Los Angeles County has increased the reward to $25,000 for information that could help solve the mysterious case of Mitrice Richardson, 24, who disappeared in 2009 after being released from sheriff’s custody and found dead 11 months later late at Malibu Canyon.
In August, the county Board of Supervisors reinstated a $20,000 reward in the Richardson case.
The Cal State Fullerton graduate disappeared without a trace after leaving the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff’s station around midnight on September 17, 2009. Earlier that evening, Richardson was dining at Geoffrey’s in Malibu, where she displayed behavior strange and didn’t pay an $89 bill. , according to guests and staff.
Richardson’s behavior at the restaurant was never included in police reports. But it was later discovered that she suffered from bipolar disorder and was possibly suffering from a nervous breakdown and trouble sleeping, detectives said.
She was given the choice of voluntarily remaining at the station until nightfall or until transport arrived, according to a sheriff’s report. Choosing to leave, Richardson was released without any personal belongings – her wallet and phone were in her impounded Honda Civic, where it appeared she was living.
His release sparked angst among family members, who believed a mental evaluation or psychiatric detention should have been necessary. But a report from the Los Angeles County Independent Review Office concluded that deputies acted properly that night.
Despite Richardson’s erratic behavior, sheriff’s deputies at the station had “no legal justification to deprive her of her liberty,” according to the report.
Months of searching and waiting culminated in a grim discovery in August 2010, when his skeletal remains were discovered in Malibu Canyon. Dental records later confirmed the remains belonged to Richardson. Although her death was not ruled a homicide, her family has insisted in the past that she was the victim of foul play.
“One thing I know about my daughter: She’s not a natural young lady,” said her mother, Lattice Sutton. said Tthe Times in 2010. “She doesn’t like insects in the bushes. Alone, it’s not a place where she would go for a walk. I have already declared that my daughter was murdered.
The family reached a $900,000 settlement with the county in 2011 after both parents filed a lawsuit against the department in connection with Richardson’s death. But questions about what happened to Richardson remain unanswered.
In 2009, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors offered a $10,000 reward for information on Richardson’s whereabouts. The reward money was reinstated after her body was found in 2010. The amount also increased in 2021 and 2022.
Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call the Los Angeles Police Department at (213) 486-6900 or the Sheriff’s Department at (323) 890-5500.
