http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21744953/mother-remains-from-linden-mass-grave-were-mor


Their testing a bone fragment.

*Michaela Garecht

Part of me hopes it's not her so that maybe she is alive somewhere but I don't thnk she is and if it's her, hopefully some closure can come from this find.

If it is Machaela's, there will finally be some closure for the family, but it will be a sad process of having to find the rest of her remains and knowing that she is dead. I think it maybe is her because the composite looks so much like Herzog.

I feel so bad for Mrs. Murch and her husband. Almost a quarter century of not knowing what happened to your child.

I really can't imagine what it's like to be a parent in this situation, where you don't want to hear the horrible news that your child was murdered, but at the same time, you finally want to have closure. Appropriately enough, next month will mark the 25th anniversary of Michaela's kidnapping, so it just feels like it would be fate if they found out this was her.

Interestingly enough, Michaela's mom had recently been pushing a theory on her website that Michaela was alive and living in the United Arab Emirates, but it looks like she now believes the remains belong to her. I've always felt very strongly about Loren Herzog being responsible once I saw how much he resembled the composite sketch. The only strange thing is that kidnapping children never seemed to be his M.O., but that doesn't change the fact that a bone fragment belonging to a young girl was found in that well.

Though he was never officially charged for it, it's interesting to ponder that Herzog may have also been responsible for the Swedish hitchhiker murders. If he was also responsible for Michaela's abduction, this is one of those rare situations (like the Warren Fulton/Rachael Raver/Tina Jefferson murders) where the same perp could be responsible for two seemingly unrelated Unsolved Mysteries cases.

Whatever the results are, it's going to be a sad outcome for the parents. If the bone is Michaela's, it confirms her death. If it's not her bone, that means she's still out there somewhere, possibly lying in a shallow grave.

It seems the mother already believes that the bone is Michaela's. Closure would be good for her but I can't possibly start to imagine what must be going through her head right now.

Props to the mother of JoAnn Hobson for delaying the burial of her daughter to help end other people's waiting.

In addition to Michaela, I'm wondering if the bones that Wesley Shermantine lead police to are those of other potential victims of him and Herzog. Here are the ones authorities think they killed:

Gayle Marks - http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/marks_gayle.html

Phillip Martin - http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/martin_phillip.html

Ruth Leamon - http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/leamon_ruth.html

Susan Bender - http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bender_susan.html

Sylvia Standly - http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/standly_sylvia.html

Hopefully we'll hear whether or not the other remains are possibly theirs too. In the meantime, let's keep Michaela's family in our thoughts.

I'm also curious to know if they're still looking at Timothy Bindner in her case or if they cleared him. He was or is looked at as a suspect in the disappearances of many young girls in California in the 1980's, including Amber Swartz, Amanda Campbell, Tara Cossey and Ilene Misheloff. He used to taunt families of missing girls into thinking he did the kidnappings. Sick freak.

^ I still need to read Stalemate. Bindner, if not guilty, is an incredibly weird person and I would desire nothing more than to punch him in the face if my child was missing and he was hanging around being a red herring detracting from what really happened! But the dogs' scent tracing, the repeat visits and putting flowers on a murdered child's grave, his constant hanging around, etc. I'm still on the fence. It's just too eerie and I lean towards him having some wrongdoing.

I hope though, that the missing young girls are searched for as possible matches in case Herzog and Shermantine are responsible. All of these families need answers.

^ I still need to read Stalemate. Bindner, if not guilty, is an incredibly weird person and I would desire nothing more than to punch him in the face if my child was missing and he was hanging around being a red herring detracting from what really happened! But the dogs' scent tracing, the repeat visits and putting flowers on a murdered child's grave, his constant hanging around, etc. I'm still on the fence. It's just too eerie and I lean towards him having some wrongdoing.

I hope though, that the missing young girls are searched for as possible matches in case Herzog and Shermantine are responsible. All of these families need answers.

He might or might not have killed these girls, but he's weird enough to probably know and be associated with the one(s) who did. I wonder if he knew Shermantine and Herzog? Shermantine said that 20 victims of his and Herzog's are amongst the 300 bone fragments found in an abandoned well in Linden, California. In addition, Shermantine lead police to a farm outside of Linden where 1,000 bone fragments were found. Chevelle Wheeler (vanished in 1985) and Cyndi Vanderheiden (vanished in 1998) were found amongst the remains at the farm. Joann Hobson (vanished in 1985) and Kimberly Ann Billy (vanished in 1984) were amongst the victims found in the well where they believe Michaela's remains were dumped. 4 victims of Herzog and Shermantine's have been identified so far. It is said they each killed around 15 victims or more. If they haven't already, they should look into the possiblity of the other names I listed as possibly being amongst the other unidentified remains, even the girls Bindner was suspected of kidnapping just to be sure.

He might or might not have killed these girls, but he's weird enough to probably know and be associated with the one(s) who did. I wonder if he knew Shermantine and Herzog? Shermantine said that 20 victims of his and Herzog's are amongst the 300 bone fragments found in an abandoned well in Linden, California. In addition, Shermantine lead police to a farm outside of Linden where 1,000 bone fragments were found. Chevelle Wheeler (vanished in 1985) and Cyndi Vanderheiden (vanished in 1998) were found amongst the remains at the farm. Joann Hobson (vanished in 1985) and Kimberly Ann Billy (vanished in 1984) were amongst the victims found in the well where they believe Michaela's remains were dumped. 4 victims of Herzog and Shermantine's have been identified so far. It is said they each killed around 15 victims or more. If they haven't already, they should look into the possiblity of the other names I listed as possibly being amongst the other unidentified remains, even the girls Bindner was suspected of kidnapping just to be sure.
I remember reading about Vanderheiden and Wheeler just months before they were found and ID'd. The Wheeler case was scary because all the blood evidence was left behind. The blood, the hair, the later confession. And LE let the guy (I think it was Shermantine, would have to read it again) walk because there was no body. If he'd been taken down right away, maybe some of these other girls would be alive. Then again, Herzog still would have been on the loose.

The forensic evidence from the bones should certainly be checked to see if they match any of those missing girls from Bindner's area. Herzog and Shermantine were a duo who were sexual predators that seemed to enjoy killing women violently-sad to think that they turned to children, too. The bone fragment is definitely from a child, so even if not Michaela, they hurt a small child. Sick. Maybe it is from one of the missing girls up in the Bay Area, maybe not. But that's a good place to start looking for matches.



On a side note, I think Loren probably is responsible for the Swedish Hitchhiker killings. Known for "hating women" and his M.O. of sexual assault and violent killings later, I think it probably was him and maybe Shermantine helped. But I'm wondering who called him in (the witness who came forward again). It's scary to think that the two men would continue to kill for YEARS after the original UM broadcast of that case.

^ I still need to read Stalemate. Bindner, if not guilty, is an incredibly weird person and I would desire nothing more than to punch him in the face if my child was missing and he was hanging around being a red herring detracting from what really happened! But the dogs' scent tracing, the repeat visits and putting flowers on a murdered child's grave, his constant hanging around, etc. I'm still on the fence. It's just too eerie and I lean towards him having some wrongdoing.

I hope though, that the missing young girls are searched for as possible matches in case Herzog and Shermantine are responsible. All of these families need answers.


One thing I was very surprised to find out, was that the murder of Angela Bugay (the girl Tim made repeated, up to 90 a year, visits to her grave) has been solved according to the UM website, and Bindner had no role in it. It was a man who once dated her mother. According to the site, her body was exhumed and tested for DNA which led them to the killer. These facts almost make me think Tim might have known the killer and possibly details of the case. Perhaps he was afraid to come forward and tell what he knew directly?

^ I still need to read Stalemate. Bindner, if not guilty, is an incredibly weird person and I would desire nothing more than to punch him in the face if my child was missing and he was hanging around being a red herring detracting from what really happened! But the dogs' scent tracing, the repeat visits and putting flowers on a murdered child's grave, his constant hanging around, etc. I'm still on the fence. It's just too eerie and I lean towards him having some wrongdoing.

I hope though, that the missing young girls are searched for as possible matches in case Herzog and Shermantine are responsible. All of these families need answers.

That was a pretty creepy book. It was actually written by John Philpin, the forensic pyschologist interviewed in the NH serial killer segment. I wasn't able to put it down. I think Philpin is a little guilty of over-eagerness to make certain aspects of Bindner's life and personality "fit" into his idea that Bindner is responsible for all of the disappearances and/or murders covered, but overall I think his psychological profile is well-developed and probably accurate.

Tim Bindner likes to play mind games with police, that's for sure. I think he does it for the sheer gratification, however. I don't think he's responsible for nearly as much as is speculated, so there's not exactly a lot to hold over authorities' heads. I think he just enjoys watching police run around with the knowledge that he's the one putting them in motion.

I do think he is indeed a pedophile, and has a lot of other very disturbed qualities about him (i.e., repeatedly visiting Angela Bugay's grave and sending out weird birthday cards to little girls). But I don't know if he's murderous, really.

Well, the DNA test results finally came back and it looks like the bone fragment does not belong to Michaela:
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Linden-Bones-Not-Michaela-Garecht-186243581.html

I always throught Loren Herzog was a perfect match for the composite sketch even though it didn't seem to be his M.O. to kidnap children. However, it turns out the bone fragment did NOT actually belong to a child, but to a 19-year old girl named Kimberly Billy, a Herzog victim who already had some of her remains identified last year.

So it looks like this one is going to remain an unsolved mystery for now.

Well, the DNA test results finally came back and it looks like the bone fragment does not belong to Michaela:
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Linden-Bones-Not-Michaela-Garecht-186243581.html

I always throught Loren Herzog was a perfect match for the composite sketch even though it didn't seem to be his M.O. to kidnap children. However, it turns out the bone fragment did NOT actually belong to a child, but to a 19-year old girl named Kimberly Billy, a Herzog victim who already had some of her remains identified last year.

So it looks like this one is going to remain an unsolved mystery for now.

Damn. As much as I was hoping for closure for the family, it's also a slight relief that it isn't her. I still feel that she is gone and that Shermantine knows where her body is.