Man in prison charged with murder and abduction of 9-year-old girl in 1988

by: Talia Naquin, Associated Press

Posted: Dec 22, 2020 / 05:51 AM EST / Updated: Dec 22, 2020 / 07:59 AM EST

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP/WJW) – California authorities say they have charged a convicted killer with the 1988 kidnapping and slaying of a 9-year-old girl.

This 1988 poster provided by the FBI shows a wanted poster of photos of kidnapped Michaela Joy Garecht in 1988. On Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, Northern California authorities announced that they have filed charges against convicted killer David Misch in the kidnapping and murder of Garecht, a cold case that stunned the Bay Area for decades. Police said they were only recently able to match a partial palm print at the scene to Misch. Garecht’s body has never been found. (FBI via AP)

Michaela Joy Garecht disappeared from a market in the San Francisco Bay Area after riding her scooter there with a friend.

Her body has never been found.

Police say they only recently were able to match a partial palm print at the scene to David Misch.

This undated booking photo provided by the Hayward Police Department, in California, shows David Misch. On Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, Northern California authorities announced that they have filed charges against convicted killer David Misch in the kidnapping and murder of Michaela Joy Garecht, a cold case that stunned the Bay Area for decades. Police said they were only recently able to match a partial palm print at the scene to Misch. Garecht’s body has never been found. (Hayward Police Department via AP)

59-year-old David Misch is charged with murder and two special circumstances, including murder during the course of a kidnapping, FOX 8 sister station KRON reports.

Misch is currently in Santa Rita Jail awaiting trial in the 1986 double murder of two women in Fremont, in addition to Garecht’s case, officials announced. He has been in prison since 1989.

He’s scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

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