Bryce Laspisa was the only offspring of Michael and Karen Laspisa, and he had been born and grown in Illinois. Not long after he passed from high school in 2012, the family shifted across the country to California.
The fall semester began on August 26, 2013. Bryce attended a speech class and a web design class that day, and he phoned his mother that night to tell her how much he loved them. As far as Karen was concerned, the talk had been perfectly natural. Bryce was active and delighted about the new semester, and it didn’t show like there was anything she required to be worried about.
Those who saw Bryce on an everyday basis, however, were worried about him. He hadn’t been behaving like himself since he’s come back to Rocklin two weeks before, and his attitude was developing increasingly unstable
Bryce had never been a nasty teenager; he was a typical youngster in college. Bryce’s history with booze and drugs was somewhat typical for any teenager staring to have a bit of adventure. He had partaken in some underage drinking at gatherings, and his parents learned he probably smoked marijuana. However, nothing pointed towards any type of addictive attitude.
Those close to Bryce were shocked to notice an unexpected increase in his drinking usages. Bryce was drinking every day at this point, and when asked on it, he would simply say that nothing was wrong. After some pushback from his girlfriend, Bryce ultimately admitted he was also taking the ‘study drug’ Vyvanse.
On Tuesday, Bryce’s behavior seemed even odder. Kim knew that he had been drinking rather heavily lately, but this seemed to be more than just alcohol. Concerned, she inquired Bryce what was wrong, but he asserted that everything was good. When Kim persisted to press him, he finally confessed that, in addition to drinking, he had taken the drug Vyvanse. An amphetamine-based narcotic, Vyvanse is a powerful stimulant, and the effect it has on a person is equal to that of methamphetamine. It has become a famous active drug on many college campuses, as it gives an energy boost that enables the user to go without any sleep for an extended period of time.
Kim was concerned, as this was uncharacteristic attitude for Bryce, but he didn’t seem to feel it was a big deal. He appeared to grow hindered with Kim for suspecting him, and finally sent her a text message saying that she would be better off without him anyway. Confused, Kim asked if he was breaking up with her, and he specified that he was.
Around 11:00 pm that night, Bryce called his mother from Kim’s apartment in Chico. It’s ambiguous why Bryce supposed to visit Kim, as he hadn’t changed his mind about breaking up with her and he still denied to give any explanations for his sudden decision. Worried about his erratic behavior, Kim took his car keys away from him and asked him to get some nap before trying to drive home. Bryce told her he preferred to leave, and demanded his keys back. When Kim declined to do so, he phoned his mother.
Complaining that Kim wouldn’t let him to go home, he insisted that his mom speak to her and tell her to return his car keys to him. After speaking with Karen, Kim gave Bryce his car keys and he left her apartment around 11:30 pm.
The next morning, Bryce’s parents got an automated message from their insurance affirming that there had been a roadside help request placed for one of their vehicles. They decided to call Bryce, wondering if he had some car trouble driving home from Kim’s apartment. They were shocked to learn from Bryce’s roommate that he had never returned home the night before.
Karen decided to reach Bryce on his cell phone, but he did not answer. But the couple was able to find the repair shop that had helped Bryce via the internet. From there, they were able to determine the auto shop’s name that had come to Bryce’s aid. They discovered that Bryce had called roadside assistance around 9:00 am that morning from the small town of Buttonwillow — more than 350 miles south of Kim’s apartment. It was apparent that Bryce must have driven non-stop throughout the night to get there.
After calling the repair shop, Bryce’s parents managed to get an employee named Christian to help them. Christian, the employee who answered the call, told Karen that Bryce had gone as far as the Buttonwillow Rest Area before running out of gas, and he had given three gallons of gas to him around 9:30 am. When he heard Karen had been unable to get ahold of her son, Christian tried to drive back over to the rest area to see if Bryce was still there.
Christian didn’t expect to see Bryce; it had been almost three hours since the roadside assistance call, and he thought that Bryce had most likely continued on to wherever he was going. He was shocked when he pulled into the rest area and saw Bryce resting in his car in the exact place he had been in that morning. Bryce seemed shocked to see Christian as well, even more so when Christian handed him his cell phone and told him his mother wanted to talk to him.
Karen was released to hear her son’s voice but was worried about the circumstances in general. When she asked Bryce what he was doing, he didn’t have an answer. Although Bryce offered little in the way of information, his voice was clear, and there was nothing to indicate he was intoxicated. Since Bryce was only about three hours away from Laguna Niguel, Karen decided that the questioning could wait. All Bryce had to do was get back on Interstate 5, and he would be home in a matter of hours. She suggested Bryce fill up his gas tank and said they would expect to see him at home around 3:00 pm. Bryce accepted.
Due to his unusual behavior, his parents quickly got the police involved when he did not reach Rocklin. When Bryce hadn’t arrived at their home by 3:30 pm, his parents began to get worried. They had no access to calling Bryce, as once again, he was not answering his cell phone. They tried to tell themselves that Bryce was probably stuck in traffic somewhere, but as the hours ticked by and there was still no word from him, they knew they were not dealing with a simple traffic jam. Disturbed that Bryce may have been in a car accident, they called the police and reported him missing.
Sensibly, the first thing the police did was call Bryce’s cell phone provider and have them ping his phone to see if they could come up with his location. Once they did, it didn’t take long to find him. Almost 10 hours after he had made the call to roadside assistance, Bryce was still in Buttonwillow.
Once they got Bryce’s location, two Kern County deputies were sent to check on him. He had loaded up his gas tank like his mother directed, but rather than get on Interstate 5; he had simply parked near it. If he was surprised to see the deputies, he concealed it well. He was polite and cooperative and told them he was just trying to blow off some steam before resuming his drive home. It was a logical explanation, but deputies wanted to make sure he really was okay to drive. They had him get out of the car and performed some field sobriety tests on him; he passed easily. He told them they were welcome to search his car, and they didn’t find anything: no drugs, no alcohol, no weapons.
Before they let him go, however, they told him he needed to call his mother. They were astonished when Bryce looked hesitant to do so, even after telling him that she had been extremely worried about him. Finally, one of the officers took Bryce’s phone and called Karen himself. He convinced her that Bryce had passed their field sobriety tests and appeared to be fine. Bryce confirmed he was going to make his way home.
Despite his trust that he would be on his way shortly, Bryce was still sitting in the same spot a few hours later when Christian drove by. He called Karen to tell her that Bryce was still parked on the side of the road and told her that he would follow Bryce to the interstate to make sure he got on it. Bryce looked to realize that he was not going to get away with waiting any longer, especially if the police had to come back. He got a soda at a nearby gas station and told Christian he would start driving home.
Finally, more than 13 hours after he arrived there, Bryce left Buttonwillow and got on Interstate 5. Christian watched him for about 10 miles and did not observe anything strange about his driving. He called Karen back to let her know that Bryce was finally on Interstate 5 and heading south in the direction of Laguna Niguel.
Bryce extended to delay his arrival at his parents’ home, and at 1:50 am, he called them to say he’d taken a road. He was using GPS and estimated he would arrive at 3:25 am. He then called for a second time at 2:09 am to tell them he was too tired to drive and would rest.
The following day his parents were awoken to the sound of a California Highway Patrol officer at their door. Bryce’s car had been found smashed but without Bryce inside. The car had careened off a 25-foot embankment before crashing onto the road, where it was eventually discovered.
Camera footage revealed that only a few minutes after telling his parents he was taking a rest, he drove up a hill towards the Castaic Lake Recreation Area. Just over two hours later, he drove past this camera again, heading up the mountain. Bryce’s car was found destroyed under an hour after this second pass.
Without Bryce present, officers were tasked with piecing together what had happened. Surprisingly, they realized that the car had not driven off the embankment by accident. It seemed as if it was done on purpose and that Bryce had held the accelerator down the entire time.
The car was on its side when the police found it, and the glass had been broken from the inside, likely letting Bryce escape. All of his major belongings, such as his phone, were in the car. A duffel bag that carried clothes and Bryce’s wallet was discovered on the road near the vehicle. The bag was opened, showing signs that someone had seen inside.
The crash had only little signs of blood in the driver’s seat, and there were no signs on the ground indicating Bryce struggled to move.
The quick search was extensive, with officers using ground, water, and aerial crews to search through the vast and natural terrain of Castaic Lake State Recreation Area. Dogs were handled and followed Bryce’s scent to a location called Government Cove, but expert divers could not find any hint of him. Despite all the struggles, Bryce had apparently disappeared.
With no indications of foul play, investigators quickly started to suspect that Bryce had been suicidal. Shawn, a friend, told police that Bryce had gifted him his XBOX console, along with a pair of diamond earrings that were from his mother. Combined with his odd behavior before the crash, some showed Bryce’s mental health might have been compromised.
So there is literally nothing about this person on tumblr so I’m going to go ahead and just through my blog posts out here so ya’ll can know and maybe one day they’ll find him.
Welcome and hello. The first case I will be covering on this blog is the disappearance of Bryce Laspisa. He went missing after wrecking his
I think no matter which theory you go with there is one common thread: he did drive that car off the side of the road. He did it on purpose.
Essentially he has some really strange behavior over several days, drives his car off an embankment near a lake, and is never seen again. His scent was tracked by dogs towards a truck stop but that’s where trail goes dry.
Bryce Lapisa has been missing since August 30, 2013. He was last seen near Castaic, California. He was 19 years old at the time of his disappearance
Bryce David Laspisa was born on April 30th, 1994 to his parents Karen and Michael Laspisa.
Bryce attended Sierra College, where he had just begun the year as a sophomore. Although Bryce had a bright future ahead and was excited at the possibilities, his behaviour suddenly changed in the two weeks he was back at the campus. He was reported to be drinking heavily; an entire bottle of alcohol every weekend. He was also said to be taking the prescription drug Vyvanse (an ADHD medication) to stay awake, although this had not been prescribed to him. According to his mother Karen, Bryce’s friends would call her often expressing concern for his reckless and out of character behaviour.
Wednesday, 28th August.
Around 1:30PM on the day of his disappearance, Bryce ended his relationship with his girlfriend, Kim. Kim noted that Bryce had exhibited “strange” behaviour the previous evening (the 27th) and had admitted to taking Vyvanse. In a text exchange, Kim asked if they were breaking up. Bryce stated to Kim that “she would be better off without him”. During this time, Bryce also gave his Xbox to his roommate Shaun, as well as a pair of diamond earrings which his mother had given him. Both were said to be cherished possessions.
Approximately 10PM, Bryce arrived at Kim’s house in Chino, California, where they discussed their relationship. Bryce maintained that the relationship was over. Kim noted that he was still acting strangely and expressed concern for his well-being, confiscated his keys. She made a call to both Bryce’s parents explaining that she believed Bryce was not fit to drive. Karen said that she would fly out tomorrow to meet with Bryce, but Bryce talked her out of it, stating, “don’t make an airlines reservation until I talk to you because I have a lot to talk to you about.” Karen then spoke to Kim and instructed her to give the keys back to Bryce. At 11:30PM Bryce made the journey from Kim’s house in Chino to his apartment.
Thursday, 29th August
Bryce made a phone call to his mother at around 1AM. Karen missed the call but assumed Bryce was headed home. It was later discovered that cell phone pings placed Bryce hours in the opposite direction of his apartment.
At approximately 9:30AM, Bryce made a call to roadside assistance to attend to his car stationed in Buttonwillow. At this point, 9 and a half hours had passed since Bryce had set off.
At 11AM his parents were notified by their insurance company that Bryce had run out of gas and roadside assistance had been called to deliver $20 worth from a local tire and truck store. Bryce did not answer any calls made to him and did not arrive home when expected. Karen called the insurance company and requested that the serviceman, named Christian, who attended to the car drive back and speak with Bryce. Bryce had not moved. Christian told her that Bryce appeared “OK" but added: “His eyes look a little red.” Karen requested that Christian put Bryce on the phone. Bryce was evasive and did not answer his mother’s questions, but agreed to be home by 3PM
Bryce did not make it home. At 6PM, when Bryce had not returned home his parents filed a missing person report with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The Sheriff’s Department contacted AT&T, the provider of Bryce’s cell phone. At approximately 9PM, Bryce’s parents were informed of his location. According to cell phone pings, Bryce had not moved more than 8 miles in those 9 hours.
Deputies from the Kern County Sheriff’s Department spoke with Bryce, whose car was situated on Lagoon Drive in Buttonwillow. They searched his car, possibly for drugs or alcohol, but found neither. Officers issued a field sobriety test, which Bryce passed. He was lucid and able to answer questions, although he was reluctant to call his parents. Officers called Karen and had Bryce speak with her. Bryce continued to avoid answering her questions. He agreed to make his way back, with deputies deciding that he was safe to drive.
Between 10PM and 11PM, Christian, who had brought the gas to Bryce, noted that he had a missed call from Bryce’s mother that was left earlier that day. Christian called Karen back, who explained her concerns for Bryce. Christian offered to go back and check up on Bryce. Christian found Bryce still parked in the same location. This marked 13 hours that Bryce had been in Buttonwillow.
Christian told Bryce that he would follow him down to the I-5 South interstate, which Bryce would have used to drive home. Christian continued to follow Bryce for approximately 10 miles. He called Karen and informed her that Bryce was headed in their direction.
It was reported at 12:30am that Bryce stopped for gas and purchased a soft drink. Karen attempted to call at 12:50AM but received no answer.
The last contact Bryce had with his parents was at 2:09AM. Bryce called home and explained that he was going to take a nap. His parents agreed that it was a good idea to do so and that he should travel back after resting. Bryce told them that he had pulled off the I-5 and was parked in a residential area.
August 30th
At 8AM Bryce’s parents were informed by the California Highway Patrol that a 2003 beige Toyota Highlander was found in the Castaic Lake area. This was the vehicle that Bryce was driving. The SUV was found on Main Ramp Road, leading to Castaic Lake Main Boat Launch access road, a road running parallel to Lake Hughes Road, which headed up a hill towards a cell phone tower.
Map view of where the vehicle was located. Source
Bryce’s vehicle was found at 5:30AM. It had crashed and was found lying at the bottom of a 25-foot embankment. The car was lying on its side with the rear window smashed. Bryce has used an emergency tool to break the back window. Upon inspecting the car, police found Bryce’s laptop, wallet and cell phone inside along with an unzipped duffel bag next to the broken window. Small drops of his blood were also found on the headrest and back seat, but would only indicate a minor injury.
Bryce was nowhere to be found.
The family made numerous attempts to locate Bryce. Ariel searches of the area proved fruitless. Bloodhounds began tracking his scent, which lead them down to a gas station and truck stop but then disappeared. conflicting reports say that bloodhounds tracked his scent to the edge of the lake. Despite exhaustive search efforts including SONAR, searchers and divers have not located Bryce or his remains.
Searching for Bryce. Source
Since Bryce’s disappearance, there have been thousands of reported sightings and tips. None of these, however, have been Bryce. There are many theories that have been put forward to explain the strange circumstances surrounding his prior behaviour and disappearance. Was Bryce suicidal and had attempted to injure himself fatally? Did he crash accidentally and subsequently was left with a head injury that left him disorientated? Could the drugs he had been taking in combination with alcohol contribute to his bizarre behaviour?
His parents are ever hopeful that one day they’ll receive answers that can solve this mystery.
*If you have any information about the case, call 949-292-4400. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department can be reached at 323-890-5500. You can also send photos to his family at [email protected].
Contents1 Who is Bryce Laspisa?2 Early life and education3 Bryce’s disappearance4 What led to his disappearance?5 Love life and girlfriend6 Hobbies and interesting facts7 Age, height and net worth Who is Bryce Laspisa? Bryce was born in Springfield, Illinois USA, on 30 April 1994 – his zodiac sign is Taurus, and he holds American nationality. …
Do you know Bryce Laspisa? Bryce gets disappeared on 30 August 2013 while on his way to his parent’s house and hasn’t been found from that day. He is 28 years old with short ginger hair and brown eyes with 6ft height and around 80kgs weight. Bryce’s parents share that he became less friendly, withdrawn and erratic from few days of his disappearance.
Contents1 Who is Bryce Laspisa?2 Early life and education3 Bryce’s disappearance4 What led to his disappearance?5 Love life and girlfriend6
Do you know Bryce Laspisa? Bryce gets disappeared on 30 August 2013 while on his way to his parent’s house and hasn’t been found from that day. He is 28 years old with short ginger hair and brown eyes with 6ft height and around 80kgs weight. Bryce’s parents share that he became less friendly, withdrawn and erratic from few days of his disappearance.
Hey, guys. If you're the praying type and/or live in California, can you keep Bryce Laspisa in mind? He's my manager's cousin. He's 19 and has been missing for two weeks after overturning his car in the Castaic Lake area near Los Angeles. It's believed he was spotted recently in a restaurant asking for water and looking dirty and confused.They think he might have a head injury that has prevented him from seeking help.
The following is from the article linked above:
He is described as white with red hair and blue eyes. He is 5-foot-11 and weighs 170 pounds. He has a tattoo of a Taurus the bull head with a Roman numeral on his left shoulder. He was last seen wearing white cargo shorts, a blue-and-white checkered shirt and white-and-red Nike shoes.
Anyone with information can call LA County Missing Persons Detective Chris Carns at 323-890-5500.
