(05-30) 14:11 PDT Hayward --

Police are searching for a 26-year-old female nursing student who disappeared from a Hayward hospital during a break in a clinical lesson.

Michelle Hoang Thi Le was last seen heading to the parking garage at Kaiser Permanente Hayward Medical Center at about 7 p.m. Friday. She had told classmates of plans to drive to Reno to visit friends after her lesson at the hospital.

Her car was driven out of the parking garage but was found by police a few blocks away, said Hayward police Lt. Roger Keener. Police believe Le had her cell phone with her when she left the hospital, but calls from investigators have gone unanswered.

Investigators have interviewed friends and family, and have been working around the clock on the case, Keener said, but have turned up no new leads. Le is not known to have any medical or psychiatric conditions that could have played a role in her disappearance, he said.

Elizabeth Valente, a spokeswoman for Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, said Le is a student in the nursing school's 12-month accelerated program, and is about halfway through the rigorous program.

"She's an intelligent, beautiful, polite person who is very excited about her career of becoming a nurse," Valente said. "She wants to help people."

Anyone with information about Le's whereabouts is asked to call the Hayward Police Department at (510) 293-7000.