The Story of Kidnapped Nurse Michelle Le from Hayward Kaiser, Ca.

UPDATE: 9-19-2011. With a heavy heart here is the update on Michelle Le: It was confirmed tonight that the body found Sat, on Verona Road in Sunol/Pleasanton area was Michelle's. May God give comfort to the family of Michelle - her brother Michael, cousin Krystine and all of Michelle Le's family and friends. They never gave up looking for her, not even after 7 searches, and their determination has brought Michelle home to be given a proper burial. Rest in peace Michelle. Justice will be served in your name, and you have left behind a legacy of love.

09-07-2011: The Hayward Police Department announced Wednesday that they have made an arrest in the case of Michelle Le, a nursing student who vanished over three months ago.Giselle Esteban, was arrested in Union City at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday morning. The charge was listed as 187, which is the code for murder, according to the inmate locator tracker for Alameda County.

Several weeks ago I met nursing student Michelle Le in a patients room where I work at Kaiser Hospital in Hayward. It was just a brief encounter but I remember her flashing a brilliant smile while doing rounds with her fellow nursing students. I was taking baby photos (I work for Our 365 as a newborn baby photographer) - and the students were enchanted by me taking babies photos in the room.

It was only a brief encounter, but sadly the next time I saw was Michelle Le's brilliant smile was on the front of a missing persons poster. I was off for 3 days when Michelle went missing and it was Memorial Weekend. Details were sketchy as to what had happened to the young nursing student. The local news said she had gone to take a break around 7 pm, and walked to her car which was parked in the Sleepy Hollow Kaiser parking garage. She never returned from her break. She had taken her cell phone with her but left everything else at Kaiser, so it looked like to all intents and purposes that she had planned to come back. It was also divulged that Michelle was later planning a trip to Reno with a friend. The friend said she never heard back from Michelle Le, nor did she show up in Reno that weekend.

Her car was found the next day a couple blocks from Hayward Kaiser, parked in a residential area. Her laptop was found in the car and the local police said the car was left in a manner that suggested someone "cared about the car".

Fears started to emerge that something very bad had happened to Michelle, and the family and news media started intensive coverage - with news of Michelles odd disappearance traveling as far away as the east coast. A sense of foul play came to mind as her family described Michelle as a trustworthy,compassionate and responsible person.

It has now been over 2 weeks since Michelle went missing and several new stories have emerged from the media and the Hayward Police Dept. Without the Hayward PD notifying the family, the news announced that Michelle Le's case was now considered a homicide and their efforts were now focused on recovery instead of finding Michelle Le alive. Needless to say, the family was shell-shocked. The police to this day have not given the family any kind of conclusive proof or theory as to why they consider Michelle Le dead versus alive. Instead they learned about this news in the mainstream media. Family and friends were urged not to send out searchers for Michelle nor divulge information.

Since hearing that dreadful news, the family has appeared on the news again to appeal to the public to keep hope alive that Michelle Le is not dead. They stress that she is out there and needs to be found. They say without definite proof of homicide they will not give up hope and will focus on finding Michelle alive. Michael Le, Michelle's only brother, has stated publicly that now is not the time to grieve but a time to focus on finding Michelle. Michael's heartfelt plea to help find his sister,and the fact that Michelle is a co-worker, motivated me to get involved in finding her. With the help of family members and supportive community,Michelle's case has managed to stay in the limelight.

At the bottom of this hub you will find links to resources that you can access to also help find Michelle. Besides the official website Michael Le has set up for his sister, there are also face-book pages with events for Michelle and even a link to Websleuths forum where creative brain-stormers put their heads together to help solve cases.

Since getting involved in Michelle's case I have had the sad pleasure of meeting many of Michelle's family. Since I am a local Hayward resident and co-worker of Michelle's, I have been able to help them in small ways, but this hub I consider probably one of the best things I could do to help the family get more coverage for Michelle. Please RSS this hub,and also link to Michelle's official missing persons website below. I will keep an area of this hub updated with new events planned in the search for Michelle and any updated news I deem appropriate to this hub. I will not publish all news (you can Google that) but I will link to any news that may help find Michelle, or news that gives any definite details on Michelle's disappearance

I have also had the pleasure to meet Mr.Mark Klass (Polly Klaas' father) last weekend at the flyer distribution for Michelle at the Hayward K-Mart parking lot (thanks to store manager Liz there for allowing this event) Mark Klass also has an organization that he has formed since the tragic abduction and murder of his daughter Polly Klass in 1993. That website is here and is also a good resource not only for Michelle but to help find other missing children.

I was interviewed a few times on the news regarding Michelle (boy that was awkward - it's easier for me to write than to talk publicly) and one of the news reporters asked me if I had something similar to this happen in my own life. I said no but in retrospect I have lived a life full of anxiety regarding my missing brother, Although the circumstances are not even the same (my brother has schizophrenia), I have had to live for years at a time not knowing if my brother was dead or alive (he would disappear sometimes for as long as 8 years) The strain, fear and anxiety of not knowing his whereabouts took a big toll on not only me but on the health of our entire family, especially our mother and father ( I can't imagine what Michelle Le's family must be feeling, not knowing where Michelle is and what happened to her)

I also have kids that are Michelle's age and the thought of one of them disappearing like this gives me a sense of urgency to help Michelle's family bring her home.

If anyone reading this knows the whereabouts of Michelle Le or has any tips, please contact the Hayward Police Dept. tip line for missing person Michelle Le at 510-293-5051 . Even small details could mean something, and if the kidnapper of Michelle is reading this, please let Michelle go. She does not nor ever deserved this. She has a dream of becoming a nurse and helping others, Please let her go and let others be helped through her. No matter what the circumstances, you now have the chance to do the right thing and let her go. Let her family know where she is so they can be at peace. And if you are reading this Michelle, we are looking for you. Don't give up.

(Dorsi Diaz is a freelance writer and writes on a broad variety of subjects. This hub is dedicated to Michelle Le, her brother Michael Le, her extended family and cousins, friends and and co-workers.Thank you to the community for playing such an active part in helping bring Michelle home. If you are a praying person please pray for Michelle's return. This family needs closure - and hopefully it will be her coming home alive to those that love her (And please vote in the poll about Michelle - I am researching how using HubPages can help find missing people. This could be of big use for families of missing people in the future (Please RSS this hub and feel free to join my reader/fan club above for future articles)

An arrest has been made in the slaying of nursing student Michelle Le, more than three months after she vanished from a Hayward parking garage, police said today.

Hayward police declined to provide details pending an afternoon news conference. But Alameda County jail records show that Hayward police arrested Giselle Esteban, 27, of Union City on suspicion of murder this morning. She is being held without bail.

http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/09/07/live-now-arrest-made-in-michelle-le-case/