UPDATE: Richardson Family Offers $250,000 Reward For Missing Mother: ‘We will never give up’
The family of Kristi Richardson is offering a $250,000 reward for anyone giving information leading to the conviction of the person or persons involved in her disappearance one year ago today, her son said at a news conference.
Tracy Richardson was joined by his wife Cebee, and his sister and brother-in-law Amber and Peter Fazio at the Natrona County dispatch center.
"She has truly been missed each and every day over the last 12 months by all of us standing before you today, as well as her grandchildren, family, friends, employees and colleagues," Tracy said, reading from a prepared statement.
"A special piece has been missing in each important day or gathering. To put things in perspective, Kris has missed out on five birthday parties for her grandchildren and all of their school activities and sporting events, six home football games for her beloved Wyoming Cowboys, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and every other important and meaningful birthday, holiday, and family gathering in between.
"And the emptiness will continue until we get some answers, but we have not given up," he said. "We will never give up."
Kristi Richardson, was last seen on the evening of Oct. 6, 2014, and was reported missing the next day.
Police searched her house and found a cell phone in her bed, her purse with a large amount of cash, identification on the kitchen counter, and no immediately identified evidence of foul play, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Natrona County Circuit Court. Officers were told a garage door opener usually kept in her purse was missing, and they observed stains on the sheets that could possibly be blood or urine.
Police have looked at the case from her just having gone missing to being a criminal action, executed a search warrant at her trucking company, and received numerous tips and interviewed numerous people.
In February, police served search warrants on credit reporting services about a man who wanted to have a romantic relationship with Richardson. The man was one of several “persons of interest,” but not a suspect, detective Shannon Daley said then.
The Feb. 5 affidavits accompanying the search warrant requests cited interviews and phone records that had been able to verify the man’s whereabouts for most of Oct. 6, except for a three-hour gap between 7:55 p.m. to 11:01 p.m. The affidavits said the man's use of his credit cards during that time gap may have further pinpointed his whereabouts.
By late March, two credit reporting firms did, and one did not, respond to the search warrants. The results of those search warrants did not appear to provide any new public information about the case or the man.
Since then, no search warrant requests have been filed in Circuit Court.
Tuesday, Police Capt. Steve Freel declined to comment on the investigation, saying the news conference was for and about the Richardson family and the next step they are taking with the increased reward.
The increased reward may encourage someone to come forward, Peter Fazio said.
Tracy Richardson appealed to the community and its conscience for help.
"We believe strongly that there are individuals in our community that know what happened to Kris, and that those individuals owe it to Kris, her family, her friends and our community to come forward and help explain what happened on the evening of October the 6th, 2014," he said.