Searchers to comb Malibu Canyon area for Mitrice Richardson

Law enforcement authorities are undertaking their most ambitious search this morning for Mitrice Richardson, the young woman who disappeared in the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 17 after being released from the Lost Hills sheriff's substation in Calabasas.  

Richardson, who LAPD detectives now think was suffering from a severe form of bipolar disease, was arrested at the Malibu restaurant Geoffrey's when she could not pay her dinner bill. 

An estimated 300 trained volunteers, aided by dogs, will fan out across the rugged terrain in the Malibu Canyon area where Richardson is believed to have been spotted on foot by a couple of area residents in the early morning of her release. An equine search unit as well as helicopters will join the search.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is coordinating the search at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department, which took the lead in the search for her months ago.  This is the third organized search the Sheriff's Department has undertaken.

"We're looking for additional clues," said Police Det. Chuck Knolls, one of two detectives who have been investigating Richardson's disappearance. "Clothing, anything that may indicate she was out there.  We can only hope for that. If she's out there, she probably has succumbed to the elements."

The search was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. and may last until dusk, depending on the weather.  Unlike in the currently frigid parts of the country, the obstacle facing the searchers in Malibu Canyon is excessive heat.  "If it's overcast, they can keep the horses and dogs out longer," Knolls said.   

--Carla Hall

     

Comments

[lee mary]

Why did it take this long for them to search for her? If it was a white woman missing, I can't imagine it would have taken the Dept. this long to search for the person or the missing body.

[davidozone]

Excessive heat?in the middle of winter at malibu?give us a break!She is iether in hiding with help from the lesbian community or she was picked up by a wierdo.I would not be surprised if she was picked up by a law enforcement officer and just like the LAPD detective on trial now 20 years later is finally on trial.Her case was covered up then by collegues as this case is probably the same scenario.We all know people that harbour deep thoughts and emotions to shoot someone usually end up sworn police officers.Why would they arrest her and impound her car with her purse and cell phone left in the vehicle?they did not protect her nor serve her by their actions,in fact quite the contrare.

[jeffs]

NOW all these months later they're looking for her right near where she was released, after we've heard reports that she may have been seen here and there much later? Why now? What do they think happened? That she was picked up by someone and hurt and dumped downhill, or the victim of a hit and run?

I'm still appalled she was released in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, far from mass transit, with no money, no cell phone after they impounded her car and knew she'd been mentally unstable earlier in the night and broke, why she was arrested in the first place. If this is "standard procedure" for the Sheriff's dept., I sure hope never to find myself unable to pay a bill at Geoffrey's in Malibu or anywhere in their jurisdiction.

[Unbelievable]

The Sheriff is coordinating the search for evidence in a case where the Sheriff is the one who should be investigated???! Why have no officers been prosecuted for their wanton disregard for the life of this woman, sending her out into the night with no money or phone, miles from her car? Why has there been no grand jury investigation of this case?

This smells.

[Sylvia, Malibu, California]

WELL, WELL, WELL!!!!!
IT'S ABOUT TIME, LET'S SEE WE'VE CALLED HER UNSTABLE, OUT OF HER ELEMENT, HAD NO BUSINESS BEING BLACK IN MALIBU, UNLESS SHE WAS A BLACK CELEBRITY OF COURSE. HAVE COMMENDED THE OFFICERS OF THE MALIBU SHERIFFS STATION FOR WHAT FINE JOBS THEY HAVE DONE IN PROTECTING THE CITIZENS OF MALIBU, HA,HA.
THE BLATANT RACISM WHICH I SUPPOSE COMES OUT WHEN A PERSON OF COLOR IS HURT OR IN JEOPARDY REALLY BECAME FODDER FOR THE UNSTABLE "SO TO SPEAK". WHAT A SAD SOCIETY WE LIVE IN TODAY. OH WELL MEAN PEOPLE - GET OVER IT, WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT, LET'S NOT MAKE MITRICE THE BRUNT OF YOUR ANGER. I WOULD BET MY LIFE ON THIS, THAT MOST OF THE
DEROGATORY COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT MITRICE ARE FROM PEOPLE WHO DO NOT EVEN VENTURE INTO THE MALIBU AREA, HENCE ARE WRITING ABOUT THEIR OWN FEELINGS OF BEING TREATED UNJUSTLY, AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!
TO MS. RICHARDSON'S FAMILY MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AT THIS
TIME.

[Too little, too late]

I'm so curious as to why it had to take so long for them to look for this woman the "right" way. This type of effort should have been done soon after her disappearance. I'm infuriated!!! They announce this search as if it's a heroic effort, but it seems like it's a little too late.

I hope the family of this young woman will go forward and file a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Dept. or at the very least force a new protocol for handling situations that call for the release of people in the middle of the night with no support.

[dogrob1]

did you check any credit card usage, and any phone calls to any relatives,any other police contacts.job,hospitals, schools,other clubs, resturants that she might frequent? and if she was a victim of foul-play in that area her remains may be lost to the animals or scattered among a large area.And if she was a MURDERER, BANKROBBER, CHILD MOLESTER or DRUG DEALER or WHITE even you would have found her by now. The whole state needs to be re-evaluated on their priorities

[sam]

It's about time. What took so long?

[Lisa Zeimer]

I hope she has family that sues the shinola out of the Sheriff's Dept. Releasing her in such a manner was wanton careless and negligence at its worst.

[Rosee]

For those who think she should have been held...if she had been then you would have been crying racism then too..."you held her because she is black...if she had been white she would have been released.."

She was given access to a phone..she made calls..why didn't her family or friends come to her aid...to pick her up...to make sure she was ok? She could have waited inside the station for her family or friend(s) to pick her up...noone kicked her out into the night.

This woman was a grown, college educated adult..and if her family knew of her having a medical issue..then when she called her grandma to bail her out of her restaurant bill..the grandma should have called the family to handle the situation and they should have been there for her.

Yes, it's distressing that she hasn't been heard from for these past months...but to blame the police because she decided not to wait for someone to come and pick her up...that's not logical.

I hope that the family gets the answers they need to find her and that she comes home safe and sound.

[Detailer]

You commenters might have overlooked the fact that THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THE POLICE HAVE SEARCHED THAT AREA FOR HER..............

[jeff]

Am I the only one who thinks a Sherriffs's dept employee is responsible for her disapperance? They let her go from a substation in a remote location, on foot, in the dead of night? Something's really not adding up here. An attractive girl w/ mental(drugs?) problem was ripe for exploitation.

[jeff]

IS THERE A POSSIBILITY OF ACCOUNTABILITY ON THE PART OF THE SHERIFF'S DEPT. IN THIS CASE? WHERE IS VACA, I MEAN, BACA? IS THE SHERIFF INVESTIGATING THAT SUBSTATION? IS THE SHERIFF DOING ANYTHING IN THIS CASE EXCEPT EMBARKING ON A FRESH COVERUP OR INSTANCE OF INACTION?HUH?NO CCTV IMAGES FROM AROUND THE STATION?DID THEY LET A PERSON W/ MENTAL(DRUG???) ISSUES WALK OUT OF A SHERIFF'S STATION, ALONE, IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, FROM A REMOTE LOCATION? DID SHE LEAVE THEM IN A CAR? WALKING?HUH?

[Joseph W. Walden Jr.]

Fact is Mitrice Richardson's mother did make an effort to pick up her daughter from the LASD Lost Hills station, but was mislead by the officer's on duty when her daughter was to be released.
Mitrice Richardson was actually released more than 1 hour before her mother arrived, 2nd the LASD impounded her vehicle, all of her belongings and moved her to a remote location.
The LASD did everything possible to make Matrice Richardson the perfect victem of foul play, why are you suprise local searches found now trace of Matrice.
Her attacker/abductor has had over 120 days to move or discard Matrice anywhere in this country besides L.A. Calafornia.
I don't care how much you want to support the LASD but the facts are they did everything possible to to destroy this young woman's life and now resolve to constantly backpedalling to avoid accepting responsibility.
It's not a race card, its racism to think a metally ill woman of her stature could possibly fend for herself in that area at that time of night but her life had no value to the members of the LASD and that is the truth in this matter.

[A person of interest]

@ Jeff I have maintained that same theory all along. I'm not sure what time shift change is at the station....I think 10pm and if someone decided to do a little over time for some reason, they would been leaving the same time she was released or been waiting.

I believe something similar happened years ago when Sybil Brand (the old womens county jail in LA) was in business.

[Joseph W. Walden Jr.]

While this grand effort (LASD/LAPD Parade) makes for a great media story it still doesnt excuse the Lost Hills Station officer's complete negligence in handling Mitrice Richardson.
Bi-polar diagnosis aside what did they think would become of a young woman released into a remote area at that time of night, I may read to much into this due to my own personal experiences.
Mitrice would have been at risk of exposure, human and animal predatory attacks and I fear she will not be recovered in the Malibu Canyon area.
Simply this effort is too little too late, the LASD is now in the process of backpeddling to avoid the responsibility of of putting Matrice in harms way.
The search for Matrice actually needs to be expanded to neighboring states, to date no law enforcement agency outside of LAPD is involved.
Meaning if Mitrice has been taken to Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona nobody is searching for her there, and in the time the LASD allowed to pass Mitrice could have been taken anywhere.

[Ronda Hampton]

Joseph W. Walden Jr. - would you be willing to contact me regarding Mitrice. I have actively been involved in her search and would like some of your insights.

Ronda
drrondahampton@yahoo.com
www.findmitrice.info

[hmmmmm]

I THINK SHE IS ALIVE,SOMETHINGS UP....VERY MUCH UP...THEY NEED TO INVESTIGATE EVERYONE! FAMILY MEMBERS, FIRENDS.....C'MON NOW.....DONT PLAY PEOPLE STUPID.......SOMETHINGS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WIERD. I HAVE THIS STRONG FEELING THAT SOMETHIGN SNEAKY IS GOING ON. ANYONE AGREE?

[L K Tucker]

Richardson exhibited behavior consistent with Subliminal Distraction exposure. Although known for forty years, the cubicle was designed to deal with it by 1968, it is believed to cause only a harmless temporary episode of confusion.

When my wife had this episode in 2002 it was a full psychotic break.

Even at the level of harmless episode is is dangerous if the person makes mistakes or fails to appreciate dangerous situations.