![Mitricex390_4](https://www.advocate.com/media-library/mitricex390-4.jpg?id=32722619&width=1200&height=876)
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
The skeletal remains found Monday in Malibu Canyon in Los Angeles were identified as those of Mitrice Richardson, a 24-year-old lesbian who has been missing for nearly a year.
Richardson's mother, Latice Sutton, was notified by the Los Angeles coroner's office Thursday morning, CNN reports. The remains and a set of women's clothing were found by park rangers after months of searching for Richardson turned up no results.
Richardson went missing September 17 and was last reportedly sighted approximately 2-1/2 miles from where her body was found. The site is located about eight miles southeast from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's station in Calabasas, Calif., where Richardson was released from police custody on the night she disappeared. She was arrested hours earlier for failing to pay an $89 restaurant bill and possessing a small amount of marijuana. When she was released, her car, which contained her cell phone and purse, was impounded.
The news comes a week after several people, including an old high school friend, reported sightings of Richardson in Las Vegas. However, those sightings were never confirmed by investigators.
Update:
Los Angeles County sheriff Lee Baca expressed his condolences to Richardson's family, followed by a barrage of questions from reporters causing him to storm away from a press conference confirming the details of her death.
"Life is fragile, and the circumstances of this case are tragic," Baca said at the beginning of the press conference.
Baca said the call to take Richardson into custody went out to the sheriff's station after the owner of the restaurant made a citizen's arrest. Despite allegations that the sheriff's deputies who arrested and processed Richardson were in the wrong, Baca would not back down, and he defended his department.
"The deputies acted properly, but that doesn't mean we didn't do something or couldn't do more," he said, adding, "The deputies involved feel as terrible as I do."
A spokesman from the coroner's office said homicide investigators are looking into the cause of death. When questions of why the news media knew that the coroner had identified Richardson's body before her father was made aware, the spokesman said the information was leaked by someone involved with the family. He apologized and said it was against the office's policy to release that information without first notifying key family members.
Sheriff's department spokesman Steve Whitmore also said the remains were fond eight miles away from the Malibu/Lost Hills station and not 20 miles, which was earlier reported.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
After 20 years, and after tonight, Obama will no longer be the Democrats' top star
August 20 2024 12:28 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Dannii Minogue is proud to embrace her status as a gay icon
September 05 2024 6:09 PM
JD Vance lies about Tim Walz and trans kids while courting the far right
September 05 2024 6:04 PM
The Runway of Dreams Foundation to revolutionize fashion with accessible design at NYFW
September 05 2024 5:48 PM
Sade's first new song in years will grace trans-focused album and honor her son
September 05 2024 3:37 PM
Mike Rogers is the anti-LGBTQ+ extremist running for U.S. Senate in Michigan
September 05 2024 3:32 PM
Judge partially halts Idaho’s anti-trans care law
September 05 2024 2:30 PM
Female couples are helping to keep Portland queer
September 05 2024 1:27 PM
How 'Skincare' tackles women's aging, consent, and othering a queer-coded Latino
September 04 2024 8:00 PM
Here are the 25 transgender Americans lost to violence so far this year
September 04 2024 3:35 PM
Ben Platt marries Noah Galvin in New York celebration
September 04 2024 3:15 PM
53 years ago, Jack Baker and Michael McConnell became the first same-sex couple to wed
September 04 2024 2:27 PM