Mitrice Richardson Now Has Been Missing for Over a Month

• Number of Volunteer Searchers Grows as Word Spreads about Woman Arrested in Malibu

BY ANNE SOBLE

There’s something about the saga of Mitrice Richardson that elicits concern from everyone who learns that the 24-year-old, arrested for nonpayment of an $89.51 dinner tab and the subsequent finding of less than an ounce of marijuana in her vehicle on Sept. 16, has not been heard from in over five weeks.
“Why aren’t there posters up everywhere? Why isn’t this on the TV news every night? Why aren’t there photos on the sides of buses?” are some of the questions asked by people when they see volunteers distributing flyers about the honors college graduate with doctoral degree aspirations who may be experiencing debilitating psychological stress or full-fledged mental illness.
When the manager at Geoffrey’s restaurant performed a citizen’s arrest after Richardson attempted to leave the premises without paying, her behavior was described as “crazy.” Staff said she was speaking gibberish and stating that she was from Mars.
After her disappearance, family and friends indicated she was sending undecipherable emails and exhibiting other puzzling behavior a few days prior to the restaurant episode.
Apart from a sighting in the backyard of a Cold Canyon residence just before dawn following her 1:25 a.m. release from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on Sept. 17, Richardson has virtually disappeared.
Although there are frequent reports of sightings, none have produced any leads to her whereabouts. Volunteer searchers spent last Sunday in the Santa Monica and Venice areas, where there were more sightings than in any other area, according to search coordinator Chip Croft.
The growing ranks of volunteers express hope that the missing woman will be found, but concern mounts that the stress of the arrest, the release without funds, alone and on foot, and her current status has pushed her into a crisis state. “She may not know who she is,” Croft said.
“Every lead is being followed up painstakingly,” according to Detective Chuck Knolls from the Los Angeles Police Department, now the lead agency on what is still technically a missing person case because Richardson’s residence is in South Los Angeles. He added that “there is nothing new to report.”
INFORMATION CAMPAIGN
As the searching continues, Richardson’s father Michael, with whom she did not live when growing up, has increased his visibility in an effort to draw public attention to her story.
He has started to appear on programs that are part of the Black Talk Radio Network system of bloggers, Internet radio shows and other independent media, to “take the search for Mitrice national.”
Speaking on a two-hour interview show based in North Carolina last Thursday, the father hammered at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for alleged errors and inconsistencies in their reports.
Richardson was sharply critical of the release of his daughter “who is afraid of the dark” alone, on foot and without funds “into the wilderness” outside the Lost Hills station, while she was in a “troubled state.”
He also came down hard on the mainstream media, which he says did sloppy reporting, even as he dismissed it as not relevant to the black community.
The father noted the discrepancy between the kind of glaring news coverage a missing white student who was vacationing in Aruba received versus that being given to his daughter.
He also said he wants to bring black activist Al Sharpton on board, as he tries to “harness the power of the Internet,” including what is often dubbed the Black Blogosphere.
Richardson added that he tried to enlist the support of Malibu Mayor Andy Stern in his efforts, but he said that Stern only referred him to the sheriff’s department. The Malibu City Council has taken no action concerning the woman’s disappearance.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to Mitrice Richardson’s whereabouts. The supervisors also have asked the LASD to report back on after-hour release policies and procedures for inmates with possible psychological issues.
Information about Richardson can be directed to www.findmitrice.info or Michael Richardson at 310-283-4717, Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031, or LAPD Detective Chuck Knolls at 213-485-2531.