Police Deny Calls Made from Missing Nursing Student's Phone

June 30, 2011 -- Police and an investigator for the family of missing California nursing student Michelle Le today denied a report that calls were made from Le's cellphone following her disappearance in late May.

Le, 26, vanished on her way to the garage at Kaiser Hospital in Hayward in Northern California. She was studying at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, combining academic work with clinical training.

A source told KGTV, an ABC affiliate in San Diego, that several calls were made from Le's cell after her disappearance. One was made to a phone in Reno and one to somewhere in Arizona, the source said.

But Roger Keener of the Hayward Police Department said in an e-mail that police "are not aware of any phone calls made from Michelle's phone after her disappearance."

Michael Frame, hired by the Le family as a private investigator on the case, called the report "erroneous."

A family member, Krystine Dinh, said in a statement that Michelle's brother Michael did receive a call from a woman in Arizona that he passed on to police, but he did not say that the call "had any significance."

Hayward police declared the case a homicide on June 6, citing "compelling evidence." Le's SUV, found less than a mile from the hospital, had a smattering of blood inside, according to KGTV.

But Frame said the family, which is offering a $65,000 reward for any information, refuses to give up hope. "They found Jaycee Dugard 18 years later," he said. Michelle might have had a wound that bled, he pointed out, but could still be alive.

"This could be anyone's daughter," said Frame. "It's really heartbreaking." He called the lack of leads in the case "troubling."

Police have said they have several persons of interest in the case, including Giselle Esteban, who was in a dispute with Le over a boyfriend.