Overview of Ilene Misheloff
A 13 year old disappears without a trace.
In 1989, the city of Dublin was viewed as a small, safe town with only 22,000 residents. People who lived there thought the suburb was a safe place to raise their children, but after Ilene Misheloff mysteriously disappeared, this image of safety came crashing down.
Ilene Misheloff is a girl who was known for her commitment to her passions, especially figure skating. She trained for 30 hours after school every week and never missed a practice. She had dreams of becoming a pediatrician when she was older.
On January 30th, 1989, Ilene never made it home from school.
Ilene would leave school early in order to go home and pick-up her skating equipment before heading over to Dublin Iceland where she had her practices. The walk was about two miles and she was known to take a shortcut through John Mape Park. At approximately 4:00pm that day, Ilene's skating coach came to pick her up from the Misheloff house, but she was not there. No one knew Ilene was missing until her mother went to pick her up from skating practice and she discovered that Ilene had never arrived.
Ilene's family and community sprung into action. Her father looked for her throughout the night and almost the entire police force was put on the case. The Dublin community began handing out hundreds of flyers. Ilene's mother waited at home, in the hopes she would return on her own.
During the search, Ilene's key fob was found near the entrance to John Mape Park. No other evidence of llene or her disappearance has been found, but it has been assumed she was kidnapped and taken against her will.
Perpetrators of other kidnappings in the area have been investigated as suspects in Ilene's case, but no one has ever been charged in connection to Ilene's disappearance. Notable suspects have been James A. Daveggio and Michelle Lyn Michaud who were arrested for kidnapping and murdering a college student. Daveggio lived in Pleasanton, a city next to Dublin, at the time of Ilene's disappearance. David Emery Misch, who has been charged in the kidnapping and presumed murder of Michaela Garecht in the nearby city of Hayward, has also been investigated in Ilene's disappearance.
Today, Ilene has been missing for over 30 years. While her mother has passed away, none of her family has ever given up hope that Ilene will return home. The case has remained in the public view due to the continued efforts of the Dublin community and Ilene's family. Until 2021, they held a yearly remembrance walk on the anniversary of Ilene's disappearance.
The case remains open and there is a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for Ilene's disappearance. At the time of her disappearance, Ilene had pierced ears and braces. She has freckles over her nose and cheeks, and has a small lump on the inside of her left ankle. She was last seen wearing a charcoal gray "Esprit" pullover, polo sweater; a pink and charcoal gray skirt with horizontal stripes, and black low-top "Keds" sneakers.
If you have any information regarding Ilene's case, please contact Dublin Police at (925) 833-6670 or the FBI at (415) 553-7400.
