Missing Michaela .... with Michaela's mom, Sharon Murch

Michaela was 9 years old when she was kidnapped on November 19, 1988, at approximately 10:15 a.m. in Hayward, California (San Francisco Bay Area). The location was at the corner of Mission Boulevard and Lafayette.  At that time it was called Rainbow Market.  Today it is Mexico Super. 

 

Michaela and her friend Trina had ridden their scooters to a local market to get some goodies. They had left their scooters by the side door of the market while they went in and purchased some candy and sodas and beef jerky.  When they left the market, they started to walk home, completely forgetting that they had ridden the scooters there.  Halfway across the parking lot they remembered, and turned back to get them. 

 

One of the scooters was not by the door where they'd left it.  Michaela spotted it first, about three parking spaces down from the door, next to a car.  She went to get it.  As she bent over to pick it up, a man jumped out of the car next to the scooter, grabbed her from behind, and threw her screaming into his car as Trina watched in horror.  He climbed in and started the car, drove out of the parking lot and took off driving erratically down the busy highway which is Mission Boulevard in Hayward.  Trina ran into the store for help.  The police were called.