REACT Volunteers to Aid with Next Search for Mitrice Richardson

• LASD Questions Connection of Mural to Case But Family Remains Convinced There Is a Tie

BY ANNE SOBLE

Another volunteer field search is planned for Saturday in the area of Calabasas where Mitrice Richardson is believed to have wandered or been driven on the morning of Sept. 17, 2009, when she was released just after midnight from the custody of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station alone, on foot, and without her wallet and cell phone, which deputies had left behind in her car impounded in Malibu.

A team from REACT, Radio Emergency Associated Communication Teams,  which strives to establish a monitoring network of trained volunteer citizen-based communicators, is going to participate in the June 26 effort.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department continues to assert that Richardson’s release followed protocol, but Richardson’s mother, Latice Sutton, contends that the LASD acted negligently because witnesses indicated that her daughter was exhibiting signs of mental illness and different procedures exist for those circumstances.

Richardson, 24 at the time, had been transported to Lost Hills for booking after Geoffrey’s restaurant personnel asked the station to pick her up for non-payment of an $89 dinner tab. Deputies subsequently found a small amount of marijuana in her vehicle.

Family members claim that an LASD video of Richardson in the Lost Hills booking cage shows her in a state of mental stress, unable to complete telephone calls and curling up on the floor in a fetal position. However, the jailer has described her as lucid and coherent and said she engaged Richardson in conversation about music and other topics.

MURAL INVESTIGATION

A large-scale field search on the weekend of June 5 and 6 did not uncover any new clues to Richardson’s whereabouts, but searchers stumbled upon a concrete culvert wall covered with obscene graffiti about African-American women in a remote area. The artwork featured young females with a natural or Fro hairstyle similar to that of Richardson when she disappeared.

The mural uses bold, bright colors and, whether it was executed by one or more individuals, appears to have been an effort that took time and resources.

Paintbrushes and paint can lids at the scene had not yet dried, leading to conjecture that the mural might have been painted the day before the well-publicized search was set to begin.

Family members say they believe the perpetrator(s) wanted the mural to be found during the search. The location of the search area had received widespread media coverage.

They have asked that samples of fecal matter that were conspicuous at the site undergo DNA testing in case that could shed light on who was involved.

This inner circle also asserts there are so many references to specific details of the Richardson case, even less publicized ones, that whoever executed the mural appears to be very familiar with all aspects of the missing woman’s saga.

And, because it may be axiomatic that most taggers prefer to work in areas where their efforts will be seen by a large audience, family members say that they do not understand how anyone could not think the graffiti is connected to Richardson’s disappearance because of the remoteness of its location.

Although all of the graffiti disturbs Richardson’s mother, Latice Sutton singles out a depiction of a woman in a wheelchair, making what could be construed to be a raised thumb or hitchhiking gesture. She asks whether this might be a clue to what happened to the young woman in the early hours of Sept. 17.

Sutton is adamant that the mural is not “just vandalism” as many in the LASD maintain. She has said, “This is a message. Someone is trying to tell me something,” but what that might be has not been determined.

The mural has been shown to several psychologists and psychiatrists who say it is possible to see a connection between the graphics and aspects of Richardson case. The combination of elements exceeds coincidental levels.

However, LASD Lt. Michael Rosson, who is overseeing the investigation, told Malibu Surfside News this week, “Regarding the mural, there is additional info that might change [those professionals’] opinion in this case.”

Rosson said, “We have located information about like murals by the same artist/vandal, which were painted in the city of L.A.  prior to Mitrice Richardson’s disappearance. But our attempts to locate the suspect continue.”

Rosson has told The News that photos of the mural and evidence from the location, including potential DNA samples, are being analyzed, but has not provided further specifics.

Information and inquiries about the Mitrice Richardson case can be relayed to the LASD’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.

 A $25,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the missing woman’s whereabouts or the person(s) responsible for her disappearance.