She was arrested over an $89 restaurant bill. Eleven months later, her skeletal remains were found in a remote Malibu canyon. Her name was Mitrice Richardson. On September 16, 2009, the 24-year-old Cal State Fullerton graduate went to Geoffrey’s restaurant in Malibu. She couldn't pay her $89 dinner bill. Restaurant employees also reported that she was behaving strangely and making unusual statements. Sheriff's deputies were called, and Richardson was arrested on suspicion of failing to pay the bill and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Her car was impounded. Her purse, cellphone and other belongings were left inside it. Then, shortly after midnight on September 17, Richardson was released from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station. She had no car. No cellphone. No wallet. No money. Her mother had actually called the station after learning of the arrest and offered to drive through the night to pick her daughter up. According to later reporting, that information was not passed to the watch commander. Richardson was offered the opportunity to remain at the station voluntarily until morning. She left. About six hours later, a homeowner in Monte Nido reported seeing a woman matching Richardson's description in his backyard. She told him she was "resting." It was the last confirmed sighting of her. Then she disappeared. For almost a year, investigators searched Malibu Canyon and surrounding areas. On August 9, 2010, park rangers discovered human remains in a remote area of Dark Canyon. They were identified as Mitrice Richardson. She had been missing for nearly 11 months. And that's where the case becomes even more complicated. The Los Angeles County coroner could not determine how Richardson died. Sheriff's officials said they found no evidence establishing homicide and did not believe foul play had been proven. But the case was never resolved as a natural or accidental death either. Her cause and manner of death remain undetermined. Her family questioned how she could have been released into the night without her belongings, particularly given the behavior witnesses had described before her arrest. There were also serious questions about the handling of her remains after they were discovered. Coroner's officials said deputies had moved portions of the remains without permission, potentially compromising the examination. In 2011, Richardson's family reached a $900,000 settlement with Los Angeles County over claims involving negligence and civil-rights violations connected to the handling of her case. Then, in 2017, the California Attorney General's investigation concluded that there wasn't enough evidence to bring criminal charges against the sheriff's deputies over Richardson's disappearance and death. So officially, no one was criminally charged in connection with Mitrice Richardson's death. But the questions surrounding her final hours have never completely disappeared. A young woman was taken into custody after an $89 dinner bill. She walked out of a sheriff's station in the middle of the night without her car, phone or wallet. Eleven months later, her remains were found in a remote canyon. And more than a decade later, authorities still cannot say exactly how she died. Her name was Mitrice richardson