The anniversary of the disappearance of Mitrice Richardson is always challenging emotionally and mentally.  It has been 16 years and the absence of her life and all her potential remain emotionally overwhelming. The quest for justice has long been mentally draining; always trying to imagine ways to compel law enforcement to earnestly work on solving her case has been met with pushback, threats and most recently outright ignoring requests for updates on her case.

This year is even more challenging as, within the last week, came the announcement of the passing of Mitrice’s mother Latice Sutton.  That Latice Sutton passed away without resolution to the disappearance and death of her daughter is so very unsettling and the only solace is in knowing that Latice’s religious conviction was such that she spoke about being reunited with her daughter someday.

I don’t know where to go from here and often feel helpless against a system of law enforcement that appears to have no interest in solving Mitrice Richardson case. All I can do is continue to honor her in the hopes that someday someone will come forward with information to help bring her killer to justice. In the meantime, I manage the Find Mitrice Richardson Facebook page, monitor all podcasts that cover her story and reach out to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department for updates on her case.

I continue my non-profit work, REACH for Mental Health Awareness, which assists families in the search for their missing loved ones who are in a mental health crisis. It has been such an honor to work with families to ensure that they have all the needed information to search for their loved ones.  It has also been a pleasure working with wonderful volunteers who, in a moment’s notice, are working diligently to provide information to families to assist in finding their missing loved ones.

Inspired by Mitrice and other missing individuals I have been touched by, I began writing a book series, The Skool Kids, a book series which is aimed addressing safety issues for children.  The first book of the serious, Amber Goes Missing, was published in 2023 and the second in the series “Mitrice Rides the Bus Alone” will be out very shortly.

This upcoming weekend, September 20, 2025, the third annual clothing drive, Mitrice’s Closet, will take place in Diamond Bar, CA.  The clothing donations will benefit the Pomona Valley Pride Center, which houses a gender-neutral clothing closet where the focus is on providing garments to anyone in need at no cost. The clothing drive was on my mind for quite some time as the thought of Mitrice being found naked led me to thoughts of how important a basic necessity, such as clothing, was to bring dignity to an individual.

If you know anything about the disappearance and death of Mitrice Richardson please come forward. Her case remains an open death investigation and there are no leads in her case.

Email: drrondahampton@yahoo.com