CA CA - Bryce Laspisa, 19, Castaic, 30 Aug 2013 - #7

[Hatfield]

Does that mean 330' at the dam or in the deepest part of the lake?

The terms they used

"maximum depth of the reservoir is approximately 330 feet deep"

means deepest part of the lake, however, looking at the Topo map, it most likely is in that Dam area anyway. There is over a 200 foot drop off near the dam area, so the 330 feet deep spots most likely are all in that generally large area in front of the dam and extending out from the dam quite a ways.

It is actually pretty common to have very deep spots near dams on lakes. That has been my experience with my own sonar when fishing lakes with dams.

Also, from initial looks at the spot where he was parked, the sloping of the lake does look pretty severe all around the shorelines near where his car was parked, so I am assuming the slope is pretty severe.

 

[RoseGarden]

I just tried this, and I can't believe how much information it can give you. The one thing it didn't give me though was a location? Hmm, I'll try a different pic.

Be sure to click down at the very bottom of the page with the photo info - where it says "Click to Show More Profile Data" and if the location was geotagged, it will show in that list I test on one and it did work, how cool

 

[Hatfield]

I just tried this, and I can't believe how much information it can give you. The one thing it didn't give me though was a location? Hmm, I'll try a different pic.

Im wondering if the location information can only be pulled if the picture was taken with a camera phone that had GPS turned on. Or something along those lines. The reason I am saying this is because I know my normal digital camera (not phone camera) would have no way to provide a location.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

There is no indication that he told his mother he was driving home to Laguna Niguel to talk to his parents. He said he had something to talk to his mom about but he was expected to go back to his apartment from Chico, not to Laguna Niguel. She stated that they didn't talk so I assumed she thought he was going to call her to talk, not make the drive down to OC to talk to her. He didn't speak to his mom until Thursday night when the police made him call her to tell her where he was. He told her he was going to hang out with friends (not that he was going home to talk to her.) The only indication in the days/hours leading up to his disappearance that he was going to go to Laguna Niguel was when he spoke to her around 2am and said that his GPS estimated he should be in Laguna Niguel around 3:30am however he also said he was going to pull over to sleep instead. I think she assumed he was going home when she found out he had called from Buttonwillow for gas but I don't think he was actually on his way home.

Well, I know I can find samples/articles that report that his mother said she assumed he was driving home to see her. She offered to fly up where he was (on Wednesday I guess) but he told her not to bother. I've been wondering why she felt the need to fly up to see him.

Many articles I've read report that Bryce was considered to be in the process of driving home to his parents' house upon him going missing.

I know the situation got screwed up after Wednesday night, but I thought she reported him missing on Thursday because she couldn't contact him and he was supposed to be driving to her house - about a five hour drive away.

Now I'm really confused.

After LE found him on Thursday, he told the officer he was meeting with friends to blow off steam but that contradicted info that he was supposed to be on his way 'home'.
I also read that on Wednesday night, his mother said she assumed he'd returned to his apartment after she instructed whomever to return Bryce's keys to him.

 

[Redux]

Be sure to click down at the very bottom of the page with the photo info - where it says "Click to Show More Profile Data" and if the location was geotagged, it will show in that list I test on one and it did work, how cool

What determines if a photo was geotagged? Is it something the phone's camera does automatically? I'm guessing that regular cameras, or at least slightly older cameras, don't geotag as that is the kind of picture I was trying.

 

[Sopranofan]

I'm afraid I don't have any original ideas here. My initial thoughts were either a bungled suicide attempt or a drug deal gone wrong. My own son had some troubled years, and when crashed his car one night in a ditch, he walked away from it and never went back for it. If BL is not in the lake or some other equally tragic situation (and I pray he isn't), IMO he had someone pick him up by the shopping center. Someone has to know where he is...

 

[Redux]

Just looked it up. Looks like only newer cameras (and not all kinds) have the geotagging. I don't know about cellphones but probably the somewhat newer ones with gps would geotag.

 

[Hatfield]

Thinking outside of the box here.....
Does anyone remember the early post where there was talk about the mom maybe flying up to see Bryce. That struck me as very strange and just wondering if the family had access to a private plane or maybe knew a friend that had a plane?

If they knew a friend, then maybe Bryce could have asked this friend for a favor to fly him somewhere.

 

[Hatfield]

Well, I know I can find samples/articles that report that his mother said she assumed he was driving home to see her. She offered to fly up where he was (on Wednesday I guess) but he told her not to bother. I've been wondering why she felt the need to fly up to see him.

.....SNIPPED......

How ironic I had just posted a previous post about this. Im glad I wasnt the only one that found that a little strange.

 

[gitana1]

How ironic I had just posted a previous post about this. Im glad I wasnt the only one that found that a little strange.

I thought it was odd too. But to me it just supports the theory that Bryce was not acting quite right.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

http://hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/missing-teen-bryce-laspisa-sought-castaic-search-38475
third paragraph down ~
"He was driving from school in Chico toward home in Laguna Niguel and stopped several times on the way home, running out of gas at one point."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...search-20131002,0,4940581.story#axzz2iaoiK09i
The photo of Bryce and his parents was taken in June 2013 as per the article above (so not just days before like I thought I read somewhere earlier). Depending on the date in June the pic was taken, it could be anywhere from nine to thirteen weeks prior to Bryce's disappearance.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...0130905_1_burning-body-susan-rice-authorities
On September 5, in the above article during an interview with Bryce's dad, ML indicated that, "he was unsure why Bryce was making the seven-hour drive home to Laguna Niguel near Los Angeles, but he was not aware of his son having any troubles."

Inherent in ML's remark is that he believed Bryce was on his way "home" to Laguna Niguel.

 

[docbh]

He may have intended to take some of his belongings with him, up to the crash. The vehicle tumbled down the hill, tossing his possessions around. They would have been thrown around all over the inside of the SUV. Once the vehicle settled, with it being dark, he may have changed his mind about them because he could not find them. It was dark, they could be anywhere. And he just had this loud, horrific crash. Time was no important, he couldn't waste any of it looking around in the dark, pitch black to try to find anything, therefore he decided to get out of the area before the sounds of the crash drew people. This could be the reason he didn't take his wallet or other possessions. IMO

Whatever happened, I think this is a key point. If Bryce was trying to ditch the car in the lake and disappear, the plan was not to roll it there next to the ramp. If Bryce were trying to commit suicide, it was likely going to be by trying to ride the SUV into the lake, not rolling it there. Rolling it was an accident.

So if you're trying to ditch it, you probably panic and leave in a hurry. If its suicide attempt, I don't know, I've never been in that mindset. Part of me says you go with plan B and go into the water another way. Another part of me wonders if the shock of the crash doesn't trigger you to sort of regret the attempt, see it as a sign you should live, and go on to parts unknown.

In either case, the shock of the crash could lead to some confusion in the short term... But no matter how you slice it, I'm pretty sure that SUV rolling was not part of the plan.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Maybe. But why leave his stuff? I mean, he is an adult, he can do what he wants, but it is not as though he had a ton of cash, apparently, to buy all new gear and carry on elsewhere. This age group love their stuff, IMO.

We discussed at one time that Bryce may have left his stuff behind, especially computer and phone, so that there was no way to track him through those devices. It's a possibility too that he didn't want to lug anything around if he was trying to move freely and quickly. Another possibility is to cause the scene to appear confusing to those who found it (which is does). No person yet all his stuff is still there.

If foul play is involved, the perp wouldn't want his things and would want it to look as if Bryce abandoned the scene. Perfect setup to cause peeps to believe first, suicide, or second, foul play.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Whatever happened, I think this is a key point. If Bryce was trying to ditch the car in the lake and disappear, the plan was not to roll it there next to the ramp. If Bryce were trying to commit suicide, it was likely going to be by trying to ride the SUV into the lake, not rolling it there. Rolling it was an accident.

So if you're trying to ditch it, you probably panic and leave in a hurry. If its suicide attempt, I don't know, I've never been in that mindset. Part of me says you go with plan B and go into the water another way. Another part of me wonders if the shock of the crash doesn't trigger you to sort of regret the attempt, see it as a sign you should live, and go on to parts unknown.

In either case, the shock of the crash could lead to some confusion in the short term... But no matter how you slice it, I'm pretty sure that SUV rolling was not part of the plan.

Maybe not as long as he was the one driving the SUV. If someone else dumped his car there, then maybe yes. Afterall, the whole situation has everyone focusing only on Bryce.

 

[Grower]

BBM

The bag was found "at the rear of the car and zipped open, prompting investigators to suspect he took something from it." No confirmation as to where exactly it was located in relation to the rear of the car. I assume it was sitting in a way in which would not have been consistent with the other items in the tumbled car to make them believe it was accessed following the crash and not just left in his car unzipped prior to the crash. I guess the million dollar question is, what did he take from the bag?

http://www.signalscv.com/section/36/article/104116/

Someone took something from the bag. Someone wrecked his SUV. The cockroaches come out at night at these rest stops. Especially right off the main freeway in between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Whatever peeps are out and about in these areas at that time of morning, they are usually up to no good. Cranksters don't sleep. I really don't believe that Bryce wrecked his own car but whomever did took off like hell so that he wouldn't get caught with a stolen vehicle. I hope I am wrong.

 

[docbh]

Maybe not as long as he was the one driving the SUV. If someone else dumped his car there, then maybe yes. Afterall, the whole situation has everyone focusing only on Bryce.

True, even if Bryce wasn't in the car, if someone was trying to ditch it in the lake then they didn't want to roll it there. Since they found some of Bryce's blood and assuming no one elses, I am leaning more towards him being in the car when it rolled. It is possible he met with foul play prior to that (hence the blood) but I am assuming from what we've heard from LE that it is a small amount consistent with the accident. That is the thing about rolling the car, it changes where you would expect blood to be vs where it would be if someone met with foul play while the vehicle was upright.

 

[Hatfield]

Maybe not as long as he was the one driving the SUV. If someone else dumped his car there, then maybe yes. Afterall, the whole situation has everyone focusing only on Bryce.

Good point. From Amanda talking with the homeless people, we know Bryce was interacting with others. I do wonder if he may have met someone in town or someone spotted him and wanted his vehicle or something.

There are so many possibilities. Like for example, lets suppose by the time of that last drive to the lake he actually had someone in the vehicle, and there was some sort of skirmish inside the vehicle and during the fight, the truck was flipped.

The person could have gotten rid of Bryce and then took his jacket or hat or shoes because he wanted them. That may explain why the SAR dog tracked down to the lake area and also why bloodhounds tracked away from the lake.

I would have to see a better picture of the actual wrecked vehicle and the road near it to see if Bryce was maybe trying to floor it to purposely drive into the lake. I never even considered that possibility. Like is it even a direct shot to the lake from where he wrecked.

That is one of the problems we have with this very sad case. There seems to be all kinds of possible scenerios. We desparately need something to help us hone in on which one is the correct one to pursue.

 

[cluciano63]

I absolutely believe he wrecked the vehicle.
If a "bad guy" did it, it probably would have been stripped. Why would anyone simply wreck the car, "take" Bryce but nothing else? Anyone who would be down there looking for trouble would grab a laptop, phone, wheels or rims, salable items IMO.

 

[la2cabo]

Someone took something from the bag. Someone wrecked his SUV. The cockroaches come out at night at these rest stops. Especially right off the main freeway in between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Whatever peeps are out and about in these areas at that time of morning, they are usually up to no good. Cranksters don't sleep. I really don't believe that Bryce wrecked his own car but whomever did took off like hell so that he wouldn't get caught with a stolen vehicle. I hope I am wrong.

If BL didn't wreck his own car then how were the dogs able to get his scent at the scene of the accident?

 

[docbh]

I do wonder if he may have met someone in town or someone spotted him and wanted his vehicle or something.

<snip>

I would have to see a better picture of the actual wrecked vehicle and the road near it to see if Bryce was maybe trying to floor it to purposely drive into the lake. I never even considered that possibility. Like is it even a direct shot to the lake from where .

My thoughts are if theft was a motive, then you take the laptop and phone to pawn, and if auto heft is your motive you joyride it, take it to Mexico to sell, do whatever your plan is... You don't ditch it in a lake. Now if Bryce meets with foul play in the process of your carjacking and you suddenly decide you need to rid yourself of anything connecting you to Bryce, you don't do those things, but when the car wrecks, your probably torch it... But maybe you can't find your lighter after it rolls? All speculative of course.

My understanding from reading the thread is that a locked gate blocked the road to the boat ramp and someone was probably trying to drive around the gate and failed to appreciate the steep grade and that lead to the vehicle rolling.

I absolutely believe he wrecked the vehicle.
If a "bad guy" did it, it probably would have been stripped. Why would anyone simply wreck the car, "take" Bryce but nothing else? Anyone who would be down there looking for trouble would grab a laptop, phone, wheels or rims, salable items IMO.

Right. I agree. You either steal it for that purpose or you torch it to destroy evidence.