Search for Missing Nursing Student Michelle Le Uncovers Decomposed Body

Searchers looking for Michelle Le found a decomposed body on a dirt trail this weekend and officials at Alameda County coroner's will now determine whether it belongs to the missing nursing student. The body was found in the Bay Area community of Sunol, east of Hayward, about 50 miles (80km) southeast of San Francisco.

Alameda County sheriff's spokesman J.D. Nelson told the media that the remains were removed on Saturday night and will be examined by a forensic pathologist on Monday.

The body was found on Saturday by member of a search party made up of family members and volunteers who set out to look for the 26 year old who went missing in May. The search was the eighth that relatives organized, and they have noted that the family has plans to continue organizing search parties until Le is found.

Officials said the body is so badly decomposed that officials couldn't immediately say whether the remains belonged to a male or female, according to The Associated Press.

The AP also reported that relatives of the California nursing student on Sunday said the family is grateful that police and volunteers have found a body. However, they couldn't say either whether the remains were that of Michelle Le.

Le went missing on May 27 when she took a break from her nursing classes at a Hayward hospital.

Police believe Le's former high school friend Giselle Esteban, attacked the missing nursing student in a Hayward hospital parking garage more than three months ago.

Authorities arrested Esteban earlier this month and she has since been charged with murder.

We are focused on finding Michelle and ensuring that justice is served, noted a statement issued by family spokeswoman Krystine Dinh that was reviewed by the media. With a suspect in custody, the Hayward PD will continue to work with us to locate Michelle and to bring her home so that we may have a proper memorial for her and bring closure to our family.

Esteban due back in court

Esteban, 27, who is being held without bail, will return to court on Monday, as a judge postponed a plea hearing so she could get an attorney, according to The AP.

Esteban had reportedly told KGO-TV back in in June that she hated Le because Le was friends with the father of her 5-year-old daughter. However, Esteban has denied having any involvement in Le's disappearance, according to The AP.

In an affidavit released earlier this month, Hayward police Inspector Fraser Ritchie wrote that video surveillance footage shows Esteban at the scene before and after Le's disappearance.

The AP also reported that police have said they found traces of Le's blood inside her SUV. Authorities also said they found physical evidence that Esteban had also been inside the vehicle, and Le's DNA was found on one of Esteban's shoes.

Moreover, cell phone records also show that both women's phones had traveled on a similar path from the hospital to other locations in Alameda County immediately after Le disappeared, the affidavit noted, according to The AP.

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