Mitrice Richardson Living in Las Vegas? Credible Tips in Teacher's Disappearance
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) Ten months ago Mitrice Richardson walked out of a Los Angeles sheriff's station and mysteriously vanished.
PICTURES: Desperate Search for Missing Teacher
Family and friends of the 25-year-old teacher who suffers from bipolar disorder have had no idea where she could have gone, until - potentially - now.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore says investigators have received numerous tips regarding her whereabouts and have reason to believe Richardson is alive and living in Las Vegas.
Investigators are heading to Las Vegas to look into the 80 possible sightings of Richardson that have been reported and are believed to be credible.
Whitmore, who is headed to Las Vegas Thursday for a news conference, plans to plead with Richardson and the public in hopes locating the missing woman.
His message to Richardson: "You're not in trouble, you're not subject to arrest. We just want to know you're OK. Please contact police or a family member."
Richardson was arrested Sept. 16 after she was unable to pay an $89 bill at Geoffrey's restaurant in Malibu.
According to the Los Angeles Times, in addition to being unable to pay, Richardson was acting "bizarrely and speaking gibberish." Her car was impounded after her arrest because she was believed to be intoxicated.
However, police later released Richardson without a car, cell phone, and purse (which were inside the impounded vehicle) because she appeared rational.
She walked away from the station and was never heard from again. Richardson's mother has sued Los Angeles County, claiming her daughter should have been given a mental-health evaluation and not released in the middle of the night without a car or identification.
Richardson is black, 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. She has brown, curly hair and hazel eyes, and was last seen wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans, police said. According to a flyer made by her family, Richardson has tattoos on her lower abdomen and on the back of her neck.
Police asked anyone with information on her whereabouts to call the LAPD's Missing Persons Unit at (213) 485-5381 or 1-877-LAPD-24-7 after business hours or on weekends.
Complete Coverage of Mitrice Richardson at Crimesider.
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PICTURES: Desperate Search for Missing Teacher