Los Angeles County increases reward to $25,000 for information in decades-old death of Mitrice Richardson

Los Angeles County has increased a reward to $25,000 for information that would help solve the mysterious case of 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson, who disappeared in 2009 after being released from sheriff’s custody and was found dead 11 months later in Malibu Canyon.

In August, the county Board of Supervisors reestablished a reward of $20,000 in the Richardson case.

The Cal State Fullerton graduate vanished without trace after leaving the Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station around midnight on Sep. 17, 2009. Earlier that evening, Richardson was dining at Geoffrey’s in Malibu, where she displayed strange behavior and failed to pay an $89 tab, according to guests and staff.

Richardson’s behavior at the restaurant was never included in police reports. But it was later found she had bipolar disorder and may have been experiencing a mental breakdown and trouble sleeping, according to detectives.

She was given the choice to remain voluntarily at the station until daylight hours or when transportation arrived, according to a sheriff report. Opting to leave, Richardson was released without any personal belongings — her wallet and phone were inside her impounded Honda Civic, where it appeared she had been living.

Her release ignited anguish among family members, who believed a mental evaluation or psychiatric hold should have been required. But a report by the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review concluded 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 freedom,� according to the report.

Months of searching and waiting culminated in a grim discovery in August 2010 when her skeletal remains were discovered in Malibu Canyon. Dental records later confirmed the remains belonged to Richardson. While her death has not been ruled a homicide, her family has insisted in the past that she was a victim of foul play.

“One thing I know about my daughter — she is not a nature young lady,� her mother, Lattice Sutton, told The Times in 2010. “She does not like bugs in bushes. On her own, that is not a place she would wander up to. I have stated before that my daughter was murdered.�

The family reached a $900,000 settlement with the county in 2011 after both parents filed lawsuits against the department in connection to Richardson’s death. But questions about what happened to Richardson are yet to be answered.

In 2009, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors offered a $10,000 reward for information about Richardson’s whereabouts. The reward money was reestablished after her body was discovered in 2010. The amount also increased in 2021 and 2022.

Police ask anyone with information on the case to call the L.A. Police Department at (213) 486-6900 or the sheriff’s department at (323) 890-5500.