Snatched From the Creek Bed: Where is Ilene Misheloff?

The 13-year-old disappeared from California in 1989 and her family wants the answers they need to bring her home.

Verity Partington
6 min readJan 27

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Ilene Misheloff, who disappeared in 1989 (Image: FBI)

In the early days of 1989, Ilene Beth Misheloff had the world at her feet. She was an accomplished figure skater with dreams of becoming a doctor so she could help sick children.

But all that would be ripped away from her family one sunny afternoon — and Ilene would never be seen again. With the 34th anniversary of her disappearance about to take place, can her surviving loved ones ever uncover the truth and bring the teenager home?

Last movements

It was January 1989, and 13-year-old Ilene Misheloff from the small town of Dublin in California was leading a busy life alongside her two brothers and dedicated parents Maddi and Michael.

She was an excellent figure skater who never missed a practice and had already competed against a future Olympian, but she also worked hard on her studies at Wells Intermediate School. Ilene knew she would have to if she wanted to fulfill her ambition to get into med school in just a few years’ time on her journey to becoming a paediatrician.

On January 30th, Ilene had finished her day’s lessons at 2:30 PM. The rest of her class had gym, but she was excused because she had already made up the necessary credits through her ice skating.

It was an unseasonably warm and bright day, and Ilene began the two-mile walk back home ahead of another session on the ice later that afternoon. Witnesses placed the teenager on Amador Valley Boulevard near Village Parkway at around 3:00 PM, but that would be the final sighting.

At 5:00 PM, Maddi arrived at the ice rink to collect her daughter. However, when she went inside and saw no sign of Ilene waiting with the other skaters, she would receive chilling news. Ilene hadn’t been to practice that day. Furthermore, a coach had even called by the Misheloff house to see if she needed a ride, only to discover no one there.

Maddi immediately knew something was wrong and began calling everyone she could think of. Ilene was a dutiful young woman who would never worry her parents…

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Verity Partington

A writer and author of crime thrillers living in the UK. Partial to books, stationery, papercrafts and walking. You can find her books on Amazon here: https://a