1 00:00:15,066 --> 00:00:15,506 Speaker 1: Pushkin. 2 00:00:23,336 --> 00:00:26,636 Speaker 2: Dark Canyon is a narrow slot canyon that cuts a 3 00:00:26,696 --> 00:00:30,456 Speaker 2: jagged line from the top of Paiuma Road down toward Montanito. 4 00:00:31,596 --> 00:00:35,446 Speaker 2: It's choked with poison oak and brush and surrounded on 5 00:00:35,546 --> 00:00:39,406 Speaker 2: three sides by canyon walls at least a thousand feet high. 6 00:00:40,736 --> 00:00:44,806 Speaker 2: The terrain all around it is sunny, breezy scrubland, but 7 00:00:44,846 --> 00:00:49,266 Speaker 2: the canyon itself is cold and dark and almost impenetrable. 8 00:00:52,106 --> 00:00:54,306 Speaker 2: So how did Mitrice get to where she was found 9 00:00:54,366 --> 00:00:59,626 Speaker 2: in Dark Canyon? Here are some possibilities. Mitrice entered Dark 10 00:00:59,646 --> 00:01:03,406 Speaker 2: Canyon from the bottom. Mitrice entered Dark Canyon from the top. 11 00:01:04,226 --> 00:01:08,446 Speaker 2: Mitrice entered Dark Canyon from the porn ranch. Mitrice was alone. 12 00:01:09,166 --> 00:01:13,846 Speaker 2: Mitrice was not alone. My truce was alive. My truce 13 00:01:13,886 --> 00:01:18,856 Speaker 2: was not. If we're going to figure this out, it'll 14 00:01:18,876 --> 00:01:24,636 Speaker 2: be by process of elimination. We tried going up Dark 15 00:01:24,676 --> 00:01:29,976 Speaker 2: Canyon from the bottom a few different times. The remain 16 00:01:30,026 --> 00:01:32,246 Speaker 2: site is not even a mile up from the entry 17 00:01:32,286 --> 00:01:37,026 Speaker 2: point on the Backbone Trail. But it is incredibly slow going. 18 00:01:39,946 --> 00:01:44,356 Speaker 3: It's hours of hiking and traversing this stream bed back 19 00:01:44,416 --> 00:01:46,676 Speaker 3: and forth, I think, to get up. 20 00:01:46,576 --> 00:01:52,216 Speaker 2: To where she was. When I went, it was after 21 00:01:52,256 --> 00:01:54,746 Speaker 2: a winter of heavy rain, and the water was gushing. 22 00:01:56,106 --> 00:02:00,566 Speaker 3: Even if it was mostly dry in the actual drainage, 23 00:02:00,646 --> 00:02:04,246 Speaker 3: you would be scrambling over boulders and rocks, and you'd 24 00:02:04,286 --> 00:02:06,946 Speaker 3: have to be really motivated to do that. 25 00:02:08,406 --> 00:02:16,586 Speaker 2: Why would you do that? Can we go that way? Haley, 26 00:02:16,726 --> 00:02:19,946 Speaker 2: my reporting partner, made another attempt during the dry month 27 00:02:19,986 --> 00:02:23,196 Speaker 2: of July. She bushwhacked up the creek bed for two 28 00:02:23,236 --> 00:02:25,956 Speaker 2: and a half hours before hitting a sheer rock face, 29 00:02:26,756 --> 00:02:32,136 Speaker 2: at which point she was forced to turn around. We 30 00:02:32,176 --> 00:02:34,876 Speaker 2: don't think it's likely Maitrese walked into Dark Canyon from 31 00:02:34,896 --> 00:02:39,496 Speaker 2: the bottom. And if she did... It doesn't seem possible 32 00:02:39,876 --> 00:02:48,006 Speaker 2: that she was alone. I'm Dana Goodyear, and this is 33 00:02:48,066 --> 00:02:48,766 Speaker 2: Lost Hills. 34 00:02:49,466 --> 00:02:51,196 Speaker 4: Lost Hills. 35 00:03:14,526 --> 00:03:22,786 Speaker 2: Episode 7, In the Shit. So how else could my 36 00:03:22,846 --> 00:03:26,756 Speaker 2: trees have gotten into Dark Canyon? On Google Maps, it 37 00:03:26,796 --> 00:03:29,256 Speaker 2: looks like you can access the canyon from higher up 38 00:03:29,376 --> 00:03:32,736 Speaker 2: on Paiuma Road. There are trails that disappear under a 39 00:03:32,776 --> 00:03:38,096 Speaker 2: canopy of green brush. We checked various turnoffs, sidestepping locked gates, 40 00:03:38,436 --> 00:03:42,126 Speaker 2: and trying to stick to public land. One day, we 41 00:03:42,146 --> 00:03:44,296 Speaker 2: were crashing around in the bushes at one of these 42 00:03:44,356 --> 00:03:48,556 Speaker 2: seeming access points, getting increasingly discouraged when we heard the 43 00:03:48,596 --> 00:03:51,616 Speaker 2: sound of a radio and a hammer. It was a 44 00:03:51,636 --> 00:03:53,776 Speaker 2: guy in a bandana building a greenhouse. 45 00:03:54,986 --> 00:03:55,626 Speaker 5: My name's Ed. 46 00:03:56,506 --> 00:03:59,706 Speaker 6: We're up in the hills here in the Santa Monica Mountains. 47 00:04:00,186 --> 00:04:02,666 Speaker 6: And I live in the most beautiful spot in the world. 48 00:04:03,546 --> 00:04:06,466 Speaker 6: And I'm the only one in Malibu who has an 49 00:04:06,506 --> 00:04:07,236 Speaker 6: underground house. 50 00:04:08,716 --> 00:04:10,736 Speaker 5: And it's like being in heaven. 51 00:04:12,466 --> 00:04:14,926 Speaker 2: Ed didn't want us to use his last name. He's 52 00:04:14,946 --> 00:04:17,106 Speaker 2: had a few scrapes with the law, and even though 53 00:04:17,126 --> 00:04:19,606 Speaker 2: he's changed his ways, he likes to be under the radar. 54 00:04:20,706 --> 00:04:23,106 Speaker 2: But as it turns out, we're not the first people 55 00:04:23,146 --> 00:04:27,206 Speaker 2: to come around asking about Mitrice. The sheriff's department had 56 00:04:27,226 --> 00:04:29,866 Speaker 2: been to see him, too, after her remains were found. 57 00:04:30,606 --> 00:04:33,356 Speaker 2: They had information about an access point leading into the 58 00:04:33,366 --> 00:04:34,656 Speaker 2: canyon near his property. 59 00:04:35,516 --> 00:04:37,656 Speaker 6: And then one of them was, like, grilling me, like, oh, 60 00:04:37,656 --> 00:04:39,416 Speaker 6: what do you know? And then one of the other 61 00:04:39,436 --> 00:04:41,416 Speaker 6: guys came up and said, what do you know about Mitrice? 62 00:04:42,146 --> 00:04:44,506 Speaker 6: I was thinking maybe you guys should tell me what 63 00:04:44,546 --> 00:04:47,226 Speaker 6: you know about her, you know, but I didn't. There 64 00:04:47,266 --> 00:04:48,306 Speaker 6: was nothing I could really say. 65 00:04:48,326 --> 00:04:52,366 Speaker 2: Ed takes us into his underground house. We follow him 66 00:04:52,386 --> 00:04:54,866 Speaker 2: through a curtain of camo netting and down a ramp 67 00:04:54,906 --> 00:04:56,026 Speaker 2: to a heavy wooden door. 68 00:04:56,046 --> 00:05:01,576 Speaker 6: And we're inside. We've got the fridge over here. The 69 00:05:01,676 --> 00:05:06,736 Speaker 6: interior is 32 feet by 16 feet on the inside, 70 00:05:06,736 --> 00:05:11,336 Speaker 6: 8 feet tall. And I use wood beams, just purely ornamental. 71 00:05:12,216 --> 00:05:16,116 Speaker 2: It's dimly lit and crammed with slimy terrariums holding rare 72 00:05:16,176 --> 00:05:22,246 Speaker 2: botanical specimens. Carnivorous plants, miniature begonias, mosses. He sells them 73 00:05:22,306 --> 00:05:26,426 Speaker 2: on eBay, along with some fancy millipedes he calls pink dragons. 74 00:05:26,446 --> 00:05:29,786 Speaker 6: And then I'm selling this begonias, and this is super rare, 75 00:05:29,826 --> 00:05:30,176 Speaker 6: this one. 76 00:05:31,816 --> 00:05:39,496 Speaker 5: It's a grass begonia from Madagascar. Begonia bognerii. And it's 77 00:05:39,756 --> 00:05:40,656 Speaker 5: pretty spectacular. 78 00:05:41,976 --> 00:05:44,956 Speaker 2: Before he was growing begonias, he was a marijuana farmer. 79 00:05:46,036 --> 00:05:47,476 Speaker 5: I've been through all the wars. 80 00:05:47,516 --> 00:05:50,706 Speaker 6: I've been arrested a bunch of times and almost done 81 00:05:50,726 --> 00:05:54,146 Speaker 6: a bunch of time in prison and the whole thing. 82 00:05:54,166 --> 00:05:57,246 Speaker 2: Ed says he used to grow in Dark Canyon. 83 00:05:57,266 --> 00:06:00,546 Speaker 6: Yeah, it's going back from 2001 to about 2004. And 84 00:06:00,566 --> 00:06:02,246 Speaker 6: there were about 300 plants here. 85 00:06:02,246 --> 00:06:03,356 Speaker 5: 300 plants, yeah. 86 00:06:08,136 --> 00:06:11,916 Speaker 2: Back before legalization, this area was riddled with illegal grows, 87 00:06:12,716 --> 00:06:17,576 Speaker 2: some amateur operations, others run by drug cartels. Ed says 88 00:06:17,896 --> 00:06:19,966 Speaker 2: Dark Canyon was a great place to grow weed. 89 00:06:20,926 --> 00:06:22,666 Speaker 6: The plants were so big, you know, there was this 90 00:06:22,766 --> 00:06:25,566 Speaker 6: one spot I was telling you about called Queens, where 91 00:06:25,586 --> 00:06:26,686 Speaker 6: the plants were like, you know. 92 00:06:26,686 --> 00:06:27,766 Speaker 5: 12 feet tall. 93 00:06:28,206 --> 00:06:30,666 Speaker 6: Once it gets above that, now you're exposed. 94 00:06:30,706 --> 00:06:31,586 Speaker 5: Now you have a problem. 95 00:06:33,026 --> 00:06:34,926 Speaker 2: One day, Ed's grow got spotted. 96 00:06:35,886 --> 00:06:38,736 Speaker 6: There was a helicopter that flew over And they flew 97 00:06:38,816 --> 00:06:40,876 Speaker 6: over here and they went into Dark Canyon and they 98 00:06:40,936 --> 00:06:44,396 Speaker 6: circled around, but kind of far away. And I go, 99 00:06:45,156 --> 00:06:47,556 Speaker 6: did they see? Because they flew right over the plant. 100 00:06:47,666 --> 00:06:50,246 Speaker 6: I go, I think they did. But I wasn't sure. 101 00:06:50,306 --> 00:06:51,926 Speaker 6: But they were sneaky about it because they didn't just 102 00:06:51,966 --> 00:06:55,146 Speaker 6: circle directly overhead. And so about two weeks later, I 103 00:06:55,186 --> 00:06:57,566 Speaker 6: harvested everything. I did the whole thing. 300 plants was 104 00:06:57,606 --> 00:07:00,626 Speaker 6: a huge amount. Then all of a sudden, I'm sitting here. 105 00:07:00,646 --> 00:07:03,656 Speaker 6: I'm doing something. And all of a sudden, the helicopters 106 00:07:03,886 --> 00:07:07,196 Speaker 6: and they're 10 feet above the ground. And they're sitting 107 00:07:07,236 --> 00:07:09,186 Speaker 6: right on top of me. And I run down into the, 108 00:07:09,206 --> 00:07:12,026 Speaker 6: I had this whole tunnel area underneath the shrubs, like a, 109 00:07:12,626 --> 00:07:13,946 Speaker 6: like a trail, but it was underneath. 110 00:07:13,966 --> 00:07:14,786 Speaker 5: So it was like a tunnel. 111 00:07:15,646 --> 00:07:18,306 Speaker 6: And, um, so I went, I went running down into 112 00:07:18,346 --> 00:07:22,326 Speaker 6: there and these guys were like 10 feet above the, 113 00:07:22,666 --> 00:07:24,476 Speaker 6: you know, at one time I. 114 00:07:24,426 --> 00:07:26,776 Speaker 5: Could actually, I was in this little crevice area. 115 00:07:27,216 --> 00:07:30,076 Speaker 6: I could actually feel the rotor wash like this, like 116 00:07:30,076 --> 00:07:32,856 Speaker 6: 50 mile an hour wind, just blowing through this little 117 00:07:33,196 --> 00:07:35,336 Speaker 6: dry Canyon that I was in, you know, under the brush. 118 00:07:35,876 --> 00:07:37,496 Speaker 6: And I'm telling you, it was live. 119 00:07:37,536 --> 00:07:38,226 Speaker 5: It was intense. 120 00:07:40,286 --> 00:07:42,706 Speaker 2: Ed says that 20 years ago, a friend of his, 121 00:07:42,946 --> 00:07:45,866 Speaker 2: hiking deep into Dark Canyon, had come across a big 122 00:07:45,966 --> 00:07:49,606 Speaker 2: industrial pot grow. Ed thinks if his friend got down there, 123 00:07:49,826 --> 00:07:52,666 Speaker 2: maybe we can too. He warns us we're going to 124 00:07:52,686 --> 00:07:55,496 Speaker 2: have to do a little bushwhacking. We check our watches. 125 00:07:55,996 --> 00:07:56,236 Speaker 5: It's 11 a.m. 126 00:07:57,316 --> 00:07:59,476 Speaker 3: Do you want to do more touring or do you 127 00:07:59,496 --> 00:08:01,536 Speaker 3: want to go down and get hiking? 128 00:08:01,636 --> 00:08:04,136 Speaker 7: Yeah, maybe let's go back to your car and I'll 129 00:08:04,216 --> 00:08:05,236 Speaker 7: switch my. 130 00:08:05,116 --> 00:08:05,996 Speaker 8: Gear and we'll get hiking. 131 00:08:06,016 --> 00:08:07,806 Speaker 5: And then we can come back and talk if you want. 132 00:08:07,866 --> 00:08:09,306 Speaker 5: Let's get on the road. 133 00:08:09,436 --> 00:08:10,126 Speaker 7: Yeah, I like it. 134 00:08:11,026 --> 00:08:12,966 Speaker 2: We go over the lip of the canyon into the 135 00:08:13,006 --> 00:08:18,226 Speaker 2: dense brush. Ed's in front, clipping. We're behind him, crawling 136 00:08:18,266 --> 00:08:19,166 Speaker 2: on our hands and knees. 137 00:08:19,186 --> 00:08:24,706 Speaker 6: You made a good path here. 138 00:08:24,726 --> 00:08:25,246 Speaker 9: I hope so. 139 00:08:29,936 --> 00:08:31,726 Speaker 5: You want to get one of those coyote trails if 140 00:08:31,756 --> 00:08:32,306 Speaker 5: you can. 141 00:08:32,606 --> 00:08:35,466 Speaker 8: That would be awesome. 142 00:08:36,406 --> 00:08:38,526 Speaker 2: We pick our way along a ridge, then drop into 143 00:08:38,546 --> 00:08:43,306 Speaker 2: the creek bed. It's filled with massive boulders and six-foot-tall saplings. 144 00:08:44,086 --> 00:08:45,666 Speaker 2: There's poison oak everywhere. 145 00:08:45,686 --> 00:08:48,966 Speaker 8: How long have we been hiking? 146 00:08:50,126 --> 00:08:53,126 Speaker 2: I think we've been hiking for two hours. I wouldn't 147 00:08:53,196 --> 00:08:55,576 Speaker 2: call it hiking, I'd call it crawling. That's what I 148 00:08:55,596 --> 00:09:01,056 Speaker 2: would call it, too. Crawling, sliding on our butts. Haley 149 00:09:01,096 --> 00:09:03,976 Speaker 2: keeps checking the GPS app on her phone, which is 150 00:09:04,056 --> 00:09:07,236 Speaker 2: loaded with the coordinates of the remains site. The little 151 00:09:07,356 --> 00:09:12,196 Speaker 2: arrow representing our position is still ridiculously far away. We 152 00:09:12,236 --> 00:09:14,656 Speaker 2: press on, but it's starting to seem like we might 153 00:09:14,776 --> 00:09:18,556 Speaker 2: never get there. Ed's been saying, just 200 more yards 154 00:09:19,036 --> 00:09:20,416 Speaker 2: for what feels like hours. 155 00:09:21,736 --> 00:09:23,456 Speaker 6: Honestly, I could say no one's been here for a while. 156 00:09:23,636 --> 00:09:26,706 Speaker 6: I've never even been this far down myself, so probably 157 00:09:26,746 --> 00:09:29,166 Speaker 6: no one's been here in 30, 40 years at least. 158 00:09:30,146 --> 00:09:30,926 Speaker 5: Maybe even longer. 159 00:09:32,786 --> 00:09:37,066 Speaker 2: By now, the canyon is engulfed in shadow. It's 2.30, 160 00:09:37,066 --> 00:09:40,146 Speaker 2: less than three hours till the sun goes down. We're 161 00:09:40,186 --> 00:09:42,496 Speaker 2: not going to make it to the remain spot. Not 162 00:09:42,526 --> 00:09:46,936 Speaker 2: even close. We have to turn around. We haul ourselves 163 00:09:47,036 --> 00:09:48,556 Speaker 2: out of the creek bed and up to where we 164 00:09:48,596 --> 00:09:51,436 Speaker 2: have a vantage point. I can see the porn ranch 165 00:09:51,476 --> 00:09:56,476 Speaker 2: through my binoculars. Everything between here and there is trackless wilderness. 166 00:09:57,676 --> 00:09:59,296 Speaker 2: How would you describe that terrain down there? 167 00:09:59,416 --> 00:10:03,406 Speaker 5: Oh, you're in shit, yeah. Yeah, you're in living hell. 168 00:10:05,186 --> 00:10:07,086 Speaker 2: Ed pulls out a loaf of bread and takes a 169 00:10:07,106 --> 00:10:07,546 Speaker 2: few bites. 170 00:10:08,796 --> 00:10:12,796 Speaker 6: So it's about an 800-foot canyon in there. It's very, 171 00:10:12,856 --> 00:10:15,776 Speaker 6: very intense. I have been down in there, and I'm 172 00:10:15,816 --> 00:10:19,136 Speaker 6: telling you, you feel like a little teeny tiny bug 173 00:10:19,156 --> 00:10:22,256 Speaker 6: down there. You look up at this massive cliff, you know, 174 00:10:22,796 --> 00:10:26,606 Speaker 6: and that's the Earth's crust that's been lifted up out 175 00:10:26,646 --> 00:10:28,226 Speaker 6: of the ground, and you're just seeing the side of 176 00:10:28,246 --> 00:10:28,526 Speaker 6: the Earth. 177 00:10:29,276 --> 00:10:30,216 Speaker 5: So this is spectacular. 178 00:10:31,796 --> 00:10:34,646 Speaker 3: I don't remember if we actually got around to saying 179 00:10:34,686 --> 00:10:37,646 Speaker 3: at our turnaround point that, I mean, we'd been going 180 00:10:37,706 --> 00:10:40,826 Speaker 3: for two hours and we were like a fifth. 181 00:10:40,566 --> 00:10:42,566 Speaker 2: Of the way that we needed. More than two hours. 182 00:10:43,226 --> 00:10:46,516 Speaker 3: More than two hours to where my tree's remains were. 183 00:10:46,596 --> 00:10:50,576 Speaker 2: So there's just no way on earth she hiked in 184 00:10:50,616 --> 00:10:51,116 Speaker 2: from the top. 185 00:10:51,556 --> 00:10:56,596 Speaker 3: There's no way on earth that. 186 00:10:56,276 --> 00:10:59,096 Speaker 2: Somebody brought her body in from the top. No. There's 187 00:10:59,136 --> 00:10:59,456 Speaker 2: no way. 188 00:10:59,516 --> 00:11:00,376 Speaker 5: No, no, it's impossible. 189 00:11:02,016 --> 00:11:04,076 Speaker 2: He finishes his bread, and we drink the rest of 190 00:11:04,116 --> 00:11:06,896 Speaker 2: our water. It takes us another couple of hours to 191 00:11:06,936 --> 00:11:09,656 Speaker 2: get back to Ed's place. We beat our way out 192 00:11:09,676 --> 00:11:16,156 Speaker 2: of the brush just as the sun slips below the horizon. So, 193 00:11:16,356 --> 00:11:19,616 Speaker 2: did my tree center dark canyon from the bottom? Probably not. 194 00:11:20,496 --> 00:11:24,196 Speaker 2: Did she go down from the top? No way. But 195 00:11:24,216 --> 00:11:25,956 Speaker 2: we do know there's another way in. 196 00:11:27,216 --> 00:11:27,556 Speaker 3: Through. 197 00:11:28,226 --> 00:11:44,616 Speaker 2: The Porn Ranch. Suze Randall, a.k.a. the Porn Queen of Montanito, 198 00:11:45,096 --> 00:11:49,056 Speaker 2: lives in a big white Spanish-style house surrounded by horse 199 00:11:49,116 --> 00:11:53,996 Speaker 2: corrals and stables. She's in her 70s, feisty and petite 200 00:11:54,136 --> 00:11:55,466 Speaker 2: with white pixie-cut hair. 201 00:11:56,216 --> 00:11:59,096 Speaker 9: We are the upper class. I mean, come on. Oh, 202 00:11:59,116 --> 00:12:01,936 Speaker 9: we started upper class and worked our way slowly down. 203 00:12:03,536 --> 00:12:07,336 Speaker 9: But with an English accent, you can get away with filth. 204 00:12:08,916 --> 00:12:11,826 Speaker 2: Suze had a huge career as a photographer of high-end 205 00:12:11,866 --> 00:12:16,006 Speaker 2: adult content. Back in her heyday, porn was classy by 206 00:12:16,066 --> 00:12:20,086 Speaker 2: comparison to what's out there today. Think lush, highly produced 207 00:12:20,146 --> 00:12:23,466 Speaker 2: images of Stormy Daniels in a lacy white bra beside 208 00:12:23,486 --> 00:12:26,126 Speaker 2: a donkey. But Suze is retired now. 209 00:12:27,206 --> 00:12:28,946 Speaker 9: I got kicked in the face by one of my 210 00:12:28,986 --> 00:12:31,726 Speaker 9: horses and lost an eye, so that was a good excuse. 211 00:12:32,386 --> 00:12:35,386 Speaker 9: But also, when we shoot, we'd spend two or three 212 00:12:35,426 --> 00:12:38,306 Speaker 9: days getting ready. I mean, I'm not going to go 213 00:12:38,366 --> 00:12:40,946 Speaker 9: and just shoot, you know. It's got to be prepared, 214 00:12:40,966 --> 00:12:45,946 Speaker 9: a la Playboy, kind of drapey-papey, all that crappy-wappy. 215 00:12:47,026 --> 00:12:50,816 Speaker 2: Suze came to America in the 70s, courtesy of Hugh Hefner, 216 00:12:51,176 --> 00:12:55,516 Speaker 2: who hired her as a photographer. At Playboy, and then 217 00:12:55,776 --> 00:12:59,906 Speaker 2: later at Hustler, She shot herself using a cable release 218 00:13:00,056 --> 00:13:00,556 Speaker 2: and a mirror. 219 00:13:01,496 --> 00:13:03,936 Speaker 9: Male photographers wanted to shoot me. I said, oh, no, no, no, 220 00:13:03,996 --> 00:13:07,356 Speaker 9: I'll shoot myself. It's much more relaxing instead of having 221 00:13:07,396 --> 00:13:10,876 Speaker 9: to do what some guy tells you. You get stiff 222 00:13:10,986 --> 00:13:15,626 Speaker 9: and your shoulders raise and you're like this. It's like dancing. 223 00:13:15,646 --> 00:13:20,486 Speaker 9: You've got to be on a flow. It was cool. 224 00:13:20,526 --> 00:13:22,366 Speaker 9: I'm glad I did it because I certainly don't look 225 00:13:22,406 --> 00:13:22,976 Speaker 9: like that now. 226 00:13:24,386 --> 00:13:28,176 Speaker 2: At the dawn of internet porn, Suze became a business tycoon, 227 00:13:28,676 --> 00:13:31,496 Speaker 2: minting money on her site, suze.net. 228 00:13:32,396 --> 00:13:34,596 Speaker 9: Instead of being lock, sock, and barrel, you know, I 229 00:13:34,876 --> 00:13:36,776 Speaker 9: would do what I wanted to do. I would go 230 00:13:36,796 --> 00:13:40,066 Speaker 9: and party with them and then do what I wanted 231 00:13:40,106 --> 00:13:43,206 Speaker 9: to do and they'd get mad and I'd say, up yours, 232 00:13:43,366 --> 00:13:45,566 Speaker 9: and I'd get fired and then I'd go and work 233 00:13:45,626 --> 00:13:50,436 Speaker 9: for somebody else and then, same thing, Hefner, Flint, I 234 00:13:50,476 --> 00:13:53,866 Speaker 9: fought with all of them, but It meant that I 235 00:13:53,976 --> 00:13:59,176 Speaker 9: ended up shooting for myself independently and owning all my pictures. 236 00:14:00,056 --> 00:14:02,136 Speaker 9: So that when the internet came, I was the only 237 00:14:02,176 --> 00:14:04,476 Speaker 9: photographer who owned her own pictures. 238 00:14:05,826 --> 00:14:08,666 Speaker 2: Suze's house is up the hill from Montanito at the 239 00:14:08,786 --> 00:14:09,906 Speaker 2: end of a long driveway. 240 00:14:10,886 --> 00:14:13,286 Speaker 9: Oh, the history of this house is quite interesting. It's 241 00:14:13,346 --> 00:14:16,366 Speaker 9: been here since like the 40s. There's been ranches here. 242 00:14:17,006 --> 00:14:19,856 Speaker 9: And Bishop Raleigh had a chapel down there for the 243 00:14:19,936 --> 00:14:24,266 Speaker 9: Church of Antioch. And this house in the 70s burnt down, 244 00:14:24,286 --> 00:14:29,636 Speaker 9: and the guy who owned it rebuilt it. And he 245 00:14:29,676 --> 00:14:32,676 Speaker 9: did all these arches and everything, but he rebuilt it 246 00:14:32,756 --> 00:14:36,156 Speaker 9: around the bar so he could party with Lee Majors. 247 00:14:37,616 --> 00:14:40,436 Speaker 9: And then they got so drunk, he'd be sober an 248 00:14:40,456 --> 00:14:45,656 Speaker 9: hour a day. So he lost the ranch. But he 249 00:14:45,696 --> 00:14:47,716 Speaker 9: was up here drunk with a gun, and nobody would 250 00:14:47,736 --> 00:14:49,956 Speaker 9: come and see him, except I used to ride up 251 00:14:50,036 --> 00:14:51,716 Speaker 9: on my horse and chit-chat him up. 252 00:14:51,656 --> 00:14:54,166 Speaker 2: On Because you had designs on this property? 253 00:14:54,186 --> 00:14:57,106 Speaker 9: Yeah, and he knew I wanted it. It took three years, 254 00:14:57,246 --> 00:14:58,576 Speaker 9: and he knew I'd look after it. 255 00:14:59,576 --> 00:15:02,516 Speaker 2: She says Montanito was a great place to ride horses 256 00:15:02,736 --> 00:15:03,496 Speaker 2: and raise a family. 257 00:15:04,336 --> 00:15:06,816 Speaker 9: We moved to this area because we were looking for 258 00:15:06,836 --> 00:15:10,156 Speaker 9: a good school district for the kids. Kids do that 259 00:15:10,216 --> 00:15:14,336 Speaker 9: for you. Your life revolves around them. I mean, work 260 00:15:14,376 --> 00:15:17,506 Speaker 9: was work, but it was not our social life. There's 261 00:15:17,526 --> 00:15:19,896 Speaker 9: nothing more boring than a bunch of pornographers, I'll tell you. 262 00:15:20,766 --> 00:15:24,266 Speaker 2: But the ranch was also the perfect porn location, first 263 00:15:24,326 --> 00:15:27,206 Speaker 2: for Suze and then for her daughter Holly, who followed 264 00:15:27,246 --> 00:15:28,316 Speaker 2: her mom into the business. 265 00:15:29,576 --> 00:15:31,336 Speaker 4: I grew up in, you know, what I like to say, 266 00:15:31,376 --> 00:15:33,796 Speaker 4: kind of the Suze bubble. Everything that we shot was 267 00:15:33,836 --> 00:15:35,436 Speaker 4: very beautiful, very high end. 268 00:15:35,816 --> 00:15:38,436 Speaker 2: Holly has occasionally used the ranch for shoots as well, 269 00:15:38,756 --> 00:15:40,116 Speaker 2: though it's been years at this point. 270 00:15:40,836 --> 00:15:41,836 Speaker 4: It's a great property. 271 00:15:41,876 --> 00:15:44,016 Speaker 9: I mean, it's big. It's lots of parking. 272 00:15:44,036 --> 00:15:47,076 Speaker 4: There's lots of different areas to shoot. It's super private. 273 00:15:47,866 --> 00:15:50,586 Speaker 9: You don't get them screaming through the gullies. You don't 274 00:15:50,606 --> 00:15:52,406 Speaker 9: get echoing. 275 00:15:53,666 --> 00:15:55,846 Speaker 2: Holly said that one time a shoot of hers had 276 00:15:55,886 --> 00:15:58,506 Speaker 2: been interrupted by a pot bust in Dark Canyon. 277 00:15:59,746 --> 00:16:05,236 Speaker 4: We had a huge, like, illegal weed patch. up the canyon. 278 00:16:05,256 --> 00:16:09,796 Speaker 4: And I was actually shooting when they were harvesting it. Well, 279 00:16:09,816 --> 00:16:12,566 Speaker 4: when I say harvesting it, when they were, uh, possessing it, 280 00:16:12,616 --> 00:16:14,796 Speaker 4: you know, they, the police had come and they, these 281 00:16:14,846 --> 00:16:18,206 Speaker 4: police helicopters and they had all this weed that they 282 00:16:18,226 --> 00:16:21,226 Speaker 4: put in these huge nets and then they airlifted it 283 00:16:21,406 --> 00:16:24,246 Speaker 4: directly over our ranch. And I just remember being here 284 00:16:24,306 --> 00:16:26,696 Speaker 4: and My whole crew was here, and the models were like, 285 00:16:26,776 --> 00:16:31,016 Speaker 4: I hope they drop some. So, yeah, but that was 286 00:16:31,056 --> 00:16:33,276 Speaker 4: the only, like, big weed bust that we saw. 287 00:16:33,296 --> 00:16:34,896 Speaker 9: That was years ago, and it was way up there, 288 00:16:34,916 --> 00:16:37,986 Speaker 9: and they got to it from upper Paiuma. I mean, 289 00:16:37,996 --> 00:16:40,706 Speaker 9: we didn't even know. We never saw anybody going down 290 00:16:40,746 --> 00:16:44,766 Speaker 9: there until the cops turned up. We didn't know. Otherwise, 291 00:16:44,806 --> 00:16:46,286 Speaker 9: we'd have been up there taking some. 292 00:16:47,466 --> 00:16:49,506 Speaker 2: Suze agreed to give me a tour of the property. 293 00:16:49,966 --> 00:16:51,766 Speaker 2: We got in a quad, and she drove me around. 294 00:16:53,506 --> 00:16:56,526 Speaker 2: I asked her about Mitrice. She told me that when 295 00:16:56,586 --> 00:17:00,226 Speaker 2: she learned of Mitrice's disappearance, she organized a search party. 296 00:17:00,246 --> 00:17:04,946 Speaker 9: I mean, we spent days looking for her on horseback 297 00:17:04,966 --> 00:17:07,486 Speaker 9: when she went missing, riding these things. 298 00:17:09,306 --> 00:17:12,406 Speaker 2: But then people started to speculate that Suze might somehow 299 00:17:12,466 --> 00:17:16,346 Speaker 2: be involved in Mitrice's death. Mitrice was young and beautiful, 300 00:17:16,686 --> 00:17:19,866 Speaker 2: and her body was found on public land bordering Suze's ranch. 301 00:17:20,926 --> 00:17:24,286 Speaker 2: That would obviously make for a compelling narrative. But like 302 00:17:24,406 --> 00:17:27,566 Speaker 2: so many elements of the Mitrice-Richardson story that have taken 303 00:17:27,656 --> 00:17:31,196 Speaker 2: hold in the public imagination, I've seen no evidence to 304 00:17:31,256 --> 00:17:33,696 Speaker 2: support this theory. None whatsoever. 305 00:17:33,716 --> 00:17:38,796 Speaker 9: Yeah, people were accusing me of having done S & 306 00:17:38,376 --> 00:17:41,256 Speaker 9: M or something and murdered her. So yeah, I just 307 00:17:41,296 --> 00:17:46,316 Speaker 9: want to go there. That's bullshit. Come on. If I'm 308 00:17:46,356 --> 00:17:48,076 Speaker 9: going to murder anybody, it's going to be a cop. 309 00:17:59,426 --> 00:18:02,326 Speaker 2: We drove up Sousa's driveway and stopped the quad at 310 00:18:02,396 --> 00:18:06,416 Speaker 2: an overlook at the edge of Dark Canyon. It was 311 00:18:06,456 --> 00:18:10,296 Speaker 2: a sheer drop to the creek bed. Matrice's remains were 312 00:18:10,356 --> 00:18:12,956 Speaker 2: found down there and about a quarter mile east of 313 00:18:12,976 --> 00:18:13,536 Speaker 2: where we stood. 314 00:18:13,556 --> 00:18:19,826 Speaker 9: I call it Matrice Canyon. I mean, just to myself, but. 315 00:18:19,846 --> 00:18:19,926 Speaker 2: I. 316 00:18:23,326 --> 00:18:24,026 Speaker 9: Really try to. 317 00:18:28,776 --> 00:18:32,516 Speaker 2: The 2012 report from the Office of Independent Review included 318 00:18:32,736 --> 00:18:35,946 Speaker 2: only a few details about the discovery of Mitrice's remains. 319 00:18:36,786 --> 00:18:39,486 Speaker 2: One of these details was that the rangers had hiked 320 00:18:39,546 --> 00:18:43,626 Speaker 2: into the site from, quote, a property located on Paiuma Road. 321 00:18:45,446 --> 00:18:49,786 Speaker 2: That would be Sousa's property, the porn ranch. The report 322 00:18:49,886 --> 00:18:52,746 Speaker 2: also said that after Malibu Search and Rescue and the 323 00:18:52,766 --> 00:18:56,786 Speaker 2: homicide detectives arrived by helicopter, the rangers hiked out the 324 00:18:56,806 --> 00:19:00,376 Speaker 2: way they'd come in. The report notes that it took 325 00:19:00,416 --> 00:19:02,016 Speaker 2: them about a half an hour to get back to 326 00:19:02,056 --> 00:19:05,836 Speaker 2: their starting point at the porn ranch. So, according to 327 00:19:05,896 --> 00:19:11,556 Speaker 2: official documents, there's a way in from Suze's land. Suze 328 00:19:11,656 --> 00:19:14,336 Speaker 2: is extremely private, and she takes the security of her 329 00:19:14,386 --> 00:19:17,816 Speaker 2: property very seriously. There are big dogs, and the place 330 00:19:17,906 --> 00:19:21,786 Speaker 2: is crawling with groundskeepers. That means you can't just show 331 00:19:21,846 --> 00:19:24,706 Speaker 2: up there and knock on the door. It literally took 332 00:19:24,786 --> 00:19:26,966 Speaker 2: years to convince her to let Haley and me come 333 00:19:27,006 --> 00:19:30,376 Speaker 2: back and poke around a bit. We were hopeful that 334 00:19:30,416 --> 00:19:33,196 Speaker 2: we could find that elusive trail, the one used by 335 00:19:33,216 --> 00:19:35,616 Speaker 2: the rangers, that would take us to the remains site 336 00:19:35,776 --> 00:19:39,206 Speaker 2: in half an hour. Suze had arranged for a chaperone. 337 00:19:40,386 --> 00:19:42,806 Speaker 7: Travis, local guide, Montanita resident. 338 00:19:43,546 --> 00:19:46,486 Speaker 2: Travis shows us the staging area that was used by 339 00:19:46,546 --> 00:19:49,326 Speaker 2: law enforcement during the recovery of Mitrice's remains. 340 00:19:50,266 --> 00:19:52,806 Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean, it's a really short little cut across here, 341 00:19:53,266 --> 00:19:56,886 Speaker 7: but I think honestly that they probably entered down there. 342 00:19:56,906 --> 00:19:59,676 Speaker 7: I don't know where she entered, but that's... definitely where 343 00:19:59,696 --> 00:20:00,256 Speaker 7: the police entered. 344 00:20:01,216 --> 00:20:04,566 Speaker 2: We start walking through thick green grasses on a narrow 345 00:20:04,646 --> 00:20:08,866 Speaker 2: horse trail that quickly turns into an even narrower game trail. 346 00:20:10,506 --> 00:20:15,106 Speaker 7: But yeah, this whole area hasn't burned in a long time. 347 00:20:15,146 --> 00:20:16,106 Speaker 5: That's why it's overgrown. 348 00:20:16,126 --> 00:20:17,966 Speaker 2: It's so beautiful. 349 00:20:20,886 --> 00:20:22,246 Speaker 5: I love that sage smell, too. 350 00:20:22,696 --> 00:20:25,556 Speaker 7: It's devolved into a game trail because nobody really goes. 351 00:20:25,436 --> 00:20:25,996 Speaker 5: This way anymore. 352 00:20:26,056 --> 00:20:31,536 Speaker 7: But yeah, just deer and coyotes, probably mountain lions. 353 00:20:33,616 --> 00:20:36,436 Speaker 2: I can tell we're somewhere above the creek bed. I'm 354 00:20:36,516 --> 00:20:39,946 Speaker 2: thinking this is the shortcut we've been looking for. And 355 00:20:39,966 --> 00:20:42,066 Speaker 2: I can't help it. I'm getting really excited. 356 00:20:42,086 --> 00:20:43,746 Speaker 8: All right, so where do we go from here? 357 00:20:44,166 --> 00:20:47,886 Speaker 2: Down here? Go where the coyotes go? We get down low, 358 00:20:48,346 --> 00:20:50,186 Speaker 2: limboing under a tangle of branches. 359 00:20:51,746 --> 00:20:53,946 Speaker 7: You know, this is kind of like a tree because 360 00:20:54,006 --> 00:20:55,586 Speaker 7: it looks stable, but it'll actually just break down. 361 00:20:55,606 --> 00:20:56,526 Speaker 8: So watch out for the ceanothus. 362 00:20:59,256 --> 00:21:01,396 Speaker 7: I'm guessing it's probably overgrown. 363 00:21:02,576 --> 00:21:02,876 Speaker 9: Yeah. 364 00:21:05,536 --> 00:21:08,686 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there is a trail down here. But then, 365 00:21:08,706 --> 00:21:13,766 Speaker 2: to our indescribable disappointment, we find ourselves on the Backbone Trail, 366 00:21:14,426 --> 00:21:16,586 Speaker 2: a few yards from the point of which you turn 367 00:21:16,646 --> 00:21:19,836 Speaker 2: up into the creek bed, the place we've been so 368 00:21:19,856 --> 00:21:25,256 Speaker 2: many times before. I feel like I'm being pranked. We 369 00:21:25,276 --> 00:21:28,416 Speaker 2: convince Travis to take us back to the overlook, the 370 00:21:28,456 --> 00:21:32,526 Speaker 2: place Suze calls Mitrice Canyon. In the years since I 371 00:21:32,566 --> 00:21:36,186 Speaker 2: was last there, I've tried many times to picture it precisely— 372 00:21:36,786 --> 00:21:40,306 Speaker 2: To test, mentally anyway, if there could be a hidden trail. 373 00:21:40,966 --> 00:21:44,406 Speaker 2: It would be the most direct route in. And another 374 00:21:44,446 --> 00:21:47,216 Speaker 2: thing is, you wouldn't have to walk up Sousa's driveway 375 00:21:47,256 --> 00:21:50,616 Speaker 2: to get there. There's a fire road with an outlet 376 00:21:50,736 --> 00:21:54,196 Speaker 2: higher up on Paiuma Road that leads right to the overlook. 377 00:21:55,256 --> 00:21:59,746 Speaker 2: It's gated and probably guarded, but still. Someone could have 378 00:21:59,786 --> 00:22:05,496 Speaker 2: slipped through there in the dead of night. Back at 379 00:22:05,536 --> 00:22:07,776 Speaker 2: the staging area, we get in the quad and head 380 00:22:07,816 --> 00:22:08,456 Speaker 2: to the overlook. 381 00:22:11,456 --> 00:22:14,036 Speaker 7: Okay, so the fire road entrance is over there. 382 00:22:14,316 --> 00:22:14,486 Speaker 3: Yep. 383 00:22:14,626 --> 00:22:17,776 Speaker 7: This is the road coming down. That's the start of 384 00:22:17,796 --> 00:22:18,206 Speaker 7: the canyon. 385 00:22:18,406 --> 00:22:18,556 Speaker 10: Yep. 386 00:22:19,016 --> 00:22:21,986 Speaker 2: We're standing by a wooden horse fence, looking down over 387 00:22:22,026 --> 00:22:23,526 Speaker 2: a precipice into the canyon. 388 00:22:25,186 --> 00:22:26,086 Speaker 5: It's a sheer drop-off. 389 00:22:26,106 --> 00:22:30,606 Speaker 7: That's probably, I'd say, close to 300 feet. I mean, 390 00:22:30,626 --> 00:22:32,426 Speaker 7: to the base of the creek, which you can kind 391 00:22:32,486 --> 00:22:34,896 Speaker 7: of see, I mean, I don't even know. That could 392 00:22:34,916 --> 00:22:40,006 Speaker 7: even be four stories high. And then from the GPS, 393 00:22:40,046 --> 00:22:43,786 Speaker 7: I'm guessing she was probably about a quarter mile that way. 394 00:22:44,186 --> 00:22:47,166 Speaker 7: So we're not even... I mean, it looks like about... 395 00:22:48,066 --> 00:22:50,106 Speaker 7: We're probably about two-thirds of the way in to where 396 00:22:50,146 --> 00:22:50,526 Speaker 7: she would be. 397 00:22:50,546 --> 00:22:54,516 Speaker 2: So you'd have to drop down four stories and then 398 00:22:54,896 --> 00:22:56,496 Speaker 2: hike up a quarter mile. 399 00:22:57,196 --> 00:22:59,896 Speaker 7: To get back in there, it would take a very, 400 00:22:59,976 --> 00:23:03,636 Speaker 7: very skilled bushwhacking guide to get back in there because it's... 401 00:23:04,656 --> 00:23:06,676 Speaker 7: It's impassable, and there's so much poison oak down there, 402 00:23:07,476 --> 00:23:09,676 Speaker 7: and it's mature poison oak, so you can't really even 403 00:23:09,716 --> 00:23:13,036 Speaker 7: bushwhack it. You just got to go through it. And 404 00:23:13,056 --> 00:23:16,116 Speaker 7: that's what the Malibu Search and Rescue said, and that's 405 00:23:16,136 --> 00:23:17,576 Speaker 7: why they're using the helicopter to get back in there, 406 00:23:17,596 --> 00:23:19,036 Speaker 7: because it's impassable. 407 00:23:20,296 --> 00:23:23,306 Speaker 2: We stand there quietly, just looking out over the canyon 408 00:23:23,526 --> 00:23:25,106 Speaker 2: with its dozen shades of green. 409 00:23:28,686 --> 00:23:34,376 Speaker 7: Everything in Montanito proper is pretty rustic. and kind of just, 410 00:23:34,516 --> 00:23:36,456 Speaker 7: you know, it's unrefined. I think that most of these 411 00:23:36,496 --> 00:23:39,776 Speaker 7: mountain communities back in the Santa Monica Mountains are people like, 412 00:23:40,156 --> 00:23:43,576 Speaker 7: you know, living kind of, you know, rustically, but, you know, 413 00:23:43,776 --> 00:23:47,626 Speaker 7: you can go into Calabasas and hang out with Kanye 414 00:23:47,666 --> 00:23:51,486 Speaker 7: and the Kardashians if you want. Because this is technically Calabasas, 415 00:23:51,526 --> 00:23:55,686 Speaker 7: but this ain't Calabasas. You know, it's a thousand miles 416 00:23:55,726 --> 00:23:59,836 Speaker 7: away from, you know, the Calabasas Commons and Justin Bieber. 417 00:24:02,156 --> 00:24:04,896 Speaker 7: This is raw California. California. You know, this is as 418 00:24:04,956 --> 00:24:08,406 Speaker 7: raw as it gets. Nobody's ever lived here. You know, 419 00:24:08,526 --> 00:24:11,506 Speaker 7: local Chumash have told me stories about this area that, 420 00:24:11,626 --> 00:24:14,306 Speaker 7: you know, that they still believe they're up there, you know, 421 00:24:14,746 --> 00:24:19,586 Speaker 7: artifacts and stuff. So this is all untouched wilderness. You know, 422 00:24:19,646 --> 00:24:21,536 Speaker 7: a lot of people don't think LA has wilderness, but 423 00:24:21,576 --> 00:24:23,456 Speaker 7: this is as wild as it gets. 424 00:24:26,036 --> 00:24:28,936 Speaker 2: When we leave the porn ranch, Haley and I are stumped. 425 00:24:29,756 --> 00:24:32,676 Speaker 2: It seems like we may have exhausted all our possibilities. 426 00:24:33,516 --> 00:24:36,516 Speaker 2: We think Mitrice couldn't and wouldn't have gone in from 427 00:24:36,556 --> 00:24:39,556 Speaker 2: the bottom, top, or the porn ranch on her own. 428 00:24:40,416 --> 00:24:42,406 Speaker 2: We think someone must have taken her in. 429 00:24:43,466 --> 00:24:43,966 Speaker 5: But who? 430 00:24:46,126 --> 00:24:48,866 Speaker 2: There's just one more source of information we can think of. 431 00:24:49,786 --> 00:24:53,756 Speaker 2: A person who boasts about having detailed knowledge of Dark Canyon. 432 00:25:06,476 --> 00:25:09,056 Speaker 2: We've asked so many people how to access the part 433 00:25:09,076 --> 00:25:13,176 Speaker 2: of Dark Canyon where Mitrice was found. Everyone says, yes, 434 00:25:13,276 --> 00:25:15,936 Speaker 2: of course, there are lots of ways in. But when 435 00:25:15,976 --> 00:25:19,136 Speaker 2: we ask for details, the certainty fades away, and we're 436 00:25:19,176 --> 00:25:23,516 Speaker 2: back where we started. Except for one source. He seems 437 00:25:23,616 --> 00:25:27,316 Speaker 2: to know everything. It's the guy in the video we 438 00:25:27,356 --> 00:25:31,796 Speaker 2: found online, the Montanito lifer interviewed by Raven Masterson. 439 00:25:31,996 --> 00:25:33,336 Speaker 8: Did you hear being hit on the door? 440 00:25:33,356 --> 00:25:33,946 Speaker 10: Talking to him. 441 00:25:37,166 --> 00:25:40,276 Speaker 2: He was the person who claimed he'd seen Mitrice at 442 00:25:40,276 --> 00:25:44,036 Speaker 2: 4.30 a.m. on the day of her disappearance, shouting in 443 00:25:44,076 --> 00:25:52,986 Speaker 2: front of the tennis courthouse. But he also talks a 444 00:25:53,226 --> 00:25:55,586 Speaker 2: lot about the part of Dark Canyon where they found 445 00:25:55,646 --> 00:25:59,126 Speaker 2: Mitrice's remains, what it's like there, and how to get there. 446 00:26:00,256 --> 00:26:02,976 Speaker 2: He says that after he'd spotted her at the tennis courthouse, 447 00:26:03,276 --> 00:26:04,956 Speaker 2: she must have walked up Paiuma Road. 448 00:26:06,916 --> 00:26:10,206 Speaker 10: That road's fairly, you know, like a lot of twists 449 00:26:10,246 --> 00:26:14,166 Speaker 10: and turns, and for her to walk close to two 450 00:26:14,286 --> 00:26:18,286 Speaker 10: miles to where it's turned off to Dark Creek, you know, 451 00:26:18,366 --> 00:26:21,306 Speaker 10: from the top, which is the only way she could 452 00:26:21,326 --> 00:26:21,996 Speaker 10: have gotten in there. 453 00:26:22,006 --> 00:26:23,916 Speaker 11: There's no way she could have hiked up from the bottom. 454 00:26:23,936 --> 00:26:28,856 Speaker 10: I mean, that's like, takes me and everything I have 455 00:26:28,876 --> 00:26:29,536 Speaker 10: to hike up there. 456 00:26:31,296 --> 00:26:34,466 Speaker 2: He thinks maybe Mitrice, walking along the mountain ridge in 457 00:26:34,486 --> 00:26:36,426 Speaker 2: the dark, fell down in a ditch. 458 00:26:38,246 --> 00:26:39,126 Speaker 8: Is it really dark? 459 00:26:40,086 --> 00:26:42,426 Speaker 10: It is. That night it would have been pitch black. 460 00:26:44,046 --> 00:26:46,746 Speaker 2: It isn't clear how he's envisioning this ditch in relation 461 00:26:46,786 --> 00:26:49,326 Speaker 2: to the spot in Dark Canyon where her remains were found, 462 00:26:49,886 --> 00:26:53,126 Speaker 2: but he sounds extremely familiar both with the canyon and 463 00:26:53,166 --> 00:26:53,906 Speaker 2: the remain site. 464 00:26:55,406 --> 00:27:00,146 Speaker 11: Yeah, Dark Creek is pretty, it's overgrown with huge oaks 465 00:27:00,166 --> 00:27:04,886 Speaker 11: and You know, a lot of rocks. But, you know, 466 00:27:05,006 --> 00:27:07,206 Speaker 11: I hadn't been down in this one spot for a 467 00:27:07,206 --> 00:27:09,206 Speaker 11: lot of years because a friend of mine's parents. 468 00:27:09,006 --> 00:27:09,886 Speaker 10: Used to own that property. 469 00:27:11,826 --> 00:27:14,286 Speaker 2: He says the place where Mitrice was found was a 470 00:27:14,306 --> 00:27:16,786 Speaker 2: hangout spot, a place locals knew. 471 00:27:16,806 --> 00:27:19,856 Speaker 10: You know, we used to go down there when we 472 00:27:19,876 --> 00:27:23,216 Speaker 10: were younger. Right. Because it's stone down there. 473 00:27:25,116 --> 00:27:27,336 Speaker 2: And just like Haley and me, he's thought a lot 474 00:27:27,376 --> 00:27:28,956 Speaker 2: about how Mitrice would have gotten in there. 475 00:27:30,676 --> 00:27:32,556 Speaker 8: Do you think that a car could have gone up there? 476 00:27:32,576 --> 00:27:35,196 Speaker 10: There's no way a car could have gone up there. 477 00:27:35,216 --> 00:27:35,356 Speaker 9: Right. 478 00:27:35,416 --> 00:27:38,066 Speaker 10: Way in the world. It would have took three people, 479 00:27:38,286 --> 00:27:39,166 Speaker 10: you know what I'm saying? 480 00:27:39,546 --> 00:27:39,846 Speaker 9: Right. 481 00:27:40,226 --> 00:27:43,286 Speaker 12: Two people would have gotten too tired. 482 00:27:43,586 --> 00:27:44,546 Speaker 10: She was a big girl. 483 00:27:46,206 --> 00:27:49,806 Speaker 2: In fact, Mitrice was not actually all that big. Five 484 00:27:49,866 --> 00:27:54,466 Speaker 2: feet six, 125 pounds. But can I just say, his 485 00:27:54,526 --> 00:27:59,816 Speaker 2: description is so specific, so concrete. It almost sounds like 486 00:28:00,056 --> 00:28:02,036 Speaker 2: he's recalling a lived experience. 487 00:28:03,776 --> 00:28:06,446 Speaker 8: Do you think somebody could have taken her? 488 00:28:06,466 --> 00:28:07,466 Speaker 11: You know what? 489 00:28:09,366 --> 00:28:14,486 Speaker 12: If somebody took her and did whatever they did, I 490 00:28:15,666 --> 00:28:18,706 Speaker 12: think they would have had to have come back with 491 00:28:19,166 --> 00:28:21,816 Speaker 12: more than one person to drag that body. 492 00:28:21,516 --> 00:28:22,596 Speaker 11: Down to where it was. 493 00:28:24,476 --> 00:28:27,846 Speaker 2: He offers to take Raven, who incidentally is a young 494 00:28:27,866 --> 00:28:29,326 Speaker 2: black woman, to the site. 495 00:28:30,826 --> 00:28:33,346 Speaker 12: And she's two miles up on the mountain. You want 496 00:28:33,366 --> 00:28:34,126 Speaker 12: to go up there right now? 497 00:28:34,526 --> 00:28:34,946 Speaker 5: Yeah, sure. 498 00:28:35,426 --> 00:28:35,986 Speaker 1: Let's go. 499 00:28:36,006 --> 00:28:37,796 Speaker 12: I can take you to where I know. 500 00:28:38,996 --> 00:28:42,636 Speaker 2: The video cuts. Now they're driving through Montanito, past the 501 00:28:42,656 --> 00:28:43,436 Speaker 2: tennis courthouse. 502 00:28:44,896 --> 00:28:46,536 Speaker 9: So, what house is this? 503 00:28:46,556 --> 00:28:48,846 Speaker 13: This is the house where she was, where I heard her. 504 00:28:49,706 --> 00:28:49,846 Speaker 2: Yeah. 505 00:28:50,456 --> 00:28:52,676 Speaker 13: I came down off to cross the street right there 506 00:28:52,736 --> 00:28:55,416 Speaker 13: is Woodluff. I heard a scream out there yelling. I 507 00:28:55,456 --> 00:28:57,496 Speaker 13: came down, then I walked across, and I stood right here, 508 00:28:57,516 --> 00:29:00,016 Speaker 13: but see, I couldn't see the front door because of 509 00:29:00,096 --> 00:29:01,416 Speaker 13: all these cars. 510 00:29:02,836 --> 00:29:06,136 Speaker 2: Another cut. Now the camera's looking out over Dark Canyon 511 00:29:06,456 --> 00:29:07,276 Speaker 2: from somewhere above. 512 00:29:11,456 --> 00:29:14,376 Speaker 8: Well, they've had people who were able to get down there. 513 00:29:14,736 --> 00:29:19,486 Speaker 1: And then that's Dark Creek going down there. And I 514 00:29:19,506 --> 00:29:23,066 Speaker 1: think that's where they found her, right down there. I 515 00:29:23,086 --> 00:29:25,906 Speaker 1: think that was some pot-grower's place. 516 00:29:27,486 --> 00:29:28,046 Speaker 2: Another cut. 517 00:29:29,186 --> 00:29:29,766 Speaker 5: Hello, everybody. 518 00:29:30,366 --> 00:29:31,046 Speaker 10: What's happening? 519 00:29:31,066 --> 00:29:31,686 Speaker 8: It's your girl. 520 00:29:33,176 --> 00:29:35,856 Speaker 2: Now Raven is on a hike. She could be down 521 00:29:35,876 --> 00:29:36,456 Speaker 2: in the canyon. 522 00:29:36,476 --> 00:29:43,536 Speaker 8: I'm just getting to where my Trace Richardson's body was found. 523 00:29:43,616 --> 00:29:44,476 Speaker 8: I'm carrying. 524 00:29:45,276 --> 00:29:48,356 Speaker 2: Then another cut, and she's walking by some odd fencing. 525 00:29:49,716 --> 00:29:56,806 Speaker 2: Then the video just stops. We had a million questions 526 00:29:56,846 --> 00:29:59,846 Speaker 2: for Raven. Had she actually found a way into Dark 527 00:29:59,886 --> 00:30:03,166 Speaker 2: Canyon from higher up on Paiuma Road? Had the Montanito 528 00:30:03,206 --> 00:30:06,346 Speaker 2: lifer guided her to the remains site? Did she have 529 00:30:06,406 --> 00:30:09,476 Speaker 2: video of all that? We set up a meeting with her. 530 00:30:11,106 --> 00:30:15,336 Speaker 2: Raven wasn't what I expected. She has a big personality online, 531 00:30:15,856 --> 00:30:18,796 Speaker 2: as a topless rights activist and a shaman who sells 532 00:30:18,856 --> 00:30:24,036 Speaker 2: hexes on Etsy. In person, though, she's surprisingly quiet and mild-mannered. 533 00:30:24,876 --> 00:30:27,296 Speaker 2: She doesn't have a fixed address and asked us to 534 00:30:27,336 --> 00:30:30,256 Speaker 2: meet her at a Popeye's in South LA. We ended 535 00:30:30,316 --> 00:30:33,236 Speaker 2: up sitting in my car to talk. She says she 536 00:30:33,276 --> 00:30:36,636 Speaker 2: was very disturbed by Mitrice's disappearance and the lack of 537 00:30:36,696 --> 00:30:37,856 Speaker 2: resolution to her story. 538 00:30:39,346 --> 00:30:42,666 Speaker 3: So you started going out to Malibu to kind of 539 00:30:42,726 --> 00:30:45,186 Speaker 3: interview people to learn more about the Mitrice case? 540 00:30:45,366 --> 00:30:49,936 Speaker 2: Yes. She says she stumbled on the Montanito guy a 541 00:30:49,976 --> 00:30:52,376 Speaker 2: year or two after Mitrice's remains were found. 542 00:30:53,836 --> 00:30:56,016 Speaker 8: I found him totally by accident. 543 00:30:57,296 --> 00:30:59,676 Speaker 2: She tells us she liked him. Even though he was 544 00:30:59,756 --> 00:31:02,716 Speaker 2: in someone's basement, he saw himself as a mountain man, 545 00:31:03,136 --> 00:31:06,776 Speaker 2: living at his spot. She got that he was essentially homeless. 546 00:31:08,436 --> 00:31:12,796 Speaker 8: He was a very nice person. From what I recall, 547 00:31:12,816 --> 00:31:15,956 Speaker 8: I remember him giving me beers. He was very, very 548 00:31:15,996 --> 00:31:19,256 Speaker 8: down to earth. He didn't mean any harm. He didn't 549 00:31:19,296 --> 00:31:21,276 Speaker 8: come off to me as anybody malicious. 550 00:31:23,496 --> 00:31:26,806 Speaker 2: Unfortunately, Raven says she can't really remember much about the 551 00:31:26,826 --> 00:31:29,886 Speaker 2: trip into Dark Canyon, and she can't find the video 552 00:31:29,926 --> 00:31:32,786 Speaker 2: she made about it. But she does remember that the 553 00:31:32,826 --> 00:31:35,866 Speaker 2: guy showed her his spot on the mountain. It was 554 00:31:35,906 --> 00:31:39,236 Speaker 2: in the woods, off Paiuma Road. past the driveway to 555 00:31:39,256 --> 00:31:42,196 Speaker 2: the porn ranch, but before you hit the property's fire road. 556 00:31:43,616 --> 00:31:47,186 Speaker 8: He had a little dugout. It looked like a very 557 00:31:47,296 --> 00:31:50,186 Speaker 8: earthy hovel, but he had it set up very, very nice. 558 00:31:50,286 --> 00:31:53,526 Speaker 8: I mean, I think he might have had a fridge, 559 00:31:53,546 --> 00:32:00,686 Speaker 8: a little refrigerator that was a propane stove. I think 560 00:32:00,726 --> 00:32:02,586 Speaker 8: he had like a separate room. He had it set 561 00:32:02,626 --> 00:32:03,746 Speaker 8: up very, very nice. 562 00:32:05,866 --> 00:32:07,946 Speaker 2: When she went back to find him a short time later, 563 00:32:09,146 --> 00:32:14,606 Speaker 2: He was gone. Sergeant Wright always told me he thought 564 00:32:14,646 --> 00:32:17,446 Speaker 2: Mitrice had wandered into the canyon and died as a 565 00:32:17,466 --> 00:32:21,566 Speaker 2: result of her mental illness. This was the consensus view 566 00:32:21,666 --> 00:32:24,766 Speaker 2: of law enforcement, supported by the fact that the coroner 567 00:32:24,896 --> 00:32:27,136 Speaker 2: had not been able to determine a cause of death. 568 00:32:28,636 --> 00:32:31,416 Speaker 2: But then, after we'd known each other for three years, 569 00:32:32,136 --> 00:32:34,556 Speaker 2: he told me he didn't actually see the case as 570 00:32:34,736 --> 00:32:39,676 Speaker 2: quite that cut and dried. He was well into his retirement, 571 00:32:40,216 --> 00:32:42,436 Speaker 2: and he was supposed to be relaxing and spending time 572 00:32:42,456 --> 00:32:45,636 Speaker 2: with his family and having coffee with other retired deputies. 573 00:32:46,756 --> 00:32:50,446 Speaker 2: But he was ruminating on this old case. Of course 574 00:32:50,496 --> 00:32:54,546 Speaker 2: it bothered him that he hadn't found Mitrice alive. But also, 575 00:32:54,826 --> 00:32:57,866 Speaker 2: some of the specifics were nagging at him. He didn't 576 00:32:57,886 --> 00:33:02,106 Speaker 2: really buy the hypothermia theory, or the dehydration theory. It 577 00:33:02,146 --> 00:33:05,546 Speaker 2: just wasn't that cold in September of 2009, and there 578 00:33:05,566 --> 00:33:08,706 Speaker 2: was water in the creek. So what, did she just 579 00:33:08,826 --> 00:33:12,046 Speaker 2: will herself to death? How many days would that take? 580 00:33:14,406 --> 00:33:17,786 Speaker 2: That's when he told me something new, something law enforcement 581 00:33:17,926 --> 00:33:21,976 Speaker 2: hasn't shared publicly. He told me the sheriff's department did 582 00:33:22,026 --> 00:33:25,456 Speaker 2: investigate someone. It was the guy with the fort, with 583 00:33:25,476 --> 00:33:29,676 Speaker 2: the deer ribcage, and the women's IDs. But they never 584 00:33:29,756 --> 00:33:34,186 Speaker 2: named him publicly, and there was no arrest. Sergeant Wright 585 00:33:34,226 --> 00:33:38,046 Speaker 2: thought that guy might hold the answer to the Mitrice-Richardson case. 586 00:33:39,356 --> 00:33:42,376 Speaker 2: But Sergeant Wright wasn't a homicide detective, and he was 587 00:33:42,516 --> 00:33:45,036 Speaker 2: out of law enforcement anyway, so there was nothing he 588 00:33:45,056 --> 00:33:58,026 Speaker 2: could do about it. Except give me his name. Next 589 00:33:58,066 --> 00:34:02,086 Speaker 2: time on Lost Hills... Do you know anything about that girl, Rick? 590 00:34:02,106 --> 00:34:03,346 Speaker 10: And he's like, what girl? 591 00:34:04,166 --> 00:34:05,126 Speaker 4: Laura, what girl? 592 00:34:05,326 --> 00:34:07,466 Speaker 7: You know, he had that raspy voice. 593 00:34:08,666 --> 00:34:10,466 Speaker 2: She's like, the girl, the girl, you know, the girl 594 00:34:10,486 --> 00:34:14,766 Speaker 2: that fucking, the girl that's dead. The girl that they found. 595 00:34:16,946 --> 00:34:23,726 Speaker 2: That's next in Episode 8, Rick Trouble. Lost Hills is 596 00:34:23,786 --> 00:34:27,386 Speaker 2: written and hosted by me, Dana Goodyear. It was reported 597 00:34:27,426 --> 00:34:31,476 Speaker 2: by me and Haley Fox, our senior producer. The show 598 00:34:31,516 --> 00:34:35,196 Speaker 2: was created by me and Ben Adair. Lost Hills is 599 00:34:35,236 --> 00:34:44,006 Speaker 2: a production of Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Subscribe to 600 00:34:44,026 --> 00:34:46,986 Speaker 2: Pushkin Plus and you can binge the whole season right 601 00:34:47,046 --> 00:34:51,066 Speaker 2: now ad-free. Find Pushkin Plus on the Lost Hills show 602 00:34:51,106 --> 00:34:56,006 Speaker 2: page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm slash plus.