that his family had created for him, and even left a message.
It is always our hope that when Michaela is in the news that somebody who knows what has happened to her will come forward with the information. But it is the hope of my heart that Michaela herself will see the coverage and know how much she is still loved, how much she is missed, and that this will give her the courage to come home. While the media will cover the story and will air or print what fits into their format for the day, this website contains the outpouring of my heart for Michaela. It takes only a moment or a few letters to include the web address in your story. Please, please do that for us.
Thank you so much for all your help over the years. I really hope one day to be able to share my joy with you as you have shared in my sorrow.
Coming Soon!
Child Safety for Parents: How to Stay Sane While Keeping Your Kids Safe
My kids have seen this title, and they have told me that they are not certain I am qualified to write this. But they are all grown up now, or close to it, and while I may have driven them crazy, I actually think I am still sane.
This book covers the various stages of safety concerns throughout childhood, and into young adulthood. You may think keeping kids safe from strangers is a challenge, but just wait until you have to teach them to drive!
And along with keeping our kids safe, we do have to learn when and how to let go. This book covers that as well.
I have raised five children now. You may learn something from my wisdom, but you will certainly learn something from my mistakes!
Missing Michaela
Missing Michaela is the story of Michaela's kidnapping and the years since then. It is the story of my search, the investigation. Many novels have been written about families with missing children, but Missing Michaela tells the truth of what it is really like to live as the mother of a missing child.
More than that, Missing Michaela is the story of my search for answers to the deeper questions, like how God could have allowed this to happen to my daughter, and why had he not answered my prayers for her rescue and safe return?
It is the story, too, of my fall from grace after the loss of my daughter, my steep tumble into darkness, and of the even greater grace that lifted me back out.
I have been writing Missing Michaela for fifteen years. It has been an extremely painful experience, but also extremely fulfilling. Even though the ultimate solution to the mystery of Michaela's kidnapping has not been found, I have learned so many things. It is a small book, yet it is a book that never ends, because ultimately it is a book about life.
P.O. Box 55844
Hayward, CA 94540
ph: (510) 995-7085
missingm
