Three years before Mitrice’s arrest, Mel Gibson was arrested for drunk driving on Pacific Coast Highway. An interview with the arresting officer, James Mee, reveals the power wielded by celebrities in Malibu. Would Mitrice’s story have ended differently if she were rich and famous? 

Three years before Mitrice’s arrest, Mel Gibson was arrested for drunk driving on Pacific Coast Highway. An interview with the arresting officer, James Mee, reveals the power wielded by celebrities in Malibu. Would Mitrice’s story have ended differently if she were rich and famous?

Lost Hills investigates the dark side of Malibu, California. Beneath a seductive facade, this city of billionaires, celebrities, and surf bums is hiding something menacing.

On September 16, 2009, 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for failing to pay her bill at a restaurant in Malibu, CA. After being released from Lost Hills Station shortly after midnight, she disappeared. Eleven months later, her naked, skeletal remains were discovered in a canyon some six miles away. 

For nearly 15 years, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Mitrice’s friends and family, and generations of internet sleuths have tried to crack the case. 

To this day, her death remains an unsolved mystery. 

The truth lies in the remote Malibu community where Mitrice was last seen. And now, finally, people are starting to talk.

Hosted by Dana Goodyear (The New Yorker) and produced by Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Show artwork copyright Francesca Gabbiani.

Subscribe to Pushkin plus to hear the whole season early, and ad free.  Find Pushkin plus on the Lost Hills show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm.

Follow us @losthillspod on Twitter and Instagram for a deeper dive into the stories.

Lost Hills investigates the dark side of Malibu, California. Beneath a seductive facade, this city of billionaires, celebrities, and surf bums is hiding something menacing.
On September 16, 2009, 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for failing to pay her bill at a restaurant in Malibu, CA. After being released from Lost Hills Station shortly after midnight, she disappeared. Eleven months later, her naked, skeletal remains were discovered in a canyon some six miles away. 
For nearly 15 years, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Mitrice’s friends and family, and generations of internet sleuths have tried to crack the case. 
To this day, her death remains an unsolved mystery. 
The truth lies in the remote Malibu community where Mitrice was last seen. And now, finally, people are starting to talk.
Hosted by Dana Goodyear (The New Yorker) and produced by Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Show artwork copyright Francesca Gabbiani.
Subscribe to Pushkin plus to hear the whole season early, and ad free.  Find Pushkin plus on the Lost Hills show page in Apple Podcasts or at <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin" data-stringify-link="http://Pushkin.fm" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Pushkin.fm</a>.
Follow us <a href="https://twitter.com/losthillspod?lang=en">@losthillspod</a> on Twitter and Instagram for a deeper dive into the stories.

Lost Hills: Dark Canyon

Bonus: Get Jim

Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing episodes from a new Pushkin true crime podcast, Valley of Shadows. Valley of Shadows digs into a nearly 30-year old secret buried in the California desert. On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy Jon Aujay went for a run in California’s Devil’s Punchbowl park...and never came back. Nearly 30 years later, the mystery surrounding his disappearance has only deepened. Some say Aujay is just another missing hiker, claimed by the inhospitable landscape of the Southern California desert. Some say he took his own life out there. But there’s another theory that many of Aujay’s friends and LASD colleagues are convinced is true—that he was the victim of foul play, and that his own department is covering it up. Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, investigative reporters Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd uncover vestiges of the Wild West in a small California town, where outlaw biker gangs crank out methamphetamine and local cops operate on both sides of the law.

(00:04:48) Find Valley of Shadows wherever you get podcasts. Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus

Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing episodes from a new Pushkin true crime podcast, Valley of Shadows. Valley of Shadows digs into a nearly 30-year old secret buried in the California desert. On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff&rsquo;s Department deputy Jon Aujay went for a run in California&rsquo;s Devil&rsquo;s Punchbowl park...and never came back. Nearly 30 years later, the mystery surrounding his disappearance has only deepened. Some say Aujay is just another missing hiker, claimed by the inhospitable landscape of the Southern California desert. Some say he took his own life out there. But there&rsquo;s another theory that many of Aujay&rsquo;s friends and LASD colleagues are convinced is true&mdash;that he was the victim of foul play, and that his own department is covering it up. Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, investigative reporters Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd uncover vestiges of the Wild West in a small California town, where outlaw biker gangs crank out methamphetamine and local cops operate on both sides of the law.
(00:04:48) <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/valley-of-shadows/id1858046983">Find Valley of Shadows</a> wherever you get podcasts. Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin">Pushkin+</a>. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus

Introducing Valley of Shadows: The Devil’s Punchbowl

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6a953279-9e9c-4606-aa05-b3cf012de2e4/transcript

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department listened to our podcast and now they’re asking us some new questions — and answering some of ours. Are they ready to reopen the investigation into Mitrice’s death? 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department listened to our podcast and now they’re asking us some new questions — and answering some of ours. Are they ready to reopen the investigation into Mitrice’s death?

Important Lost Hills - Dark Canyon Update

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/eb5a6268-5c10-489f-a86c-b225011d498f/transcript

Dana lays out all the evidence, and we await results from forensic testing. We reconnect with Mitrice’s loved ones, as they celebrate what would have been her 39th birthday. 

Dana lays out all the evidence, and we await results from forensic testing. We reconnect with Mitrice’s loved ones, as they celebrate what would have been her 39th birthday.

12. Dig Two Graves

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/65c434b8-08e4-4005-8f0e-b18c01291640/transcript

Bonus: Get Jim

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Lost Hills: Dark Canyon

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