Officials have made an arrest in the case of young Michaela Garecht, who was kidnapped near her home in Hayward more than 32 years ago.
Fifty-nine year old David Misch has been charged with murder and is in custody at the Santa Rita Jail. Investigators said fingerprint evidence tied Misch to the crime.
"The break in the case came earlier this year as a result of new leads that pointed us in the direction of Misch," Hayward Police Chief Toney Chaplin said.
Garecht's remains have not been recovered.
Officials with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office said Misch has been in prison since 1989 after he was convicted of murder in a separate case. He is also awaiting trial in connection with the double murder of two women found shot and stabbed to death on the side of a road in Hayward in 1986.
Investigators say a partial palm print from the scene of the crime matched Misch.
"Her kidnapper moved one of the scooters away from the store to the back area of the parking lot," Alameda County DA Nancy O'Malley said Monday. "He did so to isolate and be able to grab Michaela when she came to pick up that scooter."
Garecht was only nine years old when she was abducted in broad daylight from the parking lot of a convenience store on November 19, 1988. She and her friend had gone to the store to get candy.
"They were just kids, carefree, certainly unsuspecting of the danger that lay ahead" O'Malley said. "Michaela's kidnapping devastated her family, paralyzed them with grief and terrorized them with the unknowing of what happened to Michaela."
Investigators believe Misch could be responsible for more murders.
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