# Remember that coed that vanished after police put her back on street sans car or cellphone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212 "2010-08-14T03:17:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/1 "2010-08-14T03:17:40Z")
Unfortunately, not a happy ending. [Remains found in Malibu Canyon identified as Mitrice Richardson](http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/12/california.remains.found/index.html?hpt=T2) > [@](#): > > Los Angeles, California (CNN) – Skeletal remains found in a remote area of Malibu Canyon on Monday are those of Mitrice Richardson, a California woman who disappeared last year, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said Thursday. > > Richardson, 24, was last seen leaving a sheriff’s station in Malibu after being detained by sheriff’s deputies on a citizen’s arrest complaint made by a restaurant manager in September. > > “We have no indication of a homicide at this point,” Baca said. “I don’t believe that the remains are capable of telling us a story.” > [@](#): > > Mitrice Richardson was taken to the sheriff’s station after she was unable to pay her $89.51 food and drink tab at a Malibu restaurant on the evening of September 16, 2009. A restaurant employee told the 911 dispatcher that she was “sounding crazy.” > > After deputies determined she had no money to pay, the manager lodged a citizen’s arrest complaint against Richardson. Her car was towed, and she was taken to the sheriff’s station. > > Richardson was given a court date and released just after midnight, but her car was still impounded with her cell phone inside it, according to an investigation conducted by an independent commission. > > “Based on my daughter’s mental condition that night, she wasn’t able to fend for herself,” Richardson said. “Mel Gibson gets driven to his car, and Charlie Sheen gets taken to his house.” > > Her family has said the college honors graduate and former beauty queen suffered from mental health issues. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/2 "2010-08-14T03:25:09Z")
on the surface, this sounds appaling. Is there more to the story or really this cut and dried. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/3 "2010-08-14T03:45:45Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > on the surface, this sounds appalling. Is there more to the story or really this cut and dried. If they verify it was not homicide (to the extent they can at this point) it sounds like she had significant pre-existing mental issues, and putting her on the street at midnight sans car or cellphone tipped her over the edge and she started wandering. How she got to where she ended up God only knows. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/4 "2010-08-14T04:43:45Z")
If she had “significant” mental issues and couldn’t take care of herself, giving her the car back might have resulted in some other kind of tragedy. Has anyone explained why her car was impounded in the first place? I’m guessing she had to come up with some cash to spring it, and she didn’t have any. Did she get a phone call on being arrested? There’s a lot of unanswered questions here. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/5 "2010-08-14T05:18:11Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > If she had “significant” mental issues and couldn’t take care of herself, giving her the car back might have resulted in some other kind of tragedy. > > Has anyone explained why her car was impounded in the first place? I’m guessing she had to come up with some cash to spring it, and she didn’t have any. > > Did she get a phone call on being arrested? > > There’s a lot of unanswered questions here. Her mother spoke with the Sheriff that night and told him not to release her daughter without notifying her FIRST, as she debated whether to let her daughter “learn a lesson” by spending the night in jail or going to pick her up. They let Mitrice go at midnight and didn’t bother to call her mother back until after 5AM. Read more about the events of that night here: [What went wrong in Mitrice Richardson case?](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks-20100814,0,7069567.column) They were extremely negligent, and there’s speculation that someone on the force may even have been involved in her death somehow. This case is far from over. So very sad. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/6 "2010-08-14T05:18:23Z")
Sounds like she was acting strangely enough that she should have been brought to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation rather than just turned loose. Very sad. I’m kind of reminded of [the incident where some cops found a victim of Jeffrey Dahmer wandering the streets](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973592,00.html) and returned him to Dahmer so Dahmer could finish killing him. Sometimes even cops become complacent I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Kilmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@Kilmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilmore)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/7 "2010-08-14T06:02:15Z")
Was the mother aware that this girl was having problems like this? Was she wanting the Police to sort it out for her? That is not usually a plan that works out well. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/8 "2010-08-14T06:11:33Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I’m kind of reminded of [the incident where some cops found a victim of Jeffrey Dahmer wandering the streets](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973592,00.html) and returned him to Dahmer so Dahmer could finish killing him. Sometimes even cops become complacent I guess. More likely bigotry than complacency in that case. Homophobia is rampant among police, and according to that article racism may also have been involved. ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/9 "2010-08-14T07:36:42Z")
She could have called for a cab from the police station, and had her mother pay for it when she got home. The cops don’t have to hold a 24 year old’s hand all the way home. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/10 "2010-08-14T07:42:52Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > She could have called for a cab from the police station, and had her mother pay for it when she got home. The cops don’t have to hold a 24 year old’s hand all the way home. Not hold someone who is mentally ill? That is frosty cold. Appropriate considering she probably died of exposure to cold or heat. Before Saint Reagan was our governor, California would have detained a mentally ill person in a facility for the mentally ill. Ronnie eliminated all that bother and expense. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/11 "2010-08-14T09:28:31Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > She could have called for a cab from the police station, and had her mother pay for it when she got home. The cops don’t have to hold a 24 year old’s hand all the way home. That’s the frustrating part of the story for critics of the police. They did everything by the book, and even asked her to stay in the lobby till dawn, but she told them she had friends picking her up. The chorus is “you should have known she was out of her mind” and yet it appears that when she was in the jail she was fairly cogent. She was 24 years old and babbling about Martians, and “number languages”, and soap opera stars giving her instructions via the TV. That’s some serious mental dysfunction, and the fact that her momma thought that was “headstrong” behavior that needed to be taught a lesson vs being institutionalized ASAP is IMO huge part of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/12 "2010-08-14T16:46:27Z")
It’s a shame, yes, but what the hell are her parents doing letting someone like that drive around on her own? She obviously was incapable of functioning independently, so I think there’s multiple culpable parties in this case. Also - Coed? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/13 "2010-08-14T17:00:02Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > It’s a shame, yes, but what the hell are her parents doing letting someone like that drive around on her own? She obviously was incapable of functioning independently, so I think there’s multiple culpable parties in this case. > > Also - Coed? :dubious: Re “coed”, [in looking over the article](http://www.californiality.com/2010/08/mitrice-richardson-black-barbie.html), you’re right, she had graduated by then and was no longer a student. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/14 "2010-08-14T17:55:00Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > > [@Amblydoper](#): > > > > She could have called for a cab from the police station, and had her mother pay for it when she got home. The cops don’t have to hold a 24 year old’s hand all the way home. > > Not hold someone who is mentally ill? That is frosty cold. Appropriate considering she probably died of exposure to cold or heat. > > Before Saint Reagan was our governor, California would have detained a mentally ill person in a facility for the mentally ill. Ronnie eliminated all that bother and expense. Umm cite? I know someone who was detained under 5150 (a risk to himself or others, your basic 48 hour mental health evaluation) here in California several years after Regan died. So cite up. > [@astro](#): > > > [@Amblydoper](#): > > > > She could have called for a cab from the police station, and had her mother pay for it when she got home. The cops don’t have to hold a 24 year old’s hand all the way home. > > That’s the frustrating part of the story for critics of the police. They did everything by the book, and even asked her to stay in the lobby till dawn, but she told them she had friends picking her up. The chorus is “you should have known she was out of her mind” and yet it appears that when she was in the jail she was fairly cogent. > > She was 24 years old and babbling about Martians, and “number languages”, and soap opera stars giving her instructions via the TV. That’s some serious mental dysfunction, and the fact that her momma thought that was “headstrong” behavior that needed to be taught a lesson vs being institutionalized ASAP is IMO huge part of the problem. Hindsight is always 20/20 particularly for critics. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/15 "2010-08-14T18:30:15Z")
> [@astro](#): > > > [@NinjaChick](#): > > > > Coed? :dubious: > > Re “coed”, [in looking over the article](http://www.californiality.com/2010/08/mitrice-richardson-black-barbie.html), you’re right, she had graduated by then and was no longer a student. I’m guessing that isn’t the source of **NinjaChick** ’s arched eyebrow. What’s wrong with “woman”? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/16 "2010-08-14T18:46:19Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > What’s wrong with “woman”? In journalism, “coed” is one of those terms that reveals the sympathies of the author, in this case by suggesting someone who is young and perhaps therefore excusably incapable of properly functioning in the world. Compare when a 19-year-old “teen” is wounded in a shooting versus when a 19-year-old “man” commits armed robbery. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/17 "2010-08-14T19:00:11Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > > [@spark240](#): > > > > What’s wrong with “woman”? > > In journalism, “coed” is one of those terms that reveals the sympathies of the author, in this case by suggesting someone who is young and perhaps therefore excusably incapable of properly functioning in the world. I’m saying that the discussion here ought to be above that level. And even in journalism, isn’t “coed” generally recognized as an outmoded sexist term now? The vast majority of schools are “coeducational” now, and women students outnumber men. Maybe in recognition of their minority status, we should refer to male college students as “coeds,” in that we allow them to be co-educated with the more typical female students. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/18 "2010-08-14T19:03:28Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Before Saint Reagan was our governor, California would have detained a mentally ill person in a facility for the mentally ill. Even today, someone like that is usually 5150ed by cops. [QUOTE=KneadToKnow] In journalism, “coed” is one of those terms that reveals the sympathies of the author, in this case by suggesting someone who is young and perhaps therefore excusably incapable of properly functioning in the world. [/QUOTE] Huh? Since when? As far as I know, “coed” is used by people who think it’s unusual or quaint for a woman to attend college. Otherwise, the word used in journalism is “woman” or “student”: > [@](#): > > #7. Do not use coed to describe a woman. The term stands for coeducational, not for female. Persons who attend school are students. –[University of Minnesota Style Manual](http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/style/language-bias.html) ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/19 "2010-08-14T19:13:13Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > > > Before Saint Reagan was our governor, California would have detained a mentally ill person in a facility for the mentally ill. > > Even today, someone like that is usually 5150ed by cops.Huh? Since when? As far as I know, “coed” is used by people who think it’s unusual or quaint for a woman to attend college. Otherwise, the word used in journalism is “woman” or “student”: > > > [@](#): > > > > #7. Do not use coed to describe a woman. The term stands for coeducational, not for female. Persons who attend school are students. > > –[University of Minnesota Style Manual](http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/style/language-bias.html) Exactly. Even if used “properly”, it strikes me as saying that the writer is either old (and has made no effort to keep up with society), or the writer feels that the important identifier is that the person being described isn’t _really_ a student, but is basically a woman playing make-believe until she finds a proper ladylike role in life. I’m not saying that’s what **astro** thinks, but that’s generally my impression when I see the term used, and I don’t think I’m in the minority in that I find it vaguely offensive. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212/20 "2010-08-14T19:15:22Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Compare when a 19-year-old “teen” is wounded in a shooting versus when a 19-year-old “man” commits armed robbery. In journalism, “man” is used for any male 18 or over. This is because in most states, 18 is the age of majority. It’s a technical/legal usage–not one that conveys the attitude of the writer. The expression “19-year-old teen” is redundant, and probably only found in porn spam subject lines. No editor would allow it to get to press. Underage persons might be referred to as “teen” _alone_, without an age, but also as “boy,” “girl,” “juvenile,” “youth,” etc. This is to make clear that the person is not of age. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-that-coed-that-vanished-after-police-put-her-back-on-street-sans-car-or-cellphone/550212.md?page=2)