Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20161231

Why that day . Moment by moment. Take a look at this. Dateline was there at every turn. Was she missing or murdered . Was this the key . I will take your life and hers. A threat. A voice seething with hate and rage. You deserve to die for your lies. Its your last and final warning. What happened to michelle . This case is not going to be over. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Here is Keith Morrison with vanished. Theyre watching us. They know where we are. How we shop, how we play, what we do. Electronic eyes. They follow us almost everywhere. And the weird fractured personal diary they write remains forever. Of course, its meaningless, most of it. Meaningful, that is, until its not. Until its terrifying. The San Francisco bay, may 27th, 2011. 6 55 p. M. A young Nursing Student named michelle le walks across a foot bridge to her parking lot. She is not supposed to be here. For reasons unknown and without permission, she has left her post at the hospital. She walks to her honda crv, just out of camera range. 7 17 p. M. , here is michelles honda leaving the garage. Why then, just an hour or two before the end of her shift . Good questions. Questions about to engulf her whole family. Why couldnt she have stepped out and avoided this whole thing . Why did it have to happen to our family . Why did it have to happen to michelle . But it did. Much of it recorded, as you will see, by those electronic beeps, and pixels, just enough to make it a puzzling history. Enough to not quite know what happened to michelle le. One of the things i was so angry about was that nothing made sense. Nothing made sense. Especially this. Same night. 8 56 p. M. Michelles nursing instructorer, no idea, baffled, looks in the parking lot for her car. 9 05 p. M. Michelles car reenters the garage two floors below. It arrives on the third floor. Off camera, the nursing instructor sees it, waves frantically. The car suddenly stops, backs up, races down the ramp and out of the garage. But why . Alarmed, the nursing instructor calls the police. And the next morning, 400 miles south in san diego, michelles cousin christine was awakened by a text from michelles former boyfriend. He messages me, he goes, hey, just to let you know, we dont know where michelle is, have you heard from her, try calling her. I looked at his message and said, gosh, what did michelle do this time . Shes usually out having fun. Shes fun loving person . Yeah, shes always out with her friends. And getting lost sometimes. I honestly didnt think much of it at the time. I read the message and i like rolled over back in bed. Michelle, after all, could look after herself, had been looking out for christine for years. She was just 26 but seemed somehow older than that. The eldest of a clan of 15 cousins who grew up together with very little except each other. And michelle was smart and studious and attractive. The leader of this very active pack. Strong, Loving Center of the family. A loving figure to her younger brother michael. Michael who was the next person to get the call from the boyfriend. Where was michelle . I go, yeah, yeah, exboyfriend just trying to get ahold of michelle. I didnt pay it any mind. But just in case, i wanted to see if she was okay. I checked on her facebook. She had plans to go to tahoe with some friends. I sent those friends Facebook Messages to make sure she was okay. Michael went to work and didnt think much more about it. Then he got another call. This time it was that nursing call instructor. She told me the story of how she went out to the garage and saw what matched the cars description just taking off. And suddenly it wasnt a game anymore, it wasnt something you could excuse. By then christine was calling michelles cellphone. She didnt pick up. Thats when i had this feeling where something might have been wrong. After she didnt pick up a few times. At 9 30 a. M. , 12 hours after michelle was reported mitigate, police found her car parked outside this apartment building, just a few blocks from the hospital where michelle was last seen. Odd. Hayward Police Inspector Frazier Richie was called in to have a look. The car was locked. It was secured. Thats why we believe michelle was possibly somewhere around here. We had no clue were to start looking. What could be seen through the tinted windows looked fine, as if michelle left the car here herself all morning. A flurry of worried phone calls went back and forth among michelles friends and family. What should they do . It was chaotic. But we werent thinking the worst at the time. Christine and her family began packing for the eighthour drive. Michael rushed over to nearby hayward to join michelles friends and fellow students who were already handing out missing posters near the parking garage. Had anyone seen her . We just wanted to find her. We didnt think anything bad happened to her. Where was she . They hammered her iphone with more than a hundred calls and texts. And heard in response nothing. Then 12 45 p. M. , 15 hours after michelle was last seen, finally a text from her phone. Im not missing, it read. My phone has been acting crazy. It deleted everything. All these texts have killed my battery. Michelle sent a flurry of reassuring texts to friends and family, im fine, take it easy. Her exboyfriend texted her back. Her response from her phone . Who is this . Uhoh. Did michelle really send that text . I asked, is it possible she could be out there, all stressed out . They said, yes, its possible. But soon, questions about michelles friends would lead police closer than they knew to the key to this case. Till its fresh and try febreze small spaces. To continuously eliminate up to two times the odors for 30 days. Febreze small spaces and air effects, two more ways [inhale exhale mnemonic] to breathe happy. Ice in my water, had it would just be so painful and i couldnt even drink it. My dentist recommended that i use sensodyne. Now i can put ice in my water. Sensodyne absolutely works, that sound. Like nails on a chalkboard. But listen to this family talking thats a different kind of sound. The sound of the weekend. Its baking season. Warm up with pillsbury. No. They come from thes come stomach. Heart. Give the gift of quality time with an applebees gift card. And receive a 10 bonus card for yourself. Only at applebees. You might know me as the guy who switched to sprint because all networks are great. But get this, sprint has this crazy deal on their new unlimited plan with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th line free. Yep unlimited data, talk and text for your whole crew. Oh youll need the best unlimited data plan because well you have to get the new iphone 7. Its on the top of almost everyones holiday list. vo find out how to get a free iphone se. Its the best gift this holiday season. Hows that for a happy holiday . For people with hearing loss, visit sprintrelay. Com reporter cell bones buzzed and chirped all afternoon, that day after michelle le vanished from the watching web. Certainly her iphone hadnt vanished. One creepy text after another popped up in the phones of her friends, her cousin, her brother. I just needed some time without anyone. I had a bad night last night. I dont really want to talk to anyone right now. But then after three hours of that the texts stopped just as suddenly as they had begun. The last one simply said im sick. So strange. So out of character. To michelles family and friends it seemed obvious, someone had michelles phone. Someone who was not michelle. The more that they went out, it felt like it was becoming sinister. Having this person text back as michelle was just extremely, extremely terrifying. What did that feel like to go through that . Its hard to put into words. Living nightmare, i think, is the closest thing. Reporter in a strange way as chilling as these messages were they gave michelles friends and family some hope. To them it seemed obvious they were communicating with someone who had abducted michelle, and so their mission was now clear. Michelle didnt just need to be found. Michelle needed to be rescued. Its a timecritical situation. Every second you that waste is a second that shes hurting. We had to find her. Reporter saturday afternoon, 18 hours after michelle vanished, michael and a group of michelles friends met with inspector fraser richie at the Hayward Police department. We had about 10 or 15 family members and classmates and friends at the police department. They were all talking about how responsible she was, how out of character this would have been for her to just get up and leave. Did you try to call michelle or anything . Yes. Get a response . Yes. I sent a message out. This is inspector ritchie with the Hayward Police department, you need to get a hold of me right now. Yeah. I got the response within several minutes saying that my phone is dying, i need to find a charger, im having car trouble. The same sort of response received by michelles friends and family, who had now decided based on those weird Text Messages that michelle had been kidnapped. But as far as inspector ritchie was concerned, just about anything was possible. I kept an open mind. I didnt know whether michelle voluntarily went missing for whatever personal reasons she had or if this was a stranger abduction or if this was an abduction from somebody that she knew or she just left with a friend. Did anybody say she would have just flipped out and, you know, stressed out and just left . I asked is it possible she could just be out there all stressed out . And they said yes, its possible. Inspector ritchie also asked if michelle had any enemies or problems with exboyfriends, for example. Only problems that she seemed to be having with anybody was coming from gisele esteban. Gisele esteban, one of michelles best friends in high school down in san diego. But not just michelles friend. A friend of the family. Gisele was a fixture around the house, spent hours with all of those cousins. Then after high school in 2002 the two friends both moved to San Francisco to attend college. And thats where gisele fell in love and got pregnant, moved in with her boyfriend scott, and then broke up with him three years later. The trouble came when michelle stayed friends with scott, with that boyfriend, after the breakup, and that just didnt sit well with gisele. Though really it wasnt such a big deal. Still, just to cover all the bases, late saturday night ritchie dropped in on gisele to ask what she knew. Were here about michelle le. Who . Michelle. Oh, god. What about her . She went missing last night from her work. Okay. In talking to her friends and such, we understand you guys had a tumultuous relationship. A tumultuous relationship . She was my best friend who slept with my then fiance. I started talking to her and asking her questions about her relationship with michelle and if she could provide any information where she would be. Gisele said she had no idea. And besides, they werent seeing each other these days, so she wouldnt know. Then just due diligence. That night ritchie sent another team of detectives to speak to giseles exboyfriend, the father of her baby, who they were interested to learn now had sole custody of the child. Listening to him, talking to him, and the relationship with him and his daughter and his family, things like that, he didnt seem to be the person, the type of person that could lie. That would lie. Sunday, 48 hours after michelle appeared in that ghostly video at the parking lot, her large extended family began arriving from san diego and meeting with the police. And thats when detectives began to understand michelle a little. How kind she was and bright and selfreliant. Very much like this young woman. Phuong le. Also vietnamese american. Also a 20something Nursing Student. Also living in the San Francisco area. Who 13 months earlier also disappeared. Theres a lot of similarities obviously in that shes the same age category, same ethnicity, same profession. Reporter even the same last name. Was a pattern developing . Coming, police look into the possible connection between those student nurses and a meeting with michelles family. The meeting goes badly. We were horrified. Heyyyyy its the Little Things that make life rich. Ritz. Better than a manual, and my hygienist says it does. But. Theyre not all the same. Turns out, theyre really. Different. Who knew . I had no idea. So, she said look for. One thats shaped like a dental tool with a round. Brush head. Go pro with oralb. Oralbs rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to. Gently remove more plaque and. Oralb crossaction is clinically proven to. Remove more plaque than sonicare diamondclean. My mouth feels so clean. Ill only use an oralb the 1 brand used by dentists worldwide. Oralb. Brush like a pro. A new program in the south bay will let nonviolent offenders avoid arrest. Its called operation second chance. Nonviolent, misdemeanor and traffic offenders who missed their initial court date and have a warrant out for their arrest. Will be given amnesty. Reveal and its a mad rush to the new year. We have video on our twitter feed of the packed sf party store. Where people are stocking up on decorations. More news in one hour. Reporter it was april 2010. Just over a year before the disappearance of michelle le. It was close, perhaps 50 miles away. And it was so coincidental. Another young Nursing Student, almost the same age, same 0 ethnicity, even the same last name, vanished from this Shopping Mall parking lot. 00 her name, phuong le. Police lieutenant greg hurlbut caught the case but couldnt find her. Several weeks later, we got a call from a neighboring county, napa county, saying that they had a body out in the woods that somewhat matched the description of our missing person. Reporter it was indeed phuong le. But that was, by no means, the end of the investigation. To this day, were trying to identify who, in fact, killed phuong le. Reporter so during that memorial day weekend in 2011, when detective hurlbut heard about the disappearance of a young woman named michelle le, he wondered was this a break in his case . You have somebody that looks almost exactly the same, almost the same name, the same circumstances. Its a real bizarre coincidence. Reporter michelles family also heard about phuong le, so when they met with detectives for the first time on sunday, may the 29th, 48 hours after michelles disappearance, they asked the dreadful question. Could michelles case be connected to the phuong le murder . The community brought that up and thought that they might be linked. And so we we brought that up with the Hayward Police and they said, you know, we looked into it but we dont think theres any connection. Reporter so then there was a wash of relief. The detectives also told the family theyd found michelles car. That it was locked, appeared undamaged. To the family that was good news. It meant to them that michelle must be alive, held somewhere. Though, during that sunday meeting, the police gave the impression that they still had no idea what had happened to michelle. They asked us a lot of questions about her relationships and her friendships. And they told us they were working on it. Wed keep asking them, probing them for more information. They kind of just kind of threw their hands and said, you know, we cant tell you much, and were sorry. Your level of frustration must have been pretty high . It was sky high. Reporter the le family now had the impression the police werent taking the case seriously at all. Because michelles an adult. So we felt if shes an adult and she shes not a child. Maybe she wasnt being prioritized. So what was it like leaving that meeting . It was chaos is probably the number one feeling. We didnt have a place to stay. We were hotel hopping. We were just waiting around most of the time, staying in the hotel. It was like you were you were blind. You know, you didnt know we had no idea where to go. What to do. Reporter the family couldnt understand why the police seemed to be moving so slowly. In their minds, michelle was being held against her will. A week went by. Saturday june 4th, eight days after michelles disappearance. Her family held this vigil near the place where her car was found. We wanted the fbi to get involved and all this. And we were just making a lot of noise. Reporter quietly attending was scott, the young man the police had questioned a week earlier. Giselle estebans old boyfriend, remember, and father of her child. Two days later, monday june 6th, the family was called back to the Police Station for an important meeting. The police finally had a chance to search michelles car and the status of her case had been changed, from missing person to homicide. And the family felt blindsided. And they said, you know, i think you have to get comfortable with with the fact that your sister is probably dead. We were horrified. Reporter and just like that, the information door closed. The Hayward Police told the family it was a Murder Investigation now. So Department Policy they could reveal nothing more. And therefore couldnt or wouldnt tell the family why they thought michelle was dead. But without hearing an explanation or seeing any evidence, how could the family believe the police . No. They simply wouldnt accept what the cops had to say. It was horrible. We were really angry. Because, okay. You want to make it homicide. Youre not going to tell us why. Reporter ritchie understood the familys anger. But as far as he was concerned, he had a Murder Investigation on his hands and that meant the family had to be kept in the dark. Theres certain procedural things that we have to keep close to us, that we cant put out there. Because we have to maintain evidence, we have to maintain the custody of certain information. And its of evidentiary value to us that if we dont have the suspect in custody, that the only people that know about it is the suspect and us. Reporter so in the absence of official information, the le family, at least its younger members, decided the only option was massive publicity. An appeal to the public for whatever help they could offer. But that was the kids. The cousins. Family elders were deeply reluctant to share their grief with strangers. They didnt want her story out there publicized like we had made it. They didnt why . Well, its its very private. It was such a fine line between how much do you give away about your own familys misfortune to to do good for michelle . In the asian families, when youre younger, youre supposed to be very, very respectful of the hierarchy in the family. Youre not supposed to boss anybody around. But i was just livid. I mean, i was so angry. Reporter the family elders knew far more about survival than most people ever do. They were boat people who had been forced to flee vietnam after the war. Very nearly perished in their open boat in the south china sea. And then spent months in a refugee camp before being dropped in a land whose language and customs they did not know. And yet before long, they embraced it all. Big family celebrations at christmastime and easters and birthdays. They went on allamerican vacations like this one to the california coast. Thats little michelle in the glasses. And here we are at Santa Barbara beach. Were having lots of fun. And heres my brother. Reporter they succeeded in america by doing what they had since their days of crisis on the south china sea. They stuck together. An epic, very american tale of grit and hope and selfreliance. Lessons absorbed whole by their children. If i was missing and michelle was looking for me, she would she would, you know, tear up heaven and earth, you know, to find me. And so i had to i had to fight for her. Reporter so it was the new generation, the americanborn generation, that finally convinced the family it had to go public. To put their story out in the press and on social media. Until the Hayward Police department can offer conclusive and definite proof otherwise, we will continue to believe shes alive. Michelle is still alive and needs to be rescued. Were going to find you and were going to bring you home. Reporter two weeks to the day after michelles disappearance, the family organized this vigil to make a public case that michelle was not dead. But instead, a kidnap victim in urgent need of rescue. Were just focusing on getting her home and what we can do to get her home. I truly, truly believe if shes out there well find her. Reporter if michelle was going to be rescued, the family decided it would be up to them to do it. But where is michelle and who could have taken her . An outside investigator zeros in. This is someone that knew her, knew when shed be at work. When vanished continues. At st. Jude, no family ever pays for treatments, travel, housing or food. Because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Wanna play . Yes i do. Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. Go to stjude. Org or shop where you see the st. Jude logo. Why cant i be a shark . Bounty is more absorbent,mom per roll so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty, the quicker picker upper with all the rush in the morning, i dont have time to hashtag my breakfast. Light fit nonfat yogurt drinks. Nutrition that fits my crazy life. Nine grams of protein, 90 calories, no added sugar. Light fit. Do what fits you. Introducing the all new with nine chicken tenders. [slap] or six pieces of chicken. [slap] or twelve hot wings. [slap] or popcorn nuggets. Now get out there and have fun woo, lets go its Finger Lickin good but so we dont have tormin wad to get clean. Charmin ultra soft gets you clean without the wasteful wadding. It has comfort cushions you can see that are softer. And more absorbent, and you can use up to 4 times less. Enjoy the go with charmin. This holiday, the real gift isnt whats inside the box. Its whats inside the person who opens it. Give your loved ones ancestrydna, the simple dna test that can tell them where they came from by revealing their ethnic mix. Its a gift as original as they are. Order now at ancestrydna. Com. Reporter what happened to michelle le . Vanished on a sunny evening, from a welllit parking garage under the protective watch of 18 surveillance cameras. Detectives with the Hayward Police department went over this footage again and again. Were they missing something . What happened in those minutes after michelle walked out of camera range and before her car went racing out of the garage . It was infuriating. There was one camera right above michelles car. Would have revealed everything. But that night the camera wasnt working. What happened in those missing minutes . The police, remember, werent talking to the family. So the family pursued its own line of investigation. We were looking to Human Trafficking patterns and Human Trafficking patterns . Yeah. You thought that was a possibility . We did, yeah. Reporter but it was a dead end. Then june 30th, 34 days into michelles disappearance, the le family contacted us to say they had begun working with a private investigator. A man named michael frame. And in the midst of his investigation, frame sat down with us to tell us what he had learned. This had to happen quickly. This is a Public Parking garage. People come in and go from that garage all night. Someone was lying in wait. They knew that at some point shed return to her vehicle. It was a number of hours before her shift was going to be over. And they were prepared to abduct her at that time. Did anybody know why she went to her car . Not that we know of at this time. Unusual thing to do at that stage of your shift . I think it was either a quick break or something drew her out to her car. That we still dont know. But she was still dressed in her white hospital scrubs. It was evident that she was going to come back because she left her belongings in the hospital. Reporter remember, police found michelles car about a half a mile from the hospital, parked and locked in a residential area. But hadnt revealed what evidence theyd since found inside. But frame had found out a thing or two about the car and how it got there. Did anybody see the car arrive . Theres a report of a witness who stated they heard conversation coming from or headlights shining in their house and conversation coming from the car at about 4 00 the following morning. Conversation coming from conversation. Which would mean theres more than one person. The people that reported this saw headlights shining through their window. And they believe that it came from the general direction of where michelles car was found. Reporter multiple kidnappers. Almost had to be, said frame. I think when you look at the circumstances in their totality, how this person was waiting for her and the fact that she was put into her vehicle obviously quickly and driven out quickly, that there may be a possibility of more than one person. Reporter and he was almost sure, not strangers. This is someone that, that michelle had some type of contact with that saw her, that knew her, that knew where she parked her vehicle, knew what she drove, knew where she worked, knew when shed be at work. So it may be members of her family or her friends may already know who this is. I mean, may know the person who did it. Just not be aware that they know . If theyd look through what those relationships were, the answer may be in there somewhere . The answer i think in this case is not far off. Reporter the police had questioned michelles family, current and former friends, old boyfriends, but it didnt seem like they were getting anywhere. Frame thought the investigation was in trouble. When your investigation has run cold, when you dont have a viable suspect, when you dont have information thats going to lead you to a suspect, i think its important that you start, you know, looking at viable alternatives. Too often these cases go cold for five, ten years. From what weve seen so far, i think this is a possibility. Reporter the le family was working with frame because they were frustrated with police. And now frame tried to do Something Police couldnt. What weve done is put out information to anyone that may know something or potentially be involved or think that they know whos involved to call us confidentially without contacting the police. And well provide that information to the right authorities and at the same time protect these people if they need protection. Reporter soliciting tips from people who were afraid to call the cops. Would his plan work . Wait and see. Coming up, dateline is there when that private tip line gets a dramatic call. What is this guy saying . What could he tell you . He said he had information as to a potential site where michelle might be. Will he lead them to measurable . Feel a cold sore coming on . Only abreva can heal it in as few as two and a half days when used at the first sign. It penetrates deep and starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. Dont tough it out, knock it out, fast. Abreva. Reporter michelle le had been missing for weeks. No break in the case at all. And then, just before we sat down for an interview with a private investigator named michael frame, his phone rang, with a tip from an inmate, who claimed to know where michelle could be found. So who do you think is involved in michelles disappearance . Reporter what is this guy saying, that he has what could he tell you . He said he has information as to a potential site where michelle may be. Reporter frame made the trip out to the jail for a face to face interview. The parolees information was that she had been abducted and was being held at a house in hayward. And it turned out, unfortunately, that this information was related to another criminal act and had nothing to do with michelles disappearance. Reporter back in hayward, the police might have been accomplishing something, but were saying nothing beyond their belief that michelle was dead. And as far as the family could tell, the Police Investigation seemed to be getting nowhere. And now the familys own private investigator seemed lost in the weeds as well. Hoping to shake loose a lead, they increased the amount of the reward money from 20,000 to 40,000 to 65,000 to 100,000, all from private donations, much of it out of the families own pockets. So every day was precious, said her brother michael, and every day that passed a missed opportunity to find her. You know, she was always looking out for me. And so i this was my time to do everything i can to look out for her, to make sure that, the hell that she was going through she wouldnt have do go through a day longer. Reporter you must have had the sense that any day now, well find her and well bring her back, and everything will be okay again. Every day we were hoping that today was the day. You know, every day. Reporter it was obvious when we talked to michael, the intensity of his devotion for michelle. The reason for that . He told us a story about their mother. Our mom was pretty much our our superhero. She worked long hours as a nurse practitioner. And she was an incredible mother to us. She was so loving. She would always tell us stories and reporter stories about what . One that we always loved was one called the woman on the moon. And its a vietnamese love story about if you looked really hard enough that the shadows on the moon kind of looks like a woman with long flowing hair. And the same day of the year she would come down looking for the one that she loved. Well, ultimately, she was trapped on the moon to watch over him. Reporter folklore is the kind of reality that is like armor for a child. It protects in a time of terror. Michael was 11 when his mother learned she had breast cancer, but she did not tell him. She protected him from the worst of it, both he and his 14yearold sister michelle. And so when the cancer finally took her life it came as a shock. She died december 1st, 1999. And we had just seen her for thanksgiving, maybe about a week ago. Reporter now alone, michael and michelle were taken in by krystines family. She told me a story about how, after her mom passed away, she didnt even know what to do at first until she saw michael in the garage holding something of his moms and crying. She told me you know, that was the time i knew it was time to be, you know, a big sister and be a mother figure for him. Reporter overcome her own sense of loss yeah. Reporter save this boy . Oh, yeah. So you couldnt even tell she was having any trouble. She made a sort of commitment to between her and i that she would look out for me. Reporter but not just michael. Michelle also kept watch over krystine. She was like my older sister. She dressed me. She helped tweeze my eyebrows. She taught me how to do makeup. Reporter taught you about boys . Yeah, we talked about boys all the time. She helped me write my first love letter. Oh, my gosh. When we were growing up, we were so alike that my family called me mini michelle. Reporter and now minimichelle and michael and the rest of the le family held vigils, issued press releases, anything to keep michelles case in the public eye. I needed to work on something all the time that was her every day, that was related to her every day. Reporter did you feel like you were getting anywhere . It felt productive. But it still felt hopeless, hopeless in the sense where you still dont know what whats going on. Reporter after weeks of casting about they were no closer to finding michelle than theyd been that first chaotic weekend. And it was sad but perfectly understandable that Public Interest began to wane. It was during that period of darkness when one of michelles uncles down in san diego begged for help from this woman carrie mcgonigle. Michelle les uncle asked, you know, what do i do . Im completely lost. Reporter why her . Because carrie had been through it all herself. Two years earlier she had to search for her murdered daughter, amber dubois. And carrie now ran a search organization, team amber, in memory of her daughter. She couldnt know, back then, the role she was going to play, the events she would set in motion. For now, it was who she knew. I put him in touch with marc klaas because it was up in Northern California and they were up in the same area. Reporter marc klaas. A rare man with a rare skill how to find the missing. Coming up a man who knows how it feels to lose a daughter and had learned from personal experience how to lead the search. We needed help from the police. And when we pressed them why should we be looking there, they finally said because thats where the cell towers take us. A hug is the best cure of all. Mythey have to be great on themy tinside and outside. To strengthen both, she said to go pro. Go pro with crest prohealth advanced. It strengthens. Teeth inside, and is better at strengthening the outside. Than colgate total. Best checkup ever. With a crust made chfrom scratche and mixes crisp vegetables with all white meat chicken, and bakes it to perfection. Because making the perfect dinner isnt easy as pie but finding someone to enjoy it with sure is. Marie callenders. Its time to savor. Ito become dangerous. D for an everyday item new tide pods child guard pack. Helps keep your laundry pacs safe and your child safer. Align, press and unzip. Reporter the vigils. The reward. The facebook campaign. The flyers. The detective. All kept michelles family busy and hopeful but had ultimately been unproductive. They were nowhere. And it was just at that point when marc klaas stepped into the life of the le family. I met the family in a dingy motel on the side of the freeway in hayward, california at about 11 00 oclock in the morning, and they were all huddled inside this little room. To the le family, klaas was like the cavalry riding in. We were all in our pajamas, like disheveled. And we were all together on our laptops, trying to edit press releases, trying to organize all the interviews and reading the news, trying to talk to the police. And i looked around and i said, the first thing you people need to do is get out of this room. Dark and depressing . It was horrible. It was horrible. And they were so downtrodden. They had absolutely no idea of what to do or where to go. And he he sat down and gave us a list of what to do. We had to find a search center. We had to get volunteers. We had to position media in this sort of light. He was just giving us all sorts of tips. Reporter it made a world of a difference emotionally and on practical levels. Reporter but what marc klaas didnt do was burden the le family with his own story, didnt tell them about his own daughter polly, kidnapped two decades ago. That was the worst time in my life. It shattered me. It shattered my heart. Reporter 12yearold polly klaas was snatched from her room in petaluma, california in the midst of a slumber party. Pollys body was only discovered when her killer, arrested at a traffic stop two months later, showed detectives where hed buried her. Do you still live that awful week . Yeah. All these years later . My work is my therapy. My work is my therapy. Reporter and that work through the Klaaskids Foundation is to help families find their missing loved ones. By providing families with a now proven, professional, methodical approach to their search efforts. You have to basically start in the center and work your way out, letting following statistics that the vast majority of people that are missing are going to be found, a, within a halfmile radius of where they went missing or, b, within a fivemile radius of where they went missing. Boy, this is dismal work you do. Its not dismal. No, nothing that we do is dismal. Its hard work. It can be heartbreaking. It can be so sad. But its not dismal. Its really good work and its important work and theres just not enough people doing it. Reporter possibly because its work that lays bare wounds. Hundreds of times now, since pollys death, marc has shared his experience, learned through his own parental grief, with families just like michelles, adrift and in shock. And the first order of business, said marc repair the relationship with the police, which had become very frayed indeed. We needed help from the police. And they slowly started to let us know where they thought we should be looking. And when we pressed them, why should we be looking there . Why should we be looking there . They finally said, well, because thats where the cell towers take us. Reporter michelle le, it turns out, went on a strange journey on the evening of may 27th, 2011. Or at least her cell phone did. In the two hours after michelle abruptly left a Training Session here at the Kaiser Hospital in San Franciscos east bay, that phone of hers left its indelible footprints through the congested streets of the east bay and then it turned onto a twolane backroad and then a major freeway and then it pinged its way right back along the very same route back to the parking lot at the very moment the nursing instructor saw michelles car drive into that parking lot, then rapidly reverse course and speed away into the dark. A puzzle. But getting that cell phone trail from the police was also a huge break, said marc klaas, who was now deeply involved in the search for michelle. It enabled us then to really hone in on what we needed to do and why we needed to do it. It was to prepare viable search locations for search teams. Reporter but the area was vast. Much of it rugged, rural. The search for michelle would be tough, laborintensive work. Just the sort of thing marc klaas organization knew how to do. When we saw the machine in motion was when we felt that, wow, this guy and this foundation has really got it together. We would have never thought of that on our own. Reporter klaas even flew in his director of search operations, who was one of the first volunteers to look for polly years before. Were going to be dealing with some pretty treacherous terrain today, as well as tomorrow. Canyon areas, lots of rocks into the ravines. Reporter this was day 49 since michelle disappeared. And once again her san diego relatives loaded into cars around midnight and drove the 8 hours north to the San Francisco bay. Dateline was there, watching, as they gathered for a morning briefing to prepare them for the long day of searching ahead. If you take nothing else away from this presentation, take this portion right here, okay . Every single search that we put you on today, tomorrow, we consider a potential crime scene. Reporter the police suggested a zone to be searched. But thats all about all the information they provided. We dont know exactly why but they say its based on all the evidence in their timeline, they believe that something might have happened in this area. Reporter the area a Narrow Canyon in the hills east of the San Francisco bay. As the search party made its way up the canyon, they tied off, here and there, pink ribbons. Weve got a system of tape marking that we use and we report in to the investigators and they follow up. Everything were doing here is to support the Police Effort in bringing back michelle. Reporter a complication this area is a haven for the homeless. Its also a notorious dumping ground for murder victims. Here, one of the searchers found an encampment and inside, a sleeping bag. Ian, do you want to check out theres like a sleeping bag. You want me to pull this bag out . Yeah. Reporter the bag was empty. But deeper inside the encampment Something Else was uncovered a large bone. This creek canyon, it soon became apparent, had been welltraveled by both creatures great and small. Its an animal, some mammal. Reporter but there was another bone at a creek crossing. Searchers had already passed it by when our producer noticed it lying there. Cow bone probably. And yet where do you think it could be from . Im not sure. I think ill have ian come check it out. That does look like a thigh bone. A hip joint. Hey, ian. Come take a look at this for me. Theres no other bones around it, which is kind of interesting. Its big. Its pretty big, huh . Thats just a really big ball. Looking at a bone from a large mammal. Lets tag it and lets do a more thorough article search around here, just in case. And then well get somebody to get the gear. You think you can scamper up to that little piece of rebar, whatever, is there, and tie a pink ribbon on there for us . Reporter the bone was tagged, sent off to a lab, examined. And yes, it was from the leg of a large mammal. In this case, a human. Coming up, while michelles friends and family are searching, police are making discoveries of their own. Is one tiny clue a key to the mystery . We found an identification card from the Nursing School. But it was not michelles. Bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty, the quicker picker upper not everyone speaks sriracha. Sreera cha . But when a fan says sriracha they want a sriracha chicken sandwich with Sriracha Jack cheese sriracha infused aioli and a sriracha bun. Wendys spicy sriracha chicken sandwich, for a limited time. With all the rush in the morning, i dont have time to hashtag my breakfast. Light fit nonfat yogurt drinks. Nutrition that fits my crazy life. Nine grams of protein, 90 calories, no added sugar. Light fit. Do what fits you. Sotvo after about a 15 or 30 seconds her attacker. O get away from trt 05 vicky vo the Information Police want you to know about the suspect. Vo plus. The lastminute rush to get ready for new years eve. Whats catching some businesses off guard this year. Rob wx wall and a cold start to the new year. How the weather will play a huge role in tomorrow nights new years eve plans. Rob 11pm close tonight at 11 on nbc bay area news. Its been months now since michelle le vanished from a parking garage. Her family remains hopeful she is still alive. Police have been tracking the electronic trail, video, audio, Text Messages. So many clues that seem to have picked up signs of michelle but also signs of someone else. Here again, Keith Morrison. Reporter on the afternoon of july 15th, 49 days after michelle le disappeared, we stumbled over a human bone in the same area where michelles cell phone had briefly pinged off a nearby tower. There are shorts here. Reporter but as the searchers scoured the immediate area, they understood it couldnt be here. The bits of clothing werent right. And the bone was bleached by the sun, must have been there a long time. And, when they looked closer. Thats a sixfoot something its not a 55 female. Reporter appalling, some other poor soul wound up here. But relief, too. It wasnt michelle. So the search and the mystery wore on for days and then for weeks and by the middle of august it all looked to be losing steam. On a typical San Francisco summer afternoon as the fog rolled in krystine and michael brought us up to date on their efforts to find michelle. Reporter how long has it been now . Twentyseven its been over two months. Its been about 72 days. Reporter how are you doing, the two of you, with all of this . I mean, how are you holding up . Its just weird. Just trying to stay active and just trying to keep the word out. Im trying to stay positive. Reporter right. Its just really trying to stay positive is the hardest part. The hardest times for me are at night. Getting in bed and thinking, like, gosh, i wish michelle was in i hope michelles a bed. Yeah. Reporter i mean, you clearly have decided youve decided shes still alive. Uhhuh. Its not over, and its not going to be over until we get her home. Reporter and so that very evening, they hosted a Fund Raising Event at a nearby restaurant and a few days later on august 20tth, the 85th day of michelle les disappearance, the san diego family again piled into their cars just after midnight and made the long drive up the coast to launch their eighth search. Time had faded the posters taped to their cars. The creek bed to be searched seemed desperately far away from any place where a body might be dumped, or a woman might reasonably be held captive. Still her cell phone last pinged there, so you know, they tracked where her cell phone ended up after she disappeared and its all around rural east bay and its such a huge area. Reporter it was 100 degrees in the waning days of summer, and it seemed to have impacted turnout. As the number of volunteers dwindled. Suddenly the search leader called in a discovery, some female clothing partially buried in the sand. Connie, im down by the creek. Theres womens underwear by the tree. Almost like light pink white. Reporter it is, it turns out, another false lead. So they pack up another fruitless day in a case gone cold, or so it seemed to michael and krystine. But oh, what they did not know. That during all those weeks and months in which the family had been searching for a living woman, a police Murder Investigation had been very active indeed. And now, in the last days of august, inspector Fraser Ritchie was in fact closing in on a very hot target. But to understand how he got there we need to go back almost to the beginning. It was minutes before midnight may 28th, 29 hours after michelle le disappeared. Ritchie had gone to pay a midnight visit to michelles Old High School friend, Giselle Esteban. How long has she been missing . Since yesterday. And have you guys tried calling her . Mmhmm. I have no idea how to help you at that point ive actually been trying to look for her. Since when . For almost a week now. To tell her to stay away from my daughter. Reporter so clearly there was some animosity between Giselle Esteban and michelle le. And so inspector ritchie and his partner brought giselle downtown to the Police Station for a more indepth conversation. I understand at one point, you and michelle were close friends. Is that right . I considered her my sister. And then what happened . She made a mistake. Scott made a mistake. And that was that when you were with scott or had you guys broken up, or no. We were still together. They made the mistake twice. Reporter and then giselle told a strange little story. She was pregnant, remember, with her second child and said she went to the hayward Kaiser Hospital for a prenatal check up just hours before michelle disappeared. She said she spotted her old friend at a distance. Were you surprised to see michelle there . Yes. How did it make you feel when you saw her . At first surprised and then annoyed, and then i thought, okay. Keep your Blood Pressure down. Otherwise, youre going to lose this baby. Reporter strong feelings. But Giselle Esteban herself was not so strong. Tiny and pregnant. Hardly seemed physically capable of overpowering and murdering the larger michelle le, let alone finding a way of disposing her body. So they sent her home and later that afternoon finally got a look inside michelles car, as we did much later when the detective showed it to us. Nothing had changed. Nothing was touched. Here the morbid sense we were somehow violating a sad and very personal space. This is what inspector ritchie found a crime scene. Once we get the car opened, you can see theres blood wiped across here in the plastic, a little bit on the floor mats. And then you can see theres more droplets or blood dropping down going in a straight down pattern. Reporter police also found some blood smeared on the floor of the garage where michelles car had been parked. Were you able to make a judgment about what would have happened when she got to her car . She was attacked most likely here. Because from the looks of it, it looks like she ended up being placed in the back seat. There was a bloody confrontation here and then theres more blood back there. That you can see here its been moved around a bit. Its a little bit smeared up. And theres more than one location. Reporter clearly a very violent and physical assault. Who could have done this . A fresh look at the surveillance tapes may offer a clue. Watch what michelle does as she walks to her car, parked to the far righthand side of the lot. Michelle makes a wide sweeping turn to the left, away from the car, then walks back to the right. A few seconds later it appears she stopped. What happened . Did she see somebody she knew . Or somebody she didnt want to see . Ritchie felt he may have answered that question when he found on the passenger seat of michelles car. A little piece that would end up fitting into a very large puzzle. We found a identification card from the Samuel Merritt Nursing School, that michelle was attending. But it was not michelles. There was no reason for that to be there. Reporter the name and face were plainly visible on the card partially wedged into the seat cushion. As if somebody had left it there by mistake. So ritchie called the school. And was told oh, thats our new instructor thats starting in a week. And then i could hear in the back of the phone her i. D. Cards gone. Its missing from my desk. Reporter the card had been stolen, but by whom . Heres the thing about these identity cards. They are actually key cards. This is mine at nbc here. And whenever im in the Headquarters Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza i use them to swipe the key card on that little box there. It makes an electronic recording of the use of the card at that moment in time and at this place. And then of course im being watched by a Security Camera at the same time. In fact, you cant go anywhere in this building without being seen by Security Cameras. The Security Team at the Nursing School did the same thing. They just looked for the computer record of the key card being used and they pulled up the security video from that moment and that place, and voila, there was their thief. So i had him had them send me the still photographs. And when i looked at it, i immediately identified that it was Giselle Esteban. Reporter the picture was dated may 26th, one day before michelle le disappeared. So what else did she do that day . Ritchie got a subpoena for all the schools Security Camera footage from may 26th. What he saw on those videos was both strange and disturbing. And moved Giselle Esteban to the top of the list of persons of interest. Coming up the strange video trail of Giselle Esteban the day michelle disappeared . Mucinex sinusmax liquid gels. Dissolves fast to unleash max strength medicine. Also try fastmax multisymptom for a powerful rush of cold symptom relief. Lets end this. Youre so cold, come in whats wrong . Its dry. Your scalp . Mine gets dry in the winter too. Try head and shoulders dry scalp care it nourishes the scalp and. Keeps you up to 100 flake free head and shoulders dry scalp care how is this possible . Its a light soup and yet its real food . Carrots, celery, and now 100 antibotic and hormone free white breast meat chicken . It boggles the mind ah. I need to sit down. Pain from a headache whecan make this. D, feel like this. Allinone cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the 1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. Tylenol® when you have a cold, pain from chest congestion can make this. Feel like this. Allinone cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the 1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. Tylenol® mom doesnt know we have him, so were using fresh step with the power of febreze to eliminate litter box odors for 10 days guaranteed. Victory is ours low dust fresh step with the power of febreze. It helps put some distance. Between you and temptation. Clinically proven to help reduce hunger between meals. From metamucil, the 1 doctor recommended brand. We have your fingerprints soon the safe. , a photo of you opening the safe. A post using the hashtag justrobbedthesafe so, what are we supposed to think . Switching to geico could save you a bunch of money on Car Insurance. Excellent point. Case dismissed. Geico. Because saving fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance woo because saving fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance is always a great answer. Reporter what youre watching is far better than any eyewitness. What youre seeing is an exact record of a strange moment in time. This is Giselle Esteban at michele les Nursing School the day before michelle vanished. Why she was here was a mystery. But what she did . That inspector ritchie pieced together from giselles electronic trail, which picked her up in the morning at the Nursing School posing as a prospective student. While there, she stole an instructors key card, then appeared to test whether it would work by entering this break room. And then at 5 30 in the evening when the the campus is closed she gains access through the back door using that electronic key card. Same swipe card . Yes. Throughout the campus there are in the classrooms and in the hallways theres theres cameras. And it shows giselle Walking Around with a lab coat on, her glasses up. And shes going around turning on computers. Reporter weird. Yeah. Reporter giselle can also be seen with a class roster stolen from an instructors office. And you can see the class roster because it has all the students photographs on there. So its not just just typed, its photographs. So you can see that its a class roster. And it looks like shes Walking Around, as if shes pretending to be an instructor or Something Like that. Shes in Samuel Merritt for an hour and a half or so and then she leaves. Reporter all of this the night before michelle le disappeared. What was giselle doing . And then ritchie learned, from questioning witnesses, that on the morning after michelle disappeared esteban went, with her daughter in tow, to an apple store. And sure enough, there she was on the stores Security Camera. Thats her there at the top left of your screen, having one of the employees unlock an iphone. She told the Apple Employee that her daughter had put a code into the phone and locked it. Once he unlocked it, the phone started binging and ringing. Reporter and just at that very moment, as cell phone records showed, michelle les iphone began pinging on a cell phone tower not far from the apple store. Now it was a matter of following the signal. Which led to this chuck e. Cheese restaurant a few miles away where the phone turned up again. Giselle was seen on a video, showing a white iphone. Remember, this is the day after michelles disappearance, when her friends and family were frantically calling and texting her. And look at this surveillance footage. Looks like giselle is sending out Text Messages. And at that moment, as records show, michelles iphone was pinging off a nearby cell tower. To ritchie it seemed quite clear. Giselle esteban was the one using michelles phone to send those creepy Text Messages to worried friends and family and to him. And giselle did all this while on a shopping trip with her daughter. And shes on that phone roughly the same time that shes getting Text Messages from the classmates and family members. And things like that. And then i sent her a second text message at roughly at 3 15 in the afternoon saying, this is not a joke. This is the police department. You need to contact me right now. That was the last contact. Thats when her phone went off. Reporter the evidence was mounting. So ritchie stepped up his surveillance of giselle. We placed a tracker on her car. Why . To see if she would take us to a location that michelle would possibly be. Reporter but that didnt happen. Not to say, though, her behavior wasnt suspicious. Remember the vigil the le family held a week after michelles disappearance, the one attended by giselles exboyfriend, scott . It turns out giselle was there too sort of. The tracking device showed giselle circling the block as michelles family pleaded for help. And later it showed her driving past scotts house. Why . Ritchie was all but sure now. Giselle had something to do with michelles disappearance. The question now was did she have some help . It was something that we had to look at. And if so, who . Yeah, dive into her life, whos her friends, and who can we talk to that knows giselle . Reporter ritchie consulted an Alameda County assistant d. A. , a guy named butch, butch ford. Some of my colleagues, their response was, well, who helped her do it, because shes a woman, shes pregnant. In order to do this, she had to have help. Reporter prosecutors had a hard time believing esteban was physically capable of killing michelle le all by herself. We encouraged them to make sure they eliminated any possible suspects, such as the father of giselles child. Reporter that would be scott the exboyfriend, butch is referring to. And so everybodys antennae went up in late july, 63 days after michelles disappearance, as the le family searched the hills for her. Detective ritchie got a very strange phone call from scott, who sounded out of breath. Saying that he believed that he had found michelles phone. I asked him, where did you find michelles phone . In the back seat of his car. Coming up, at first police doubt scotts story. Had we missed something . Is he the other part of this . Reporter or could he be giselles next victim . You deserve to die for your lies. This is your last warning. Migraines steal moments from my life. So i use excedrin. It starts to relieve migraine pain in just 30 minutes. And it works on my symptoms, too. Now moments lost to migraines are moments gained with excedrin. [heartbeat] being a spy are among the 35 Russian Diplomats expelled by president obama. Its part of sweeping sanctions against russia for hacking the u. S. Election. Reveal and a new year is almost here and preparations are well underway. On facebook a behind the scenes look at whats taking place in San Francisco. Well see you at 11. Reporter its hard to tell from this video, but the prime suspect in michelle les disappearance, Giselle Esteban, is tiny, barely 52. And at the time she was questioned by police she was three months pregnant with her second child, which made detectives wonder. Is there somebody else involved with her . Reporter it was a question often repeated at the Alameda County d. A. s office. We have an ablebodied young lady who disappears from a public place. So automatically, our minds went to, were there more was there more than one person involved . Reporter and so when ritchie got a call from giselles exboyfriend claiming to have found michelles iphone, he was worried. I was very concerned that had we missed something . Is he the other part of this . Then its why is he telling us this . If he is another part of this, why is he finding this and telling us about evidence . Reporter and that was the key question. Why would scott admit to having incriminating evidence . Was he trying to outsmart the cops by pretending to be helpful to have found michelles iphone when he had it all along . Or was he afraid . Afraid somebody was trying to set him up. Which might have been the reason why scott shared this document with detectives. This is a temporary restraining order. Against Giselle Esteban. In signed declarations both scott and his mother told how their family was awakened early one morning by scotts car alarm. Scott went to investigate. And while hes out front he hears his mother screaming. He goes inside. Giselle is inside of his house. Shes inside his room tampering with his computer. Reporter sound familiar . It was the same thing esteban was doing at the Nursing School. And when was this visavis the murder . Four days before, on the tuesday. Reporter but there was Something Else. A piece of evidence you have to hear to believe. Scott told the detectives that four months before michelles disappearance giselle harangued and threatened him. Verbal attacks so alarming, he recorded some on his iphone just in case something bad ever happened. This one in scotts car, their small daughter sitting in the back seat listening. You listen closely. Youre about to hear the real Giselle Esteban. I asked you can we just be honest about michelle because shes the one issue that i really, really am having a hard time dealing with. Thats not what you said. Yes. We didnt talk for days. Okay. Starting from now, we are going to be honest about michelle. Do you understand me . Whether you sleep with her, whether you share food with her, whether you talk to her, you will be honest with me. Look at me you will be honest with me regarding her otherwise, i will take your life and hers. And you can take that to the grave with you. Why . Why . Because you lied about her so many times that its hard to believe that you didnt sleep with her and knock her up. You deserve to die for your lies, as does she. And you will. If you do it again. This is your last and final warning. Why . Do you understand me . Its your last and final warning. Reporter inspector ritchie listened to giselles tone careen from aggrieved to furious to threatening, all in less than a minute. This was far from the subdued woman hed met back in may. It was apparent that she was a violent person. Did you ever have any concern about scotts safety . Yes. And we advised scott that. If it is giselle, you have to be concerned for your safety as well. Reporter that he might well be a target . Yeah. Reporter esteban, it was clear in the recording, had become fixated on her old friend, was convinced michelle had somehow broken up her relationship with scott. And yet, as ritchie took pains to discover michelle and scott were nothing more than just friends. She had a boyfriend. Scott was just just one of the many friends that she had. But the only person in this world that seemed to think that there was more to it was giselle. Reporter prosecutor butch ford heard the audio too and read the 1,500 pages of texts and emails scott gave police. For the better part of six years, she had an obsession with michelle. Her Text Messages were filled with hatred towards michelle at every step of the way. And then towards the the last four months or so, they were filled with hatred towards scott, wishing him wishing his death. Wow. They were just filled with hate towards the two of them, with blame towards michelle for ruining her relationship and essentially breaking her family. Do you think theres any truth to that at all . Only from the standpoint that giselle believed it was michelles fault. So if, in terms of responding to that question, the answer has to be, yes, theres truth to it. From her perspective but from giselles perspective, because she had to blame somebody. This is a very disturbed individual. Yes. Theres no question about that. From my perspective, when were dealing with in particular murders, my position is that theyre all sort of screwed up. Yeah. Because the normal person doesnt react that way. I mean, we have to believe that, right . Right. The normal person does not react that way. So at some level anytime somebody one person commits a murder, theres something thats thats loose in their head. There has to be. Reporter butch ford may know more than most about the parameters of human nature. He helped raise eight younger siblings while growing up in South Central l. A. , worked his own way though law school. And now as a prosecutor seeks out sound advice from someone who has seen it all his own grandmother. I have dinner every wednesday at my grandmothers house. Reporter the first female africanamerican judge appointed in Alameda County. Ive never had a case that i havent spoken to her about, and run ideas by her in terms of trial presentation, closing arguments, things like that. I always run it by her. Reporter but this case was special. Fords grandmother was struck by the les devotion to michelle, by their determination to find answers. But it was clear there were still too many questions to take this case to court. The theory was that giselle had done something to bring about her demise. It was just was a question of what. Yes. Of what and how wed prove it. Reporter in fact, without a body, how could they prove there was a murder at all . Coming up in a strange twist of fate, the mother of amber dubois joins another search for michelle along with her new dog. She jumps up on me and takes off. I followed her and noticed rope sticking out of the ground. Only at a sleep number store, right now, save 600 on our best selling i8 mattress, plus 24 month special financing. Learn more at sleepnumber. Com know better sleep with sleep number. She pretty much lives in her favorite princess dress. But once a week i let her play sheriff so i can wash it. I use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. You are free to go. Tide and downy together. Got two jobs to paye a mortgage, and ive also got a brain. Lifes short, talk is cheap. Ill be working while you sleep. Still dont think ive got a brain . I took two bullets in the chest. Got three kids, i never rest. So yeah, ive got a brain. A degree is a degree. Youre gonna want someone like me. But only if you have a brain. music fades out with a crust made chfrom scratche and mixes crisp vegetables with all white meat chicken, and bakes it to perfection. Because making the perfect dinner isnt easy as pie but finding someone to enjoy it with sure is. Marie callenders. Its time to savor. My hygienist told me to try. A mouthwash. So i tried crest. It does so much more than give me fresh breath. Crest prohealth mouthwash provides all. Of these benefits to help you get better dental checkups. Go pro with crest prohealth mouthwash. Checkup . Nailed it. [oprah] like everybody, i want to live a life thats full. Full of a happiness found in living the life i want. Full of the energy that comes with good health. Full of the great foods i love. And at weight watchers, i dont have to choose between weight loss and living well. I live well, while losing weight. It is easier than its ever been, and not one day have i felt deprived. Most important, it works join for free now and lose 10 pounds on us. Reporter all Saints Catholic Church in hayward, california. Hardly the sort of place a detective would expect to get a hot tip in a murder case. But thats exactly what happened. It was the priest who called the police, wound up talking to inspector ritchie, and told him a story about an odd encounter with a young woman who came to see him seeking solace of some kind. It was actually outside of an office in a patio area. He asked her several times, do you want to go into a confessional . She said no. Thats why he was able to talk to us about it. And he said she was wearing a medical type scrubs, same physical build, characteristics of giselle, and she was asking for forgiveness for something that she had not yet done. Wait a minute. She asked for forgiveness for a sin thats what the she hadnt committed . Thats the interpretation the priest had got. That was roughly at 3 00 in the afternoon the day that michelle went missing. Ritchie was convinced Giselle Esteban killed michelle le. So was prosecutor butch ford. But they didnt know how she did it or when she did it or where she did it. Or more important, what she did with the body. If you dont have a body, it makes the case more difficult. Reporter and so ritchie and the other investigators with the hayward p. D. Continued the tedious work of building a murder case without a body. They ran fingerprints. They sent dna out for testing. They interviewed witnesses. All quietly, out of sight of the family and press. They tested a strand of hair found in michelles car. Turned out to be giselles. Some of her touch dna on the turn signal too. But since the two knew each other, that wasnt enough evidence to make an arrest. So they checked giselles cell phone records, found that her phone, like michelles, left a trail in the hours after michelle vanished. And what do you know . The locations that michelles phone went giselles phone also went. As if theyre traveling together. Yes. Reporter the eavesdropping electronics was closing in. Here was Surveillance Video showing giselle trying to access the Nursing Schools computer the night before michelles disappearance. And here the scene of the apple store the day after michelle vanished. Esteban getting michelles iphone unlocked. And later using it at the chuck e. Cheese. But still, it wasnt enough. Until the lab results finally came back from evidence seized that very first night in Giselle Estebans apartment. Specifically from her shoes. Those tests uncovered a trace amount of blood. Blood that belonged to michelle. Only one explanation for that. And so on september 7th, 104 days after michelle les disappearance, inspector Fraser Ritchie went to Giselle Estebans house for a final visit. We showed up on that september morning, waited for her to come out of her house. I pulled up in front with two other investigators. We got out of the car. She looked at me very nonchalantly, dismissive. What now . Youre under arrest. Not for what . Anything, it was just like a matter of fact, she was waiting for it. It wasnt there was no sign of guilt. There was no sign of remorse. There was nothing. She was just okay. Reporter and when the news was announced, michelles family knew giselle, knew her as one of michelles closest friends. And they were stunned. I never suspected her until we knew for sure. I didnt think it was her. When giselle was having problems, michelle had counseling sessions with her always because she felt giselle would always be her friend. That was her last text to giselle, no matter what youll always be my friend. Reporter and now with Giselle Estebans arrest the le family found themselves in a strange paradox, glad someone would finally be held accountable for michelles disappearance yet refusing to accept she was dead. To them the fact that no body had been found meant there was still hope, however slim, that they might find her alive. I was still hoping, you know, without finding my sisters remains i was Still Holding out hope. Until it was definitive. We were going to fight for her. Reporter and so on september 17th, 113 days after michelle disappeared, ten days after the arrest, the family mounted yet another search. This time they were joined by carrie mcgonigle, whose daughter amber dubois had been kidnapped and murdered in san diego two years earlier. And like marc klaas before her, carrie formed an organization to help find the missing. She brought her new search dog with her. A search dog in training. And she was acteding weird, she was jumping all over the place, she was barking, wanted to get away from me. And as i buckled her up, she took off from me and ran. So i started running after her. And she comes back and she jumps up on me and takes off again. And i followed her and she was just standing still. I reached down to put her leash on, and i noticed some twine, rope sticking out of the ground. And then some bones next to it. Reporter it was the skeletal remains of a young woman, unidentified. Michelles cousin krystine was back at the command center. I remember brad dennis took a break and he looked at me, said babe, ill be right back. He never leaves the search center. So he left. I thought something happened, they must have found something. But he said im going out and looking at some random evidence they found. Reporter but then her phone rang. A reporter with a tip from someone in the search party. And he told me, i heard they found michelles body. Can you comment on that . And i i just started shaking. I told him, we havent found her. But i knew that they did. When i got that call from the reporter, i knew. Reporter but there wasnt confirmation. Not yet. The medical examiner still had to match up dental records. And that the family was told could take a few days. It might sound really dumb now, but i still i was still really stubborn about it. I just didnt there was nothing that could tell me michelle was dead. But we all stayed in the hotel room. We were just hiding. No one knew where we were. Just in a hotel room for the next few days. And then i think about four days later the Hayward Police came to our hotel and they told us that she had been confirmed to be found through her dental records. Reporter at that point you couldnt pretend anymore. Yeah. Reporter after four months the familys long and determined search to find michelle was over. But their goal, no matter how remote, was always to bring her home alive. That she was found dead was a blow that took them to their knees. That was one of the very few times i think i really let myself cry. Part of me was relieved that its over, that we had found her and we had brought her home. And then a majority of me was very angry. And it was just it just felt it just felt hollow. Reporter now there was one thing left to do. Make sure michelle got justice. But that, it turned out, was not going to be so easy. S and, giselle on trial. And her Defense Strategy surprises everyone. You have to find a better way than to vilify the victim. Reporter would it work . Eliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus had less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis had both. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Im still going for my best. And for eliquis. Ask your doctor about eliquis. Bounty is more absorbent,mom per roll so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty, the quicker picker upper five dollars. Two chicken littles. Pot pie costs you five bucks. Thats a famous bowl, five bills. Tenders for a fiver. And thats my two piece original recipe, also five dollars. Thats five real meals, each for five bucks. Kfc, its Finger Lickin good. My lineage was the vecchios and zuccolis. Through ancestry, through dna i found out that i was only 16 italian. He was 34 eastern european. So i went onto ancestry, soon learned that one of our ancestors we thought was italian was eastern european. This is my ancestor who i didnt know about. He looks a little bit like me, yes. Ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. Get started for free at ancestry. Com with all the rush in the morning, i dont have time to hashtag my breakfast. Light fit nonfat yogurt drinks. Nutrition that fits my crazy life. Nine grams of protein, 90 calories, no added sugar. Light fit. Do what fits you. Thats your underwearstrong, dude. Cleaner. So clean. Keeps you could wear them a second day. Charmin ultra strong. Its 4 times stronger, and you can use less enjoy the go with charmin. Reporter in october of 2012, when Giselle Esteban went on trial for the murder of michelle le, prosecutor butch ford expected hed have his hands full. I thought she would fight tooth and nail that she didnt do it because she doesnt want her family and, more importantly, probably her kids to know that shes responsible for that. Reporter so in his opening statement, ford laid out a devastating case all pointing to premeditated, firstdegree murder. Motive . Tons of it. Estebans life was in shambles, said ford. Shed lost custody of a daughter. Her boyfriend left her. She blamed it all on her successful, too beautiful friend, michelle. And set about methodically to kill one of the few people left in the world who still tried to be her friend. Whyd she sneak into the school . To find michelles new address, maybe kill her there, said ford. Whyd she send those texts from the apple store and the chuck e. Cheese . To cover up her crime. But she couldnt hide from the cameras, said the prosecutor, the phone pings, her own electronic trail. And the dna in the car confirmed it. The evidence was overwhelming. Just no refuting it, said ford. And so the defense didnt even try. Instead, they did something wholly unexpected. A big surprise. Giselle admitted she did it. So youre putting all of these Building Blocks together to show that she had to be responsible for this. Yes. And then she goes and admits it . Yes. I could not believe she would allow her defense to be i did it. Reporter but there was a reason, said the defense giselle had been provoked. She killed michelle in the heat of passion. Michelle, she claimed, was a lying schemer who had been busy stealing what little giselle had left in life her family. Marc klaas watched from the back of the courtroom and was disgusted. I dont think character assassination is a defense. I think that if youre going to defend against the indefensible, you have to find a better way of doing it than to vilify the victim. Reporter but ford was worried the defense just might work. If i come in as a defense lawyer and i say, were going to tell you that my client did it, even though the District Attorney has the burden of proof. But were going to tell you why it happens because thats the most important thing. Reporter thats something the d. A. Cant tell you. Exactly. And it has an air of credibility. Reporter and thus its not firstdegree murder. Yes. A voluntary manslaughter. And then you get out in nine years. Reporter so that was the big fight . Yes. Reporter and there was another problem. Even as ford methodically laid out the evidence for the jury, what he couldnt do and this turned out to be a big hole in his case was to tell the jury how the murder took place. Michelles remains were so decomposed the coroner couldnt determine the cause of death. The pathologist report indicated that they not only visually examined michelles remains, but also examined it using an xray, to look for any sort of trauma to her skull, her bones, anything of that nature. And they couldnt locate any. Reporter and while Security Cameras seemed to have recorded just about everything before and after the murder, they didnt capture the crime itself. Its my position that the evidence of the crime is most supported by an assault with a sharp object, a stabbing object, a knife, a box cutter, something of that effect. Truthfully, i believe that she snuck up behind her, grabbed her by her hair, and assaulted her with a sharp object. Reporter which would explain why that small woman could do that kind of damage. Yes. It immediately incapacitates you. You cant yell out, you cant scream. The forensic evidence, the blood evidence, all of that seems to indicate that type of assault. The only person who knows for sure is giselle. Reporter but she wasnt talking. Choosing instead to sit passively throughout the trial. We would constantly look at the jury, like, what are they thinking . Are they buying this . Are they believing all this nonsense that the defense is offering up . You know, that this is heat of passion, that this wasnt planned . Reporter michael was in court every day, as was krystine and the aunts and uncles and parents and cousins. All of them took time off work to be united for michelle. Oftentimes in homicide cases nobody shows up for the victim. Or maybe its a mother or a father or a sibling. In this case every day there were between i would say 12 and 20 family members. And knowing that the vast majority of them had traveled from san diego to be present, to show everybody that michelle was missed, it was really touching to me and inspiring in that again, it it made me want to work even harder to ensure that i had done everything i could to bring about what was a just result. And i had mentioned it was the only thing i i promised to the family was that i would work as hard as i could to make sure that the right result came. Do you encounter families like that very often . On that level, no. Reporter when the case went to the jury, everything was up in the air. Prosecutor ford didnt worry particularly when the jury stayed out a full day, and then two days. After three days, ford began to wonder if hed done enough to debunk giselles heat of passion defense. After four, everybody wondered. The longest deliberation that id ever had was four days. This was now getting to 4 1 2 days. So i started to have concern. S and, day five, and the suspense is over. The jury sends word of a verdict. Were just all Holding Hands in the front row. Reporter would there be justice for michelle . Its on the top of almost everyones holiday list. vo find out how to get a free iphone se. Its the best gift this holiday season. Hows that for a happy holiday . For people with hearing loss, visit sprintrelay. Com no. They come from thes come stomach. Heart. Give the gift of quality time with an applebees gift card. And receive a 10 bonus card for yourself. Only at applebees. [cellphone ring] uh oh, should have put that phone on silent. Luckily, jay chews trident to help clean and protect his teeth, so he can hide his guilt with a convincing grin. Thats it jay, theyll never know. Trident. Cherish your teeth. Game night is our daughter allies favorite night. And knowing that her favorite General Mills big g cereals are glutenfree, like honey nut cheerios, rice chex and lucky charms, she can enjoy it her way. But when we brought our daughter home, that was it. Now i have nicoderm cq. The nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release Technology Helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. Its the best thing that ever happened to me. Every great why needs a great how. Eyes shouldnt show your age, they should express how you feel. New olay eyes collection treats every eye concern. Lift depuff brighten smooth or ultimaltely all of it. Express every emotion. Without showing your age. New olay eyes. Ageless what theyre now accused of trying to break into after the election hack. Rob wx wall and the big chill. How low temperatures will plunge this holiday weekend. Rob next close nbc bay area news is next. Reporter Giselle Esteban readily admitted she killed her friend michelle le. But she claimed it was in the heat of the moment. She was angry, provoked by michelle. A defense which in a way blamed michelle for her own death. To friends and family sitting in the courtroom the strategy seemed outrageous. But yet after the jury had been out four long days they all worried that it worked. I was wondering if the jury sat in the same trial that i sat in. We were going crazy. We were really afraid that either they felt sympathy for the defendant because she is a woman or that she has children or you never know. By the fifth day we were thinking what if what if they let her off easy . Reporter then finally on the fifth day the jury announced they were ready. There could be no acquittal. Their choices were firstdegree murder or voluntary manslaughter, a verdict that could have esteban back on the street before shes 40. I remember hearts are just pounding. Everyone being lined up. And we sat down and we saw the jury walk in. And a couple of them like you can just tell on their faces that they were exhausted. They looked exhausted. And we were just all Holding Hands in the front row. We were all shaking. And you could see butch, and he was just up there, like his hands on his head and all of us were just praying. And then we heard guilty of murder, first. I burst right into tears. That feeling was just so indescribable. How much relief was there. Reporter 17 months after michelle le went missing, after endless searches, a relentless investigation, an intense trial, finally an end. The search for michelle and for justice was over. One of the things i was so angry about was that nothing made sense. Nothing made sense. Why did it have to happen to michelle . And so i think the verdict brought reason. Like a sense of someone committed murder, they will pay for the crime. Its just as awful as it was and the loss is just as great, but the world is back on its axis or Something Like that. In some way, yeah. How was it to get that verdict . What was it like . In one word, relief. What did your grandmother say . She asked how is michelles family doing . Because i had talked to her about what a great family they were. I have nothing but respect for that family. And they had faith in the process. And more than anything, i appreciated that they had faith in me. Reporter the le familys uncommon grace and dignity and determined togetherness affected many of the families that stood with them during those dark months. They were able to do what a lot of other families have never been able to do, and thats rally around each other in a time of great need, to prop each other up. Reporter michael and krystine now volunteer with marc klaass organization. Recently helping to coordinate the search in the case of a teenager kidnapped near san jose. Their way to honor michelle. Michelle, who still refuses somehow to leave them. She mainly comes in dreams. And its so real that it feels like her. And she wont say a thing. Shell just give me a hug. Or something. I would flip out, like michelle, where the heck have you been . We had this huge thing. We thought you were gone, you know. And she laughed and she said, im fine. Michael, when he and michelle were little, they begged their mother to tell them the old vietnamese folk tale about the woman in the moon who protects and watches over them. The tale is very real now for michael le. I feel like i feel like shes always watching me. And at the very least i like to believe that my sisters with my mom finally and that theyre together. Its not my time yet, but i cant wait to see them again. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Join us tomorrow night at 8 00, 7 00 central, as we ring in the new year. Im lester ht. Oleast bay. Sotvo she felt someone come up behind her. Trt 03 vicky vo the two things police say could help them catch the suspect. Rob wx wall plus. A big chill ahead. Warning out tonight for women in the east bay. Two things police say could help them catch the suspects. And a big chill in our forecast for the new year. The news is next. Russia. Theres new concern tonight over the countrys energy grid. Because of what was found. On a computer back a troubling hack attack linked to russia. The news at 11 00 starts now. Good evening. Im vicki nguyen. Enand im terry mcsweeney. Now theres evidence that russia may be trying to tamper with American Power companies