On Sept 17, 2009, Mitrice Richardson, a 24 year-old, All American-type girl, disappeared. There is a lot of controversy over whether the Sheriffs Department was negligent in releasing her in the dead of night, without a ride or someone to pick her up, in an undeveloped area with a lot of hills and brush. Oh yeah, the sheriffs wouldn't give her her car - impounded for some unknown reason - and told her she could leave though - on foot. As of today, June 26,2010, Mitrice has been missing for nine months.
This story haunts me because I almost disappeared like that, in a split second, and like in a movie playing out before me, someone from out of NO WHERE, in the next split second, saved me, literally, physically, saved my life.
I was riding my bike on a deserted street of undeveloped land when a van pulled over to the curb as I was waiting to cross the street. The man in the passenger seat asked me for directions. He looked harmless - chubby with fat cheeks and me, with my Girl Scout and sunday school training, I thought I would help him. As I straddled my bike and tried to think of how best to explain to him he jumped out of the van and ran towards me, grabbed my wrist and started pulling me to the van. I was like WTF is going on!!??
The struggle began as I started jerking back on my arm and digging in my feet trying to breakfree of his gigantic dirty hands. It was like we were in a tug of war. He got me all the way to the van and I stuck my arm straight out and braced it against the side to keep him from pulling me in.
I knew my skinny arm wasn't going to last long but adrenaline is a powerful thing because I felt like I was in a struggle for my life. It wouldn't have been any different if it had been a bobcat or bear or some other beast, I was scared to death and was fighting for my life.
I'm looking at the driver of the van, an old Latino man with gray hair and missing teeth. I'm begging him to help me, to stop his grandson and then it dawns on me that the old man is in on it. Just then, just in time, right before I was beginning to give up hope, a big fist came across from the left and socked fatboy so hard he staggered back and let me loose. He got back in the van and they sped off.
If this man had not stopped and rescued me I would have disappeared, just like that, just like it happens everyday.
1 comments:
I love your blog. I found your blog years back when i was looking for more info on the Shontae Blanche murder. I believe Mitrice was murdered and it was definitely there foul play in Mitrice's death. They said evidence were tampered with etc. I guesss we will never know the truth of what happened to her. R.I.P Mitrice. Also there was another story that touched me and I was wondering if you could do an article and find out more info about Kashmier James, a mother that was killed in front of her then 3 year old daughter in 2010 on Christmas. It's a very sad story and the killers were indeed gang bangers and i wonder did she have any gang ties as the reason for her death or was she a random? I've read in a comment section on latimes that said she was being threaten on facebook by some girl and that the bullet was intended for her etc.
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