The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office believes there have been "credible sightings" of Mitrice Richardson in Las Vegas. The Cal State Fullerton graduate has been missing since September 2009 when she was released from police custody in a remote area without car keys, a wallet or cellphone.
Richardson, who may be bipolar, was arrested for failing to pay an $89 bill at a Malibu restaurant. Witnesses said she was acting odd, despite having only one drink on her bill, telling staff and patrons she was from Mars and speaking gibberish.
After her arrest, Richardson, 25, was released from a remote substation without a purse, cell phone or car and vanished.
"You're not in trouble, you're not subject to arrest. We just want to know you're OK," Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said in a plea to the woman. "Please contact police or a family member."
Amid criticism from Mitrice's father, Michael, police in Los Angeles County have conducted one of the biggest missing persons searches ever. They used drones to search the rugged Malibu hillside. Rep. Maxine Waters has requested the FBI's involvement because she said Mitrice Richardson's civil rights may have been violated.
Both Mitrice's mother and father have filed suit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office.
Michael Richardson said police told them there may have been up to 80 sightings of the woman.
"They wouldn't be doing this if they didn't believe they had credible information of her whereabouts. They want to prove or disprove beyond a shadow of a doubt that these sightings are indeed fact or indeed not fact," Whitmore told the Los Angeles Times.
On his website, Richardson said he was on a plane to Las Vegas and believes he may have spotted his daughter there during a search in January.
Mitrice's father also said he spoke to Los Angeles police when he returned and drew a map of the area but felt they "brushed it off as if it was just probably my imagination," he wrote on his website.
According to reports, a former friend of Mitrice's spotted her at the Rio Las Vegas Hotel and Casino last month. The man tried to speak to Mitrice but she ignored him. Michael Richardson said on his website that the person who spotted Mitirice was a childhood friend who escorted her to a junior prom and knew her from church.
"The woman turned around and looked as if she didn't know him and then looked at him again," family friend Rhonda Hampton told CNN. "Then she ran off with some woman."
Richardson said he's holding out hope that this is his daughter. Let's hope that it is Mitrice so that her family may bring her to safety and help her regain a level of health and normalcy in her life.
23-July-10 - A child pyromaniac is suspected of murdering his mother and siblings, setting fire to his home, and then slitting his own throat with a razor.
23-July-10 - A child pyromaniac is suspected of murdering his mother and siblings, setting fire to his home, and then slitting his own throat with a razor.
22-July-10 - Ieshuh Griffin is a legislative candidate from Wisconsin who seems willing to do whatever it takes to get elected. In the five words that candidates are allowed to put on the ballot to describe themselves, Griffin put the phrase, "Not the white man's b*tch."
21-July-10 - DeFarra Gaymon, a father of four and the CEO of Credit Union of Atlanta, was shot to death in a Newark, N.J. park known for male prostitution.
20-July-10 - Snoop Dogg and his wife revealed to People Magazine that the discovery that their then-6-year-old daughter, Cori, had lupus helped bring their family closer.
20-July-10 - Gangsta-rapper-turned-actor Ice-T was reportedly pulled over by New York City police officers early on Tuesday for driving without a seat belt.
14-July-10 - An Iowa Tea Party group recently caused an uproar by creating a billboard that compares President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin.
14-July-10 - Cad-about-town Tiki Barber has been hit with a $1-million lawsuit by a fitness company that has rendered him "worthless overnight" as its spokesperson, because he cheated on his pregnant wife.
14-July-10 - Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly (pictured) and New York Post columnist Kirsten Powers went at it recently regarding charges from a former Justice Department lawyer who claims that civil rights cases in which whites are the victims are ignored.
13-July-10 - A criminal investigation should be opened for two officers who Tasered and pepper-sprayed a 57-year-old Georgia woman who called police to report a prowler.
13-July-10 - Aimee L. Sword, 36, pled guilty to having sex with the biological son she gave up for adoption, whom she later tracked down on the Internet via Facebook.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office believes there have been "credible sightings" of Mitrice Richardson in Las Vegas. The Cal State Fullerton graduate has been missing since September 2009 when she was released from police custody in a remote area without car keys, a wallet or cellphone.