Young woman's disappearance baffles police, family

In Los Angeles county, the sheriff's department is looking for a young woman who has been reported missing in what's a very unusual case.

Sheriff's deputies looking for the young woman are the very ones who saw her last.
A beauty contestant, an honor student and now a missing person, Mitrice Richardson walked out of a Los Angeles county sheriff's office and into a mystery that continues to baffle investigators.

Last week, Richardson entered an exclusive Malibu restaurant alone and was later arrested after she couldn't pay her $89 bill. Management says the young woman looked sober, but her behavior was described as unusual.

In her car, police found a small amount of marijuana.

Stephen R. Whitmore, the senior media adviser for the county of Los Angeles sheriff's department said, "we cited her for that and then we took her to the station here." The Lost Hills sheriff station is in a remote industrial area. Richardson was booked, then released at 1:00 am.

Sheriffs say she was offered a bed for the night because her car was impounded and she didn't have any money. After Richardson made a few phone calls, she simply walked away. The sheriff's department says they couldn't force her to stay.

"I know she's scared and I feel her fear, and I'm angry because it didn't have to happen. It didn't have to happen," said Richardson's mom, Latice Sutton.

Richardson's family gathered this week outside the sheriffs department to demand answers. Why would a young woman be left alone to walk into the night in the middle of nowhere?

"If Mitrice Richardson's name was Spears or Lohan, they would never have let her walk out by herself. They would have escorted her home," family attorney Leo Terrell said. "They would have given her the keys to her car. They would have given her an escort. It's a double standard. You draw your own conclusion."

Among the swirling questions in this case, one thing is certain, Mitrice Richardson was last seen leaving this sheriffs substation last week. It was the last confirmed sighting of the 24-year-old.

She was not intoxicated and she was not disoriented. The LA county sheriff's office not only did everything procedurally correct, but also morally correct.

A graduate of Cal State Fullerton, Richardson has no criminal history and was on track to become a substitute teacher.

The sheriff's department says they'll launch another expansive search.

A hunt for clues as authorities try to figure out how a beautiful young woman could simply vanish into the night outside a sheriff's station.