Misheloffs preparing for 21-year anniversary of daughter’s abduction
DUBLIN — Maddi and Mike Misheloff never wanted or sought attention, but they need it.
Since their daughter Ilene, then 13, was kidnapped off the streets of Dublin 21 years ago, they have needed to keep her name in the spotlight.
On Thursday, for the 21st time, the Misheloff will participate in an annual vigil organized by family and friends to keep Ilene’s name fresh in the minds of the public with the hope that it will spark a tip.
The Misheloffs will walk with between 100 and a few hundred people along the route from Wells Middle School to St. Raymond Catholic Church — approximately the same route Ilene took when she was headed to the Dublin Iceland rink for lessons after school Jan. 30, 1989.
“It’s excruciatingly painful,” said Maddi Misheloff about the vigil. “Our purpose is to do this every year until we have her back to let people know that we are still looking.”
An added burden hangs over this year’s vigil. Maddi lost her father in 2009, shortly after Jaycee Dugard walked into a Concord police station.
When the Dugard case broke in August, it thrust the Misheloffs’ story and Ilene’s name back into the headlines. The case of Dugard, who was abducted from the Lake Tahoe area 18 years ago and was found alive and living in Antioch, sparked hundreds of leads for the Misheloffs.
