Mitrice Richardson Sightings Reported

Los Angeles - Numerous people in South Los Angeles have claimed to have seen a woman who went missing a month ago after being released from a sheriff's station in Malibu, a community activist said this weekend.

Mitrice Richardson, 24, of South Los Angeles, was arrested Sept. 16 at Geoffrey's restaurant in Malibu, where she was acting strangely and was unable to pay her $89 bill.

The part-time teacher and Cal State Fullerton graduate was booked and then released about 1:25 a.m. the next day, according to the sheriff's department. Her 1990 Honda Civic was impounded, and she walked away from the station with no cell phone.

Her family has criticized authorities for letting the woman go when she appeared to be intoxicated and having mental problems.

But sheriff's officials have said she passed a sobriety test and they had no reason to hold her.

Two searches were conducted in the area stretching from Calabasas to the coast over consecutive weekends, but Richardson was not found, despite reports that she had been spotted everywhere from Los Angeles to Orange County and as far away as San Jose.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is offering a $10,000 reward for information on Richardson's whereabouts.

Over the past few evenings, several South Los Angeles residents have said they saw Richardson, said Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable.

They said they saw her at Manchester Avenue and Denker Street, Manchester and Western avenues and Florence and Western avenues, he said.

However, none of those reports were relayed to authorities, said Officer Bruce Borihanh of the LAPD Media Relations Section.

"That's the problem," Hutchinson said. "People are seeing her and no one has had the presence of mind to notify authorities."

Hutchinson said several community members called a local radio show also claiming to have seen Richardson.

"We believe she may still be in the area," he said.

Richardson is black, 5 feet 5 inches and about 125 pounds with tattoos on her lower abdomen and behind her neck. She was last seen wearing a brown Bob Marley T-shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts was asked to call Los Angeles police at (213) 485-2531. The family also has a web site set up at findmitrice.info.

Hutchinson said he will be at Florence and Western avenues at 11 a.m. Sunday to pass out pictures of Richardson and urge area residents to immediately alert authorities if they think they see the missing woman.