A (2:49)

Right.

C (2:49)

And then the hotel key card. Like, I just. It felt like they were trying to throw somebody off.

A (2:54)

Absolutely.

C (2:55)

To me, it felt staged.

A (2:57)

Right. When you step back, it feels deliberate.

C (2:59)

Yeah.

A (3:00)

Whoever left the car wanted to create a story around it, but the real story, like, the real truth about what happened to Zeb is still missing. Okay, now turning to California. Mitrice Richardson's case begins with her release from the Malibu Lost hills station. In 2009. She was arrested for not paying a restaurant bill. Her car was impounded with her phone and wallet inside. And just after midnight, she was released on foot into, basically, a canyon. Right.

C (3:28)

A dark canyon.

A (3:30)

Right. An independent review later said deputies, quote, acted properly, that Mitrice had an option to wait until daylight. But her family never believed that was acceptable.

C (3:41)

Right.

A (3:42)

This is the thing that gets me. It's like, okay, I do understand. She was an adult. She can do whatever she wants. She doesn't have to call her mom before she leaves. Right. But I'm so curious what calls were made in that police station.

C (3:58)

I know. We're gonna get to that, though.

A (4:00)

Okay. Okay. Okay.

C (4:02)

And if you listen to her mother's first call to the station, that, to me, was devastating. When we ran across that. I mean, latice sounds almost like prophetic, like she knows something is going to happen. She's begging them not to release her daughter. And she even said at one point, you know, I'm not worried about her staying there. I'm worried about you guys letting her out.

A (4:24)

Right.

C (4:24)

And so hearing that call now, knowing what came next, it's like her worst fears were realized and the system was warned and it didn't matter.

A (4:33)

Right. It's like she knew it was coming.

C (4:34)

Right.

A (4:35)

Okay. One piece that could answer so many questions is the call log from inside the station. So, like, Mitrice asked to make calls before she left, but to this day, we don't have a full, verified record of who she called or what was said. Imagine how different things would feel if we had a name or a timestamp or even just a statement like, yes, Mitrice called me. Here's what she said. But that record is either incomplete or unavailable. And the silence just leaves a huge gap.

C (5:04)

Yeah. We looked everywhere to try and find that. So if anyone's listening and they're like, oh, I actually know that information, we'd love to hear it.

A (5:13)

Absolutely.

C (5:14)

Because like Sarah said, there are reports that she made phone calls? Did she call someone to come pick her up? Did she call her girlfriend? Did she call her aunt? Those are the questions that we have.

A (5:27)

Right? And speaking of her girlfriend, we. We spent a good chunk of one of the episodes talking about her and their love and their partnership and how much Tessa, like, was such an advocate in that initial period following her disappearance. And I again, we researched and tried to find, just follow ups on did she show up when her body was found and all of this stuff. And I just, I don't really know. There's no, there's no reports of that. And so there's just something in me that really wanted to wrap that around in the writing process of those episodes. And so, so I just, I don't know. My heart is connected to her and I just hope that she is doing okay in the years after all of this, because I can't even imagine, like, where are they supposed to meet that night? Like, just losing your person suddenly just gotta be so shocking.

C (6:19)

Yeah, I remember you asking that. When we were looking through this case, we were looking at the Joffrey's restaurant, which, by the way, we actually drove past recently in Malibu when we were in California. We were like, let's go see it. And it is a beautiful place. But we can't figure out why Mitrice was going to Joffrey's that night in Malibu when she wasn't from that area.

A (6:44)

Right.

C (6:45)

And then of course, the park rangers found Mitrice's remains in Dark Canyon near Montenido. And if you've ever seen that area, you know how remote it is, the steep ravines and there's like brush everywhere and it is pitch black once the sun goes down.

A (7:03)

Right.

C (7:04)

And that makes me wonder, could she have really walked there alone in the dark or did she catch a ride? We talked about this a little bit in the episode and that canyon and the isolation at night, I mean, I'm already scared of the dark. Like, I can't even imagine, you know, what was going on with her. We know that she fell asleep on someone's porch or at least was resting. And that was near where she was found.

A (7:32)

But.

C (7:33)

But she was left vulnerable to who knows what.

A (7:37)

Absolutely unimaginable. So I kind of want to bring it around to just the advocates that have continued their support nonstop for Mitrice, this case and just everything. Obviously her mother, Latice, and then of course, Dr. Rhonda Hampton, who we know is Mitrice's mentor and just turned herself into a relentless advocate. Writing, documenting and demanding action on their behalf.

C (8:03)

Yeah. And, you know, I have to give props to cece woods, who is an independent journalist in Malibu.

A (8:10)

Yes.

C (8:10)

We. We talked about her a lot and shared her interviews. She kept digging when others moved on and asked questions to the sheriff's department that they didn't want to answer. And I. I think she was a huge catalyst as well to keeping Mitrice's story in the news in that area.

A (8:32)

Yeah, absolutely.

C (8:33)

It just reminds me the power of strong women who won't give up the fight. And we've talked about that over every case that we've covered this season.

A (8:41)

Yes. Yeah. Just women who refuse to let injustice stand.

C (8:46)

Yeah.

A (8:47)

Zeb's case and Mitrice's case are obviously very different, but they share the same haunting gaps. The missing body, the staged car, the untraceable page, the mother's warning, the missed call log, the canyon where her remains were found. Both families were left with more questions than answers.

C (9:06)

And both families had to become investigators and advocates and storytellers. Zeb's community kept pushing in Asheville, and Mitrice's mother and Dr. Hampton, Cece woods, kept her name alive in California. We all need people like them in our corner.

A (9:22)

Yeah, absolutely. The world would look so much different. Yeah. All right, guys, well, that's it for this bonus episode of Sequestered. Thank you for joining us as we revisit these cases.

C (9:33)

Don't forget, you can shoot us an email if you have any questions@sequesteredpodmail.com Our goal is always to honor the lives at the center of these cases and to keep asking the questions that still need answers.

A (9:46)

Yeah. And if you've been moved by what you've heard, please take a moment to like and review Sequestered on Apple podcasts and Spotify. It helps more people find these stories and keeps the conversation alive.

C (9:58)

We're so grateful that you're listening. These cases mean the world to us, and we want to tell their stories.

A (10:04)

Until next time, thank you for being a part of this community.

C (10:07)

We'll see you guys soon.

D (10:30)

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