Via Blackvoices:
Mitrice Richardson may have been the victim of California budget cuts. The 24-year-old graduate of Cal State Fullerton has been missing since September, when she had dinner at a Malibu restaurant. When she couldn’t pay the $89 bill, the restaurant called police.
Richardson was arrested. Restaurant patrons and other witnesses said she had been acting strangely. There was only one drink on the bill, but Richardson was telling patrons she was from Mars and speaking gibberish. Authorities later said they found evidence Richardson may have been suffering from bipolar disorder. Nevertheless, because of jail overcrowding, police released Richardson in a remote area. She did not have a purse, a cell phone, car or wallet.
Richardson vanished and has not been heard from since.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D- Los Angeles) called for the FBI’s involvement, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas asked the Sheriff’s Department to review the policies that led to the release of the Cal State Fullerton graduate from the custody of the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s Station shortly after midnight Sept. 17, 2009, without her car, purse or cellphone.
“I’ve been begging. I’ve been pleading. I’ve been asking for all the help I can get,” said Richardson’s father, Michael. “I haven’t gotten anywhere.”
The Richardson family has continued to apply pressure to authorities. They felt that not enough was being done to locate their daughter. Since they began applying pressure, drones have been sent out to search the rugged Malibu hills and volunteers began searching skid row in downtown Los Angeles. A homicide investigation was launched as well.
“We just hope that she’s safe; we don’t want to think anything more than that,” Rhonda Minter, a search volunteer, told the Los Angeles Times. “We just hope that someone is watching over her.”
Police should explain why they would release a young woman who was acting strangely late at night, with no means of catching a bus or even calling anyone to come get her. States like California are now seeing the financial effects of incarcerating people for silly crimes, but they still must behave responsibly. Maybe this young woman should have just been given a ticket for a court appearance and never taken into custody if she couldn’t pay this relatively small dinner bill.
Police are asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to call Los Angeles detectives at 213-486-6900. A $25,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to her.
