California IN BRIEF : HAYWARD : Unsolved Kidnap Case Now 1 Year Old

The family of 10-year-old Michaela Garecht of Hayward marked the first anniversary of her still-unresolved kidnaping, one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most notorious cases. The girl was abducted from outside the Rainbow Market, just four blocks from her home. A tall man in his 20s with an acne-scarred face and shoulder-length, dirty-blond hair grabbed her by the waist and sped away with her in an old car, witnesses said. Outside the Hayward Police Department, sympathizers passed out flyers with the photograph of the smiling, blond-ponytailed girl and a composite drawing of her kidnaper for volunteers to distribute. “As more time goes on, it becomes harder to believe that we can find her,” said Sharon Garecht, the victim’s mother.