Bones Identified as Mitrice Richardson's

UPDATE: The skull and other bones discovered in a Malibu Canyon ravine earlier this week have been identified as the remains of Mitrice Richardson, 24, who had disappeared near the area in September, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

The bones were discovered as state rangers searched an abandoned marijuana farm Monday afternoon in the Monte Nido area. 

The cause of death was being "deferred" and there are no "obvious" signs of foul play, said Ed Winter, assistant chief coroner for L.A. County.

Until Wednesday, Richardson's parents were hopeful that their daughter was still alive.

"We're going to remain hopeful, prayerful and steadfast," father Michael Richardson said Wednesday morning on radio station KJLH-FM.

Richardson was arrested at Geoffrey's restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on Sept. 16 after being unable to pay her $89 dinner bill.

She was released from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station shortly after midnight, without her car, which had been impounded, or a cell phone or purse. People reported seeing her three times in the canyon area early that morning, but after that, she vanished.

Reports of Richardson sightings in Las Vegas in June did not yield anything conclusive.

Her family said Richardson, a former beauty pageant contestant and an honors graduate in psychology from Cal State Fullerton, suffered from mental health issues and should have been kept at the sheriff's station until a relative arrived to pick her up.

The family has sued the county and the sheriff's department over the matter.

"No one wants her home more than me," mother Latice Sutton said at a news conference outside the L.A. County Coroner's office Tuesday evening.

A campaign called "Bring Mitrice Home" had been circulating the Web a few months after she disappeared.

After the discovery of the skeletal remains, Michael Richardson was quoted on that website saying: "Of course this is an uncomfortable piece of information. However, I will remain positive. Although I don't want to believe these remains belong to Mitrice, they in fact belong to someone. No matter the outcome of these findings, they will bring closure to someone's family. I will continue to pray...We have come too far to start falling apart now."

When news trickled out that bones had been discovered, two families rushed to find out if they belonged to their missing loved ones.

One was the Sutton-Richardson family. The other was the Perrymans. Timothy Perryman disappeared six years ago while hiking in the area.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will hold a news conference Thursday morning. Patch will bring you more details as they become available.