Michelle Le, the beautiful 26-year old Vietnamese nursing student who went missing from a parking garage next to Kaiser Hospital in Hayward, California four months ago, has finally been found....however, not, as her family and many thousands of supporters had faintly hoped.
Le's badly de-composed skeletal remains were discovered Saturday in a brushy, un-incorporated area in Niles Canyon between Sunol and Pleasanton, California...thus confirming what most had feared--that Michelle was abducted and slain shortly after going missing last May 27th.
This is yet another heart-searing chapter of senseless murder where, not only the immediate family, but entire communities of concerned people, whether friends, strangers, possibly you, even ME--have become entranced in the search, along with all the hopes and prayers surrounding it; only now to be slapped down in grief!
None of us can possibly imagine the utter HELL Le's family has suffered, and will continue to endure....but, based on enormous public support, thousands upon thousands of people near and far, want them to know our hearts, prayers, and thoughts are with them!
I vividly remember similar horror stories, among them the still unsolved 1998 kidnap and murder of 13-year old Christina Williams in Fort Ord, Seaside California, the 1993 slumber party kidnapp and eventual strangling death of 12-year old Polly Klaas in Petaluma, California, the horrific abduction and murder of 8-year old Sandra Cantu just two years ago in Tracy, California, and even the nightmarish saga of 11-year old Jaycee Lee Dugard who was kidnapped and held captive in Antioch, California for 18-years before finally being rescued from captors Phillip and Nancy Garrido this year!
In each of these family tragedies, and countless others in and around the Bay Area, an entire nation eventually took notice, only to see another innocent life savagely snuffed out, leaving heart-broken families and angered communities to choke on it!
In each of these cases, the un-healthy emotions of family, friends, and strangers were quelled only by closure that comes from capture and just punishment of killers like Richard Allen Davis (Polly Klass's murderer), Melissa Huckaby (Sandra Cantu's killer), and Modesto's Scott Peterson who murdered his wife Lacy and their unborn son....and now awaits the death penalty at San Quentin Prison in San Rafael, California.
In this latest tragedy, police have already arrested and charged prime suspect Giselle Esteban, an estranged, ex-friend of Michelle Le's who is besieged with mountains of rock-solid evidence placing her at the abduction scene, in Le's abandoned car, and in the remote mountains where Le's body was found!
Among the remaining facts are exactly how Le was killed, and whether or not it will cast additional light on Esteban's alleged guilt...or vindication.
Perhaps, whatever healing that comes out of the trial will eventually inspire Michelle's family, who remain poised and gracefully thankful for all the community support....to honor her death with a provision of comfort and support for other families suffering similar, future fates...thus, affirming what often happens to victims when good deeds absorb the ashes of evil..
I feel this dim light definitely shines on the Le family, even in the wake of Saturday's fateful news, as it has also shined on many other tragedy-suffering families throughout America.
Television star 'John Walsh' who's son was kidnapped and murdered, has dedicated his life to hunting down crime and violent criminals with his hit show "America's Most Wanted", while 'Marc Klass' (Polly's Father) joined with others long ago to create the "Polly Klass" Foundation for Missing Children".
The optimum story comes from the woman who created (M.A.D.D) "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" ....who I actually met and interviewed in 1983 while working as a TV reporter in Reno, Nevada. I wish I could remember her name, but I do remember her story!
Her first husband and three children were killed by a drunk driver. Then, her second husband and THEIR two boys were killed by a drunk driver, as were her THIRD husband and THEIR only infant daughter!!!
This polite, soft spoken, humble soul--somehow managed to survive, and keep breathing through all that...while still fighting to help prevent her mis-fortune from happening to others! Her resilience makes anything seem possible, even if....we seemed destined to live in a world filled with EVIL!
As for Michelle Le, may God take her to rest with him in peace, may her killer receive just punishment, and may her family continue to shine even through the endurance of ultimate pain!
Nothing expresses this hope more than the family spokesperson Krystine Dinh's closing words yesterday, "Please continue praying for and supporting Michelle as our family begins the journey to ensure justice in her honor".
Thanks, and stay logged on to www.streetwisesd.com---and then listen to "Streetwise Radio!
Sincerely, PeteCam4
