Home»Father of missing California woman concerned about investigation
Father of missing California woman concerned about investigation
Page Last Updated: Thursday July 29, 2010 5:57pm PDT
Detectives from Los Angeles will be in Las Vegas throughout the weekend looking for a missing woman.
25-year-old Mitrice Richardson was last seen ten months ago in the Malibu area. Now, police have reason to believe she’s come to Nevada.
However, her father believes the effort on behalf of police is too little, too late.
“I wear something everyday. Everyday.”
Michael Richardson says, as a reminder, he wears a picture of his only child around his neck and on a hat. His daughter, Mitrice, has now been missing for nearly a year.
“And if no one bad has her, she certainly can't be in her right frame of mind.”
Mitrice vanished last September after being released from a Malibu police station. Officers say she’d been picked up on a misdemeanor charge of not paying her bill at an area restaurant.
But family members say the girl is bipolar and should have been evaluated by a medical professional before she was let go.
Now, her father is in Las Vegas, hoping his daughter is as well.
Denise Rosch: Do you think there's a reason she doesn't want to be found?
“Well you know what my speculation is? If we can find her and she says I want to do my own thing, you might not approve of what I might want to do, we all go back to normal living okay? But right now, based on the information we have... I'm skeptical that's the case.”
Detectives are now asking for the public’s help. Officers from the LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff’s Office are in town following up on a credible sighting here in Las Vegas.
“This is the first lead in the ten months we've been doing this that we are unable to show it is not a good lead,” says Capt. Kevin McClure.
Police say that sighting was in late June when a childhood friend of Mitrice spotted her at the Rio Hotel. While L.A. detectives say they've been here ever since following that lead, Mitrice's dad doesn't buy it.
He’s now filed a lawsuit alleging gross negligence on the part of L.A. officers.
“I don't know what they have because they liars.”
Counters Captain David Smith of the L.A. Sheriff's Department, “We don't concern ourselves with lawsuits. We are looking for a needle in a haystack. There are millions of people up here. We now need more eyes and more help from the public. That's why we're doing it now.”
But while the tension continues to build, both sides agree that the main goal is to find Mitrice and answer the question just where has she been for ten long months?
Police say Mitrice Richardson was not acting irrational when she was released from jail, and they had no reason to believe she was suffering from a mental disorder.
Although detectives don't believe she's in any danger, they are urging Mitrice to contact her family to let them know she's alright.
COMMENTS
I LIVE IN LAS VEGAS,THIS PLACE IS RUTHLESS ALL KINDS OF TERRIBLE THINGS HAPPEN HERE, YOU HAVE TO EYES IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD AND WATCH THE PEOPLE YOU ASSOCIATE WITH. I HOPE THIS FATHER FINDS HIS DAUGHTER AND BRINGS HER HOME SAFELY. MAYBE HE SHOULD GOT HER A MEDICAL BRACELET, BUT HE DIDNT SO GET OVER IT.JUST PRAY SHE GETS BACK TO DAD SAFELY. STOP JUDGING. ITS NO ONES FAULT..
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Home»Father of missing California woman concerned about investigation
POPOG P.
July 29, 2010 10:25pm PDT
Mark as Offensive
How is the police suppose to know when someone is bipolar. This lady should of call someone when released from jail, it is not the responsibility of the police to get you a ride after release. If this father was concerned about his adult daughter and knew she was a danger to the public, he should of got her a medical bracelet to inform people, medical personnel and the police she has a mental illness.