Lost Hills: Dark Canyon
Western Sound and Pushkin Industries
Publishing Details
Contact & Outreach
About This Podcast
Lost Hills investigates the dark side of Malibu, California. Beneath a seductive facade, this city of billionaires, celebrities, and surf bums is hiding something menacing.
On September 16, 2009, 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for failing to pay her bill at a restaurant in Malibu, CA. After being released from Lost Hills Station shortly after midnight, she disappeared. Eleven months later, her naked, skeletal remains were discovered in a canyon some six miles away.
For nearly 15 years, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Mitrice’s friends and family, and generations of internet sleuths have tried to crack the case.
To this day, her death remains an unsolved mystery.
The truth lies in the remote Malibu community where Mitrice was last seen. And now, finally, people are starting to talk.
Hosted by Dana Goodyear (The New Yorker) and produced by Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Show artwork copyright Francesca Gabbiani.
Subscribe to Pushkin plus to hear the whole season early, and ad free. Find Pushkin plus on the Lost Hills show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm.
Follow us @losthillspod on Twitter and Instagram for a deeper dive into the stories.
Podcasting 2.0 Features
Social Media
Explore Statistics
Recent Episodes
S4 Preview: The Pain of Others
Here’s an excerpt from a new Pushkin audiobook, The Pain of Others by Miguel Ángel Hernández. In a quiet town in the Spanish countryside, Miguel Ángel Hernández’s best friend murdered his sister and…
S4 Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister: Elizabeth Plunkett
Here's a preview of a podcast we think you'll enjoy, Bad Women Presents Stolen Sister, a special limited series from RTÉ. The story of Elizabeth Plunkett – a 23 year old woman from Dublin who was…
S4 From The Kink Machine: The Hidden Business of Pleasure
Streamed by millions every day, porn is everywhere. It shapes our culture, our relationships, and even technology. Yet, nobody seems to know who really controls the business. The power brokers tend…
S5E8 Episode 8: The Finish Line from Valley of Shadows
A reunion between two retired detectives brings new focus to the Aujay investigation, just as Hayley and Betsy find out about another tragedy in the Punchbowl area. When a woman and her father are…
S5E7 Episode 7: The Trial from Valley of Shadows
While the DEA showers Hager in accolades, the LASD turns against him. But Hager fights back, and drags the department’s dirty secrets out into open court. Betsy and Hayley go through thousands of…
S5E6 Episode 6: The Big Takedown from Valley of Shadows
Brandenburg is taken off the Aujay case, but the LASD can’t stop Hager and the federal task force. With the help of wiretaps, informants, and 18 months of investigation, the team pulls off one of the…
S5E5 Episode 5: The Legend of Bigfoot from Valley of Shadows
Decades before Jon Aujay’s disappearance, the Devil’s Punchbowl was infamous for something else: Bigfoot sightings. Sasquatch became a known boogeyman in the area. But beneath the folklore lies…
S5E4 Episode 4: Outlaw Country from Valley of Shadows
As Detective Brandenburg follows leads in the Aujay case, he finds himself with an unlikely ally. A young buck narcotics detective named Darren Hager, who’s trying to dismantle a meth syndicate run…
S5E3 Episode 3: Tweaker Talk from Valley of Shadows
At the time of Jon Aujay’s disappearance, California is under siege by a meth epidemic and the Antelope Valley is the epicenter. So when investigators receive tips that Aujay was killed after…
S5E2 Episode 2: An Unreasonable Act from Valley of Shadows
After deputy Jon Aujay disappears, the sheriff’s department claims he was suicidal — pointing to marital troubles and erratic behavior in the weeks before he vanished. But the LASD’s official story…
S5E1 Introducing Valley of Shadows: The Devil’s Punchbowl
Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing episodes from a new Pushkin true crime podcast, Valley of Shadows. Valley of Shadows digs into a nearly 30-year old secret buried in the California desert.…
S4 Introducing Deep Cover Presents: Snowball
We’re sharing a preview of another podcast we think you’ll enjoy, Deep Cover Presents: Snowball. Snowball follows journalist Ollie Wards as he unravels the wild story of how his own family was taken…
S4 Important Lost Hills - Dark Canyon Update
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department listened to our podcast and now they’re asking us some new questions — and answering some of ours. Are they ready to reopen the investigation into…
S4E12 12. Dig Two Graves
Dana lays out all the evidence, and we await results from forensic testing. We reconnect with Mitrice’s loved ones, as they celebrate what would have been her 39th birthday. See…
S4E11 11. The Suitcase
A round of cold calls yields brand new information tying the Person of Interest to Mitrice. We return to the fort in the woods, and make a startling discovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
S4E10 10. The Wallypad
The home of a local firefighter is infiltrated by an informant hoping to get more information on the Person of Interest. And a hike planned for Dark Canyon instead leads to the Lost Hills Station.See…
S4E9 9. Fearful Witness
A 2011 exhumation of Mitrice’s remains leads to a second autopsy. Meanwhile, a woman describes a disturbing encounter in Monte Nido around the time of Mitrice’s death. See omnystudio.com/listener for…
S4E8 8. Rick Trouble
We learn everything we can about our Person of Interest — a longtime member of the Monte Nido community, who went from golden boy to convict to off-the-grid survivalist living in the woods. We check…
S4E7 7. In the Shit
Looking for a way into Dark Canyon, we follow a former pot grower on a treacherous route, and pay a visit to the Porn Ranch, which borders Dark Canyon. Plus, a retired LASD sergeant reveals that…
S4E6 6. Reconnaissance
Eleven months after her disappearance, Mitrice’s naked remains are discovered in an abandoned pot field in Dark Canyon, just above Monte Nido. Deputies on scene make a controversial decision,…
Frequently Asked Questions
Lost Hills: Dark Canyon has published 66 episodes since March 2021, covering topics in Documentary, Society & Culture.
Lost Hills: Dark Canyon is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 36m.
Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Lost Hills: Dark Canyon, including email and social media links.