Le Supporters Canvass Hayward Neighborhood

Relatives and supporters of Michelle Le, the 26-year-old nursing student who , passed out missing-person notices Sunday on the quiet Hayward cul-de-sac where Le’s car was found. Le, a San Mateo resident, left during a break from her duties at Kaiser Medical Center on May 27 and never returned.

“We want to strategically place fliers where she was working and where her car was found,” Le’s cousin Krystine Dinh said, “to give the public — as well as our family — an outlet to get her home somehow.” (For video of Sunday’s search, click .)

Hayward police say in the Kaiser hospital parking lot where she was last seen, but Dinh said that until the police provide proof that Le is no longer alive, the family will continue to work for her safe return.

“We’re frustrated at the fact that we don’t have any evidence as to where the case is going or if we should stop our efforts. Until we get that evidence we’re going to fight for her,” Dinh said.

Hayward police have said the case is , and add that they sincerely hope they’re wrong and that Le is alive.

Before heading out, Dinh and several other members of Le’s family and friends met in the Kmart parking lot on Mission Boulevard to hand out stacks of fliers with Le’s picture on them and information about a $65,000 reward.

About 10 people showed up to help.

Dorsi Diaz, who worked with Le at Kaiser Permanente Hayward Medical Center, volunteered to pass out fliers near the hospital and along Hesperian Boulevard and Tennyson Road.

Le’s uncle Eric Duke told Diaz to pass them out at supermarkets, convenience stores, fast food restaurants — “any place that people regularly stop.”

“I just want to help the family,” Diaz said, adding that she and Le both worked in the ward dedicated to mothers and babies.

Le was working at the medical center as part of her training for a nursing degree at Samuel Merritt University. She was last seen on May 27 at 7 p.m., when she told colleagues at the hospital that she was taking a short break from her rounds to get something from her car in the parking garage.

Diaz said that since Le vanished, she has seen a noticeable increase in the number of security personnel patrolling the garage.

Homicide Investigation

Hayward Police reclassified Le’s case as a homicide investigation last week, citing footage gathered from surveillance tapes in the parking structure, plus forensic evidence in Le’s car, her cell phone records and information from dozens of interviews.

Dinh said the family regularly calls police for updates, but “unfortunately there are things they can’t tell us,” she said.

Marc Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter Polly was kidnapped from her Petaluma home in 1993 and later found murdered, is now helping Le’s family. He said that while he believes police are conducting a thorough investigation, there are avenues her relatives can investigate themselves to try and find her.

Le’s family last week contacted the Klaas Kids Foundation, which Klass founded in 1994. Klaas said Sunday that a search-and-rescue expert with the foundation will be here this week to help investigate leads on Le’s whereabouts and possibly hold volunteer searches.

He added he did not know exact locations where they might begin searching but said they will be looking into the timeline surrounding Giselle Esteban, a whose apartment was twice searched by police.

Last Friday, after spending 10 hours searching through 30 square miles of rural Union City, Niles Canyon and surrounding areas in southeastern Alameda County for Le’s remains or any evidence pointing to her possible location.

More searches

Looking ahead, Dinh said the family plans to hand out fliers again next Saturday, June 18.

“We are staying strong. We couldn’t do it without the public,” Dinh said. “That keeps hope alive for us.”

In addition, there are eight billboards across the Bay Area with information on Le’s disappearance. Captions have been changed from “Missing” to “The search is not over.”

Le and her brother Michael, who grew up in a suburb of San Diego, lived with Dinh’s family for several years after their mother died of breast cancer in 1999. Dinh said Le was like a sister to her. “She taught me everything I know,” she said.

For more information about the family’s search for Michelle Le, visit www.michellelemissing.com or go to the family’s Facebook page. Anyone with information about Le’s disappearance is asked to call Hayward Police at (510) 293-7000.