Woman’s remains found in Calif. after search that included Vegas

Staff and wire reports

Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010 | 9:43 a.m.

A law enforcement official says human remains found in Malibu earlier this week are those of Mitrice Richardson, a California woman who vanished after being released from sheriff's custody last September. The search for the woman had also extended to Las Vegas.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the findings were scheduled to be announced at a Thursday news conference.

The skull and bones were found Monday near an abandoned marijuana grove in a rugged Santa Monica Mountains area near Malibu.

Richardson vanished after she was released early Sept. 17 at a sheriff's substation in Calabasas for failing to pay a restaurant bill in Malibu.

The confirmation ends a nearly yearlong search for the 25-year-old Los Angeles area woman that spanned from the Malibu mountains to Las Vegas, where authorities recently said people reported spotting Richardson.

At the end of July, Los Angeles law enforcement officials held a joint press conference with Metro Police in Las Vegas to ask for the public's help in locating Richardson and to announce a $25,000 reward for anyone with information about her whereabouts.

According to police, Richardson had allegedly been spotted by a high school friend at the Rio in June. After that sighting, more than 70 tips had poured in to law enforcement agencies about Richardson being in the Las Vegas area.

At the time, police didn't believe Richardson was in any danger but didn't know why she would be in Las Vegas.

Officials from the Los Angeles Police Department admitted it had been a "very tense relationship" with Richardson's family during the investigation.

Richardson's family blamed Los Angeles law enforcement for her disappearance, saying she had been released without any personal belongings in a rural area of Malibu.

Her father, Michael Richardson, filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles law enforcement at the end of July, charging them with a violation of civil rights, wrongful release and gross negligence.