The family of nursing student Michelle Le, who has been missing for more than three weeks, has hired a private investigator, a family spokeswoman said.
Le's family has been working with Hayward police and the FBI to find Le, 26, who went missing on May 27 during a break from her clinical rotation at Kaiser Permanente Hayward Medical Center on Sleepy Hollow Avenue. Police have since classified Le's case as a homicide, while the family remains hopeful she will be found.
Private investigator Michael Frame said he was hired on Monday to conduct a "parallel and independent" investigation.
The investigator is working separately from Hayward police and FBI investigators, Le's cousin and family spokeswoman Krystine Dinh said.
"The goal is to get that one person out there that knows something to come forward," she said.
Frame said the Le family has "full confidence in Hayward police," but the private investigating group will provide an alternate venue for people to call.
"The fact of the matter is people just won't call the police," Frame said.
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The private investigation is intended to supplement the police department's case, he said.
Hayward police Lt. Roger Keener said Le's family conferred with police officials before hiring Frame.
"We wholeheartedly support them in this venture," he said. "The reality is that some people, for a multitude of reasons, are simply uncomfortable talking to police."
A $65,000 reward is still available for anyone with information leading to Le's whereabouts, Frame said.
To share information with the private firm, people can contact the investigator at (925) 837-8309 ext. 33 or email Michael@TheFrameGroup.com. Anonymous emails can be sent through the website at www.TheFrameGroup.com.
A three-day search for Le took place last weekend in Hayward and another search is planned for Saturday. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. volunteers over 18 years old can meet at the command center at 23350 Cypress Ave. in Hayward to help search for Le, Dinh said.
Volunteers on Saturday will search new areas that are near where people looked for Le last week, she said.
