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Unsolved January 30, 1989 Missing Person

Ilene Beth Misheloff

Status Unsolved
Type Missing Person
Date January 30, 1989
Location Dublin, California
Victim Age 13
Gender Female

Thirteen-year-old Ilene Misheloff disappeared while walking home from school in Dublin, California. She has never been found. A former neighbor was considered a suspect decades later. The FBI lists her case among the most important unsolved missing children cases.

Ilene Beth Misheloff is documented in the ColdCaseIndex database as a missing-person case connected to Dublin, California. The disappearance is dated to January 30, 1989. The victim is recorded as 13 years old and female. The last known information on record places the case at January 30, 1989, walking home from Wells Middle School, Dublin, CA.

Within the ColdCaseIndex taxonomy, Ilene Beth Misheloff is filed under Missing Person with a status of Unsolved. A missing-person entry documents someone who disappeared under circumstances that remain unresolved. The record is cross-referenced under the themes child, missing person, California, FBI case, unsolved, which connect it to related cases across the database.

As of the most recent information compiled here, no arrest has been publicly recorded in the Ilene Beth Misheloff case, and it remains open and unsolved. Cases like this can be reactivated at any time — advances in DNA analysis, forensic genetic genealogy, and renewed public attention have resolved cases that lay dormant for decades.

Primary jurisdiction for the Ilene Beth Misheloff case rests with local law enforcement in Dublin, supported by California state investigative authorities. The case sits within a wider national picture: the U.S. homicide clearance rate has fallen from roughly 90% in the 1960s to about 54% today, and more than 346,000 homicides recorded since 1965 remain unsolved. ColdCaseIndex documents individual cases like this one to keep them publicly visible and searchable.

child missing person California FBI case unsolved
Last Known Information
January 30, 1989, walking home from Wells Middle School, Dublin, CA
Reported Missing
January 30, 1989
Current Status
Unsolved — the case remains open

Curated starting points for verifying and researching this case. Direct references are checked; search links are provided as further-reading aids. ColdCaseIndex is an index of public information — see a case correction? Email info@coldcaseindex.com.

Have Information About This Case?

Cold cases are solved when someone comes forward. Even a detail that seems minor can matter. If you have any information about this case, contact law enforcement through one of these channels:

  • FBI Tips (tips.fbi.gov) — submit a tip online to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • FBI Tip Line: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
  • NamUs (namus.nij.ojp.gov) — the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System accepts information on missing persons cases
  • National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)
  • The local police department or sheriff's office in California, or the state bureau of investigation

Tips can usually be submitted anonymously. To report an error on this page, email info@coldcaseindex.com.