CA CA - Bryce Laspisa, 19, Castaic, 30 Aug 2013 - #3

[AnjL]

You know, I'm in Downtown Santa Ana right now having a beer and this is a place that has quickly become a hipster paradise, which is a change from the stabby Paisa bar place it was 10 years ago. It still has a massive homeless population though. And I'm lookin at faces and wondering if Bryce could be here. Troubling, not a missing poster in sight. I'd like to see them in Santa Ana, Newport, downtown Fullerton, bus and train depots, trucker stops, Laguna Beach, etc. I'd like to be part of a flyer campaign.
Also, today things are so different. It's all social media and YouTube, etc. I'd love to see a flash mob for Bryce. Something really attention grabbing.

I agree on flooding areas with fliers, especially areas where homeless people frequent. They don't usually have access to media or computers, and if Bryce is wandering and confused he may be hanging out at a homeless encampment. Even if he isn't with a group, sad to say but a homeless person will probably notice him before a someone hurrying about doing errands will notice. Jmo

 

[Whiteorchids]

Yellowcamaro studied the area where the truck crashed intensely and posted in great detail. In his best judgement IIRC believed the truck had been pushed over with no one inside. If this is the case it is looking to me more like suicide after reading articles on warning signs of suicide. It seems to me Bryce exhibited some of the warning signs leading up to these events I posted some links earlier. Vyvanse was in his system and can cause suicide.

Please read this article on stats of suicide with this drug!!!
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/vyvanse/suicide+attempt

 

[gitana1]

I agree. IMO the fact that he spent so many hours in the Buttonwillow area tells me that he was in either a sleep deprived or drug induced psychosis. His behavior in the days leading up to the accident along with his roomies statement regarding 4 days of no sleep leads me to strongly believe that is the case. I also believe that he hitched a ride and is wandering around somewhere, dazed and confused. I have spent the past week tending to a family member who was in a sleep deprived psychosis that was brought on by a physical illness. At times he appeared completely normal, and we thought he was getting better, but then he would start hallucinating again. We went through a lot: hallucinating that there were bugs on him, he kept changing clothes because he thought everything smelled bad, took a LOT of showers because he felt dirty, changed personalities and identities constantly. (Told Dr he was a professional skate boarder -he is 55 yrs old!, the a musician, then stand up comedian, The Messiah, adopted and gave us whole new name and list if family members...etc) at times he didn't know who we were, where he was, what year it was. He even reverted back to being 5 yrs old. This behavior got worse and worse, and he couldn't sleep more than 45min to an hour even under sedation. Wednesday they finally put him into a medicated coma so that his mind and body could heal. I will also add that his hallucinations began almost instantaneously. one minute he seemed fine, then the next he became agitated and worried because he was adopted and needed to carry on the family name but didnt know which name to carry on. (he was NOT adopted) Sleep deprivation is a serious issue and not something to mess with. If he were not in the hospital, I could easily see how he could have got himself in a predicament similar to Bryce's. I thought of Bryce a lot this week. I hope and pray that he is found safe really soon!

As I was reading this I was thinking, "Gee, he doesn't need a psychiatrist! He needs sleep! Give him a pill!". I had no clue it could be that hard to get someone to sleep. I guess that's what Michael Jackson was sort of dealing with. It scares me silly.

I note that the Kony 2012 guy who ended up naked and raving in San Diego also apparently suffered from sleep deprivation. It astounds me that in your relatives case they actually had to induce a coma. That is horrible!!!

Yellowcamaro studied the area where the truck crashed intensely and posted in great detail. In his best judgement IIRC believed the truck had been pushed over with no one inside. If this is the case it is looking to me more like suicide after reading articles on warning signs of suicide. It seems to me Bryce exhibited some of the warning signs leading up to these events I posted some links earlier. Vyvanse was in his system and can cause suicide.

Please read this article on stats of suicide with this drug!!!
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/vyvanse/suicide+attempt

You've linked to some important articles and it does seem Bryce may fit some of the criteria for suicidal ideation and/or Adderall side effects. We need more info to know. But if he was intending to kill himself, why not go with the car into the lake? Why purposefully crash it without using it as the instrument of his death? Any thoughts?

 

[cluciano63]

Yellowcamaro studied the area where the truck crashed intensely and posted in great detail. In his best judgement IIRC believed the truck had been pushed over with no one inside. If this is the case it is looking to me more like suicide after reading articles on warning signs of suicide. It seems to me Bryce exhibited some of the warning signs leading up to these events I posted some links earlier. Vyvanse was in his system and can cause suicide.

Please read this article on stats of suicide with this drug!!!
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/vyvanse/suicide+attempt

Scary stats. Wish young people would read these warnings before trying a pill to stay awake, or for whatever reason. But most probably would not believe it could apply to them.

 

[edwin]

Hi everyone. I have read about the case from the beginning, and have read all the posts in the three threads here, but I am new to posting.

I am from the town next to Naperville, and I know that there is very high pressure there to succeed and to do well...and that that takes its toll. Bryce was said to have felt pressure to succeed.

I wanted to tell my own stories about this, but I am afraid they will get deleted, so I turned to a news source that talks about it for me, which I believe is preferred here. Anyway, here's the excerpt that can explain Naperville to you (where Bryce lived before Laguna Niguel):

"The kids push themselves to the hilt," says Caudill, a 32-year veteran of the Naperville school system. He doesn't think it's parental pressure, directly, but a general attitude that doing well is the right thing. "There is so much opportunity here, and their parents are telling them to make sure they take advantage of it," he says. "And they do, but that turns into studying until ten at night and then getting up with the chickens to get into school to get extra help." The writing lab at Naperville Central opens at 6:30 a.m., and Caudill says it's not unusual for the space to be standing-room-only by seven. In nonacademic pursuits-sports and the performing arts-Caudill says, "these kids want to be the best, and they work hard to get there."

The drive to excel exacts a cost among teenagers everywhere-often in binge drinking or drug abuse...

BBM. Rest of article (on Naperville here)

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2006/Why-Everybody-Loves-Naperville/

Hope this helps. I have more to say, but want to start with this.

 

[PoirotsGirlFriday]

:welcome: Welcome, edwin!!!

Thanks so much for posting. Your post was VERY insightful. Definitely gives us a feel for the environment of where Bryce grew up. I can't even imagine, frankly. Where I grew up, kids were flunking classes left and right and no one even acted surprised. They would deliberately procrastinate on homework. There's no way they would be out of the house by 6:30 or 7 to go study. In one way, I'm very impressed by this article. But in another way, it feels...scary. Scary if someone could feel pushed to be that way and maybe wear themselves thin in the process. Or, if someone should perhaps not do so well and feel like they were a failure. I'm saying "someone" as a general term since I don't want to get in any trouble for making assumptions, lol! But yes, you are right, Bryce was said to be/feel under pressure to do well and meet expectations. I guess whose expectations, (maybe his own?) it's hard to know at this point.

Thanks again for the great article!!!

 

[2Hope4]

I want to know if the DNA is back on the blood in or on the vehicle. Just to be sure Bryce was in that area at all!

 

[Redux]

Nothing really knew in this article, but thought I'd post....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...lled-missing-teens-crashed-SUV-abandoned.html

However, three weeks on Californian authorities have announced that their active search has been called off.......... Police will now rely on routine patrols and following up any new leads, according to the Los Angeles Times.

......

It was thought that he had been involved in a crash that perhaps left him disorientated, confused or embarrassed, and that he then wandered off into the wilderness.

According to an update earlier this week, posted by his parents on a Facebook page set up to find the teenager, evidence suggests Bryce left the recreation area near to where his car was found down an embankment.

 

[kmw461]

Hi everyone. I have read about the case from the beginning, and have read all the posts in the three threads here, but I am new to posting.

I am from the town next to Naperville, and I know that there is very high pressure there to succeed and to do well...and that that takes its toll. Bryce was said to have felt pressure to succeed.

I wanted to tell my own stories about this, but I am afraid they will get deleted, so I turned to a news source that talks about it for me, which I believe is preferred here. Anyway, here's the excerpt that can explain Naperville to you (where Bryce lived before Laguna Niguel):

"The kids push themselves to the hilt," says Caudill, a 32-year veteran of the Naperville school system. He doesn't think it's parental pressure, directly, but a general attitude that doing well is the right thing. "There is so much opportunity here, and their parents are telling them to make sure they take advantage of it," he says. "And they do, but that turns into studying until ten at night and then getting up with the chickens to get into school to get extra help." The writing lab at Naperville Central opens at 6:30 a.m., and Caudill says it's not unusual for the space to be standing-room-only by seven. In nonacademic pursuits-sports and the performing arts-Caudill says, "these kids want to be the best, and they work hard to get there."

The drive to excel exacts a cost among teenagers everywhere-often in binge drinking or drug abuse...

BBM. Rest of article (on Naperville here)

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2006/Why-Everybody-Loves-Naperville/

Hope this helps. I have more to say, but want to start with this.

Welcome Edwin! Thanks for the article. I live in Naperville and my son (a friend of Bryce's) went thru the Naperville school system. My sister's 3 kids also went thru the Naperville school system. My family's experiences do not agree with that article. Perhaps that's the difference between parenting styles (not high pressure) and/or the difference in expectations my son and nieces/nephew put on themselves. I personally don't view Naperville any different than many other towns that have areas within the town that have wealth and areas that don't. Some people/kids feel the pressure of "keeping up with the Jones's", but again not sure why Naperville kids would be taking that to an extreme vs other towns.

That being said, we did hear from the roommate that Bryce felt under pressure to get good grades even though he always did.

 

[Wolf Dreamer]

You've linked to some important articles and it does seem Bryce may fit some of the criteria for suicidal ideation and/or Adderall side effects. We need more info to know. But if he was intending to kill himself, why not go with the car into the lake? Why purposefully crash it without using it as the instrument of his death? Any thoughts?

Maybe thats not what he wanted, not how he wanted to "go out". People can put a lot of thought into the manner of their death - do they want to be found, who will find them, the risks of a method.

I'm not convinced Bryce has committed suicide, although the impact of any drugs he may have taken could have a bearing. He may have felt hopeless and out of options... and maybe that resulted in him crashing the car in an act of frustration. His way of fighting back.

I really hope Bryce is alive, that perhaps his brain just dislocated itself to save him. I just want him found.

 

[geevee]

I've finally caught up on all three threads, one of my first thoughts is along the lines with one of the later ones in this thread, that he's heading back to Ill. One of the articles that had a short interview with his former roommate said he'd been evicted from the dorm and their (that roommate and Bryce's) relationship 'didn't end well', and that he transferred to this school he was going to for a fresh start.

Maybe he didn't feel it was all that much bettter and with the way his Mom (no offense intended at all) was pinging his phone and sending the roadside assistance/cops to check up on him, maybe he finally said enough, found a place to ditch the vehicle and took off. Still seems a very stange way to do it if intentional, but heading back to where things felt normal and good seems sorta likely for a young adult whose very out of sorts.

But, I also recall a couple of male friends about Bryce's age I had long ago, they took a trip from the north down to Florida for spring break, once in Fl. they had an argument and one friend left the car, wandered the beach until he got sunstroke and was taken to a local hospital by beach patrol, no ID, he was too out of it to know who or where he was, they put in him the psych ward and gave him thorazine and other drugs thinking he had mental issues.

It took his family weeks to track him down and get him back home and slowly off the meds, he was never a psych case, just sun-brained, after some months back home he returned to his normal self.

I know they alerted local hospitals and such, but wonder if they checked all the (what do they call them - 5150 holds?) to be sure he's not being treated as a homeless person with mental problems.

About the vehicle going nose or tail first - LE will know what gear the gear shift was in, so that ought to be a big clue in what the driver was doing (going forward or backward) when it went down the embankment. May be why LE has said it went nose first.

Would like to see pics of the vehicle as it was found, and also the DNA results.

My guess is he had some cash stashed in the duffle bag and took it, if he'd taken his wallet, phone or laptop and was planning to hitch back to Ill. (or anywhere else), any cop who stopped him would know his identity and alert his parents. Good enough reason to leave them if he had cash in the duffle to take.

I think he had to break the back window to get to the duffle bag, not to get out of the vehicle. I'm not terribly convinced he was in it when it rolled down the embankment.

I had some other thoughts while reading though all the posts but this is already a novella so I'll quit here for now.

 

[AstroKitty]

Yellowcamaro studied the area where the truck crashed intensely and posted in great detail. In his best judgement IIRC believed the truck had been pushed over with no one inside. If this is the case it is looking to me more like suicide after reading articles on warning signs of suicide. It seems to me Bryce exhibited some of the warning signs leading up to these events I posted some links earlier. Vyvanse was in his system and can cause suicide.

Please read this article on stats of suicide with this drug!!!
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/vyvanse/suicide+attempt

I just want to add that Im scripted Vyvanse and so are many others - we are not in psychotic rage fits or offing ourselves. It's a huge minority that people commit suicide from ADHD medication.

 

[AmandaFast]

I would assume that when used as prescribed and under the care of a license psychiatrist it can be used safely and very effectively. I think the key here is that he was using these recreationally which makes the risks factor for suicide much higher than typical medicinal use.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Quester]

The latest missing person flyer does not include Klaas info. Is Klaas off the case? TIA

Has NGrace discussed this case at all? TIA

 

[LinasK]

And I keep going back to what was he doing on Buttonwillow for almost 10 hours??? Yet he gets on the road and an hour and a half later, he's telling his mother he's too tired to drive so he's gonna get some sleep in Castaic. He sure wasn't sleeping in Buttonwillow. Not with it being near 100* during the day. What happened during that time? Buttonwillow isn't exactly a tourist town with attractions to spend a day seeing.

Agreed! Buttonwillow is a smelly town (smells like cow poop) that's only good for getting gas, fast food, and maybe a motel if you have to. Been there many a time...

 

[Quester]

I wonder if family is intentionally backing off media, FB and WS in order to purposefully quiet things down so as to give a possibly "hiding" BL a quieter opportunity to make himself known???

That's all I've got for now.

 

[SDHELPS]

I wonder if family is intentionally backing off media, FB and WS in order to purposefully quiet things down so as to give a possibly "hiding" BL a quieter opportunity to make himself known???

That's all I've got for now.

Totally agree Quester...its been very quiet on all fronts. I wonder if they had any leads from the Friday flyer postings and that Friday was the turnabout with the truckers in Castaic? Much too quiet.....

 

[SDHELPS]

Ok, lets clear some things up here !

LE stated that their findings were that Bryce left the Castaic park area BECAUSE the bloodhounds followed his scent leading out of the park. Not too difficult to understand that.

Bryce has NOT been found in any rehab or institution or anywhere else "hiding out" or NOT wanting to be found. If LE knew where he was, we would know he was safe
I need the verified attorney following this case on here to chime in, we were told that because Bryce is still listed as Critical Missing Person, if he were to be found, his parents would be notified - EVEN IF HE DIDNT WANT TO BE FOUND.

As stated by Caron, it was Vyvanse not Adderall, I thought Vyvanse was generic for Adderall, it is the same type of medication

I don't know why it is taking so long for forensics to process the laptop or cell phone, I am not a techno geek but think that it should take no more than a couple of days to process these.

Summary:
LE states that the case / search is active. Their search of Castaic lake is pretty much complete but are leaving that door open in case something in the laptop / phone would lead them to believe that divers need to go back to the water or dogs/searchers need to canvass the grounds.
The family is still hopeful that he is alive, whether injured, confused, embarrassed or as some of you speculate "hiding out". Whatever the case may be, we want to find him and will do whatever it takes to do so.

Although it is now day 19, and I am understanding that if he were to be walking around "confused" that someone would have seen him, I still think that he might have been taken in by someone who gave him food/shelter and then he left on his own or maybe (because he know no better) is still there. I CANNOT believe that there are still so many people in the Castaic area that still never heard of Bryce with all the activity there, so I can imagine that it is less known in other areas.

Friday is a big truck turnaround in that area and it will be hit hard by volunteers on Friday to see if maybe someone picked him up shortly after the crash

Sorry this is the "turnaround" I was referring to...

 

[nikb]

Agreed! Buttonwillow is a smelly town (smells like cow poop) that's only good for getting gas, fast food, and maybe a motel if you have to. Been there many a time...

To be fair, sometimes it smells like oil drilling + cow poop. It does have a range of scents... The only reason I've been there is for my husband's racing because there's a fairly popular road course track there. It's probably in my top 5 of least favorite places to go, though.

I can imagine stopping there for gas, a soda, or whatever, but I can't imagine just "hanging out" unless you have a reason to. Wish we knew more about why he went there or what happened (or didn't happen) there.

 

[nikb]

Thanks for the updated flyer! I wish they'd do a flyer or update the website with superimposed pictures showing various levels of facial hair, and various colors of hair. I'm thinking of how totally different he'd look with, say, brown hair and a mustache or beard. IMO IF he's hiding out, and if it were me, first thing I'd change would be hair color since his is so distinctive.