Bryce Laspisa was born on April 30, 1994, to the family of Mike and Karen Laspisa. He grew up in Illinois. After graduating from Naperville Central High School in 2012, he moved with his family to Laguna Niguel, California. The boy had many friends thanks to his charisma. Friends described Bryce as an incredibly fun and happy teenager who would often invite friends over to his house. Laspisa was a talented artist, he could draw and like to DIY. He continued these interests at Sierra College in Rocklin, California, where he was a sophomore. Thanks to industrial and graphic design courses, he prepared an extensive portfolio of his work. In his freshman year of college, he met his then-girlfriend Kim Sly.
In late August 2013, Bryce's friends began noticing a change in his behavior. The 19-year-old's roommate was so concerned that he called the boy's mother to let her know what was going on. He told Karen that Bryce was acting strange and unexpectedly broke up with Kim via SMS. The friend also told the woman that Bryce was concerned about something, but that no one understood exactly what it was about. According to her roommate, Laspisa's behavior changed after she and her friend spent the night playing video games. Bryce then took his ADHD medication to keep him awake. Hours after talking to her son's roommate, Karen got a call from Bryce himself. The 19-year-old cycled nearly 150 km and arrived at Kim's home in Chico, California.
Kim picked up the phone and told Karen she felt Bryce was acting like he wasn't. The girl was clearly worried. She thought her current boyfriend should not be driving, although he said everything was fine. Concerned about her son's health, Karen offered to visit him the next day. The 19-year-old told his mother not to come. He assured him that he was fine. He admitted that he wanted to talk to her but did not say what exactly. He then handed the phone over to Kim. Karen had made her give Bryce the keys, but only if she promised to call her in the morning. At 11:30 PM Bryce left Kim's house. Around 1:00 am on August 29, Bryce called Karen, who thought her son had returned to his apartment in Rocklin. It was later determined, however, that it was headed further south towards the mountains, passing Sierra College.
Later that morning, his parents received a message from their car insurance company that Bryce's car needed roadside assistance. Worried, Karen called her son's roommate, who informed her that Laspisa had not come home the night before. Looking for clues, Mike and Karen noticed a recent charge on their credit card statement. The transaction was made in Buttonwillow, California. The location was known as a truck stop on Interstate 5. The town was a few hours from Laguna Niguel, so the parents assumed Bryce had decided to drive to the family home.
At 9:00 AM, Mike noticed a deal for Castro Tire and Truck - an auto repair shop near the highway. The couple decided to call there. The employee who picked up said he was called after Bryce ran out of gas. The man provided the boy with fuel. Hearing the concern in Karen's voice, the garage worker offered to come back and see if Bryce was still around. When he did, he called Karen back and handed the phone over to her son who once again said nothing happened. The mother asked him to refuel and travel home. At this point, Bryce's parents estimated that the boy would arrive around 3:00 PM.
When it struck 3:30 pm and Laspisa still hadn't made it to Laguna Niguel, Karen started calling him, but to no avail. She tried to contact her son for the next few hours until she and her husband decided to report her son missing to the Orange County Sheriff's Department at around 6pm. After receiving the report, police officers called Bryce on the phone and discovered that the 19-year-old was still in Buttonwillow. Moreover, he only traveled 13 km from where he was supplied with gasoline. When Bryce's car was located near the interstate, the police went there, did a sobriety test, and searched his car. They found no alcohol or drugs. They decided that Bryce was behaving normally, being nice, talkative, and reacting normally to questions. The boy admitted that he wanted to cool down a bit, hence his long stop. The police said he was delaying his return home because he needed time to get ready to meet his parents. The policemen told the boy to call his mother. Bryce was reluctant at first, so the officers dialed the woman's number. Karen asked the police if they thought her son could drive. The cops confirmed and drove away, hoping Bryce would continue on his way home.
Hours later, the teenager was still not in Laguna Niguel. So Karen called the man in the workshop, who once again offered to check what was happening with her son. When he arrived where Bryce was last seen, it was found to be still there. So the man offered to follow him until Laspisa turned onto the freeway. About 30 minutes later, Bryce headed towards Laguna Niguel. Over the next few hours, the parents kept in touch with their son by phone, asking him to report any characteristic points he had missed while driving. This was to determine how long it would take for the boy to get home. The latter, however, did not feel like it and did not provide this information. At 2:09 AM on August 30, Bryce called his mother and told her he was stopping for the night because he was too tired to go any further.
At 8:00 am that day, the Laspiss heard the doorbell. When they opened them, they saw a California state highway patrol officer. The officer asked the couple if they had a beige 2003 Toyota Highlander. The Lapises confirmed and said their son was driving it, a police officer reported that at 5:30 a.m., an abandoned vehicle lying on its side was found next to Castaic Lake, on the access road to the State Recreation Area just two hours north of their home. The car was wrecked and found at the bottom of the wharf adjacent to the main access road to the lake.
According to the patrol officer, the rear window was broken from the inside. Given that Bryce was not at the wreckage, he was most likely inside at the time of the accident and got outside through it. His laptop and phone were found in the car. Bruce's travel bag and wallet were outside, next to the broken glass. Bryce's blood was found on the passenger's headrest and rear seat, but there was no evidence that he was seriously injured. A preliminary inspection of the scene suggested that before dawn, for unknown reasons, Bryce had veered off the road, heading at high speed towards the lake. Bryce seemed to think the lake was much closer to the cell phone tower than it really was. It is a kind of optical illusion that occurs here.
After analyzing the circumstances, investigators concluded that Bryce's actions were deliberate. A theory arose according to which the boy wanted to drive the car into the lake and thus commit suicide. According to his friends, Bryce's behavior became very reckless after he began drinking heavy alcohol and taking ADHD medication. His roommate also stated that the 19-year-old had started giving away items that belonged to him, including a heavily used Xbox and a pair of diamond earrings. Parents did not quite believe that their son would commit suicide. Authorities believed that it might be Bryce who may have been undergoing a crisis caused by heavy drinking and drug use. These measures could induce changes in the psyche leading to suicide or flight. However, Mike and Karen questioned this theory, claiming that their son had only experimented, and not struggled with substance abuse. That summer, according to his parents, he was acting normally.
After the car was discovered, a large-scale search was carried out. Hundreds of officers and volunteers, as well as search and rescue teams, specially trained dogs and divers, took part in them. The hills, the lake, and its coastline were searched on foot, by quad bikes, and by helicopters. The weekend-long search, however, did not bring any breakthrough in the case. Also, no one who saw Bryce in the Santa Clarita Valley at the time of the accident was reported. In the first days of his disappearance, the parents of the 19-year-old received numerous clues and possible sightings from the western United States. However, this information did not lead to the finding of Bryce Laspisa.
In order to reach more people, Mike came up with a flyer about the missing person, and Karen contacted the media. There is also a billboard with Laspisa's image and information near Castaic Lake. However, despite these efforts, no tangible leads have emerged. When asked about Bryce's psyche prior to his disappearance, the couple replied that he made sense every time they spoke to him. The Lapises also claimed that their son would not have left the scene of the accident voluntarily, as he had never hitchhiked and was not fond of spending time outdoors. He was also unfamiliar with the vicinity of Lake Castaic.
On September 4, 2013, a runner called 911 to report a brush fire, just 5 km from where the car had crashed. When the first rescuers arrived, they discovered a burning body. Although it was initially believed to be Bryce, a forensic investigation revealed that it was a Los Angeles man who had fallen victim to the homicide.
Police determined that the surveillance footage from August 30 showed the missing person's car in two different situations, close to where he was found. The camera took pictures of his license plate at 2:15 am, six minutes after he called Karen to let her know he was stopping to rest. The second time the cameras caught the car at 4:29 am. Although the police do not know why he was in the area, it was assumed that he was considering something.
Nine days after Bryce's disappearance, specially trained dogs were used to find where he might go after the car accident. The dogs caught his scent and followed him to the dam on the lake, through which they passed and headed south to the west shore of the lake. Then they headed towards the truck parking lot on Castaic Road. This led investigators to conclude that he might have chosen to flee the scene of the accident, possibly by hitchhiking with a truck driver. According to the investigators' findings, there were no indications that he was a victim of a crime or committed suicide. Police said if he took his own life, they would find him by a lake. Investigators felt that knowing what he wanted to talk to his mother about might be the key to clearing up the matter. The Laspisers downplayed this, saying that whatever it was most likely didn't matter much.
After three weeks, the search was continued. Local cafes and shops assisted with the search as they allowed the volunteers to meet to discuss details. As months passed with no new leads, the family hired a private investigator, Denise Savastano, who specializes in missing cases. Savastano offered its pro bono services. The woman believed Bryce wanted to go home to Laguna Niguel, based on GPS coordinates. This led to speculation that the 19-year-old may have sustained a head injury as a result of the accident. Another theory was that he might have suffered a psychotic breakdown as a result of taking drugs, which had caused his erratic behavior.
In August 2015, Savastano and the Laspisa family hired a sonar specialist to search the lake, using sound waves to generate images of the lake floor. They believed that if Bryce committed suicide, he would go deep into Government Cove. However, the two 12-hour trials yielded no new evidence. The family offered a reward of $ 5,000 for information that would lead to their son's return. Bryce's driving license, social security number, fingerprints, passport, and dental records were uploaded to the national missing person system.
What really happened to Bryce?
1) The initial theory adopted by those investigating Bryce's disappearance (some still believe it to be true) is that the boy committed suicide. This is evidenced by his erratic behavior in the days leading up to his disappearance, such as giving away his belongings and refusing to leave the Buttonwillow area. The wreckage of the car also indicates deliberate action. However, the family of the missing person does not agree with this hypothesis.
2) In time, investigators adopted a different variant, according to which Bryce consciously cut himself off from his current life. Investigators are convinced that he is still alive and does not want to be found. This is confirmed by the lack of evidence and body at Lake Castaic and the location of the site near the highway. Laspisa's parents do not believe this theory, claiming that their son would never run away. Karen and Mike are convinced their son would tell them about their problems.
3) The families, along with private investigator Denise Savastano, believed that Bryce was alive and possibly had a head injury during the accident. According to them, it could have caused amnesia and he wouldn't have known who he was. That would explain why he didn't try to get back to family and friends.
4) The combination of alcohol, drugs and medications could lead to sudden changes in the psyche of the 19-year-old. That would explain Bryce's strange behavior. In my opinion, this is the most likely theory that can be linked to virtually any of the above scenarios. We are not at the moment, however, to say with certainty what happened to the young missing man.
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