On the third season of Hell and Gone, true crime author and private investigator Catherine Townsend dives into the mysterious disappearance of Mitrice Richardson from Malibu, California. On September 16, 2009, 24-year-old Mitrice was arrested for acting oddly at a restaurant called Geoffrey’s. She was taken to the Lost Hills sheriff station in a very remote area of the mountains; they released her at 12:15 in the morning into the pitch black of the night, with no money, no cell phone, and no way home. Mitrice was never seen alive again. On this episode, Catherine finds out a little more about Mitrice and the strange day she had before she vanished.
Mitrice is described as “smart as a whip,” friendly and polite, very compassionate, and hard-working. She was interning with a psychologist’s office, looking at graduate schools, and working at a clerical office as well as a go-go dancer on Fridays at an LGBT club. Catherine says the story of her disappearance makes it seem like she was a troubled kid on the streets, or a suicidal drug addict, but nothing could be further from the truth; Mitrice had a loving family and lots of friends. But about a week before she vanished, she posted some strange and disturbing things on her social media pages. A day before she disappeared, she left her clerical job for lunch and never came back – something that was extremely out of character. And when she went to Geoffrey’s restaurant, her behavior caused several of the staff to take note.
The valet at the restaurant said she went through his CD collection and asked him if he was a music fan, then said something about avenging the death of Michael Jackson. With the hostess, she seemed distracted, not responding to her greetings. She ordered her meal and ate alone, but then joined a party of seven nearby, telling them about the language of numbers. Though everyone thought she was “off,” she was friendly and polite; the hostess says she talked to all of them “as if we were old friends.” But then Mitrice didn’t pay her bill. Her grandmother tried to pay her bill over the phone, but they weren’t able to process payment without a signature, so the manager called the police. Mitrice’s mother called the station asking if they would be releasing her that night so she could come pick her up, saying eerily that she didn’t “want to get a call in the morning” about finding her “with her head chopped off or something.” But Mitrice never made it home. Listen to the episode for more about Mitrice’s disappearance, and the unusual circumstances that made Catherine notice her story, on Hell and Gone.
If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.
Photo: Getty Images