CA CA - Bryce Laspisa, 19, Castaic, 30 Aug 2013 - #9

[alreetlike]

I can kind of understand the reluctance if LE/family are sure he's not in there, but it seems too good an opportunity to pass up.

 

[Psychedelia]

Yes, at least try to drag the lake now?

A couple of weeks ago, I drove to and and from L.A. (I live in the Bay Area) on the 5, and once again a couple of things struck me:

WHY did he spend so long in Buttonwillow, of all places? There really is *nothing* there but a travel / truck stop. I stopped there for gas and a drink, and the only way I could see spending longer than an hour there as a non-trucker would be if I needed to sleep in one of the motels. There's very little chance he'd know anyone there - MAYBE in Bakersfield, but then, he'd probably just want to drive the extra 20+ miles or so to Bakersfield.

And why get off the freeway at Castaic, assuming he had a full tank of gas starting from Buttonwillow? There's no reason, unless, again, he got sleepy? It would also be very difficult to get lost and not find your way back to the freeway, signs or no signs. It sounds like he was in a really bad way...

Doing this drive again after a few years really got to me. I so hope he's still out there.

 

[Hatfield]

Just thought I'd post a link to another gentleman, Derick Allen Higgins, that was recently found after he went missing in March 2013. His case is not completely dissimilar to Bryce's - he disappeared right after he was involved in a one-vehicle accident. Like Bryce, he left behind his wallet. And like Bryce, his vehicle was found in an area that seemingly held no connection to him.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ield-(last-seen-Tallahassee-FL)-21-March-2013

Gives me just a bit more hope that the possibility exists that someone can be found alive even in the face of facts that might lead one to think otherwise.
..

Thanks for sharing this. What a great ending for Derick Higgins.

I continue to pray that Bryce can be found and when he is eventually found I do hope it could end like Derick's case. That would be the best outcome.

Other families with missing children say the "not knowing" is one of the toughest things. Hopefully someday soon Bryce can be found.
No matter what the situation, the answers just need uncovered to what happened to him.

He will never be forgotten here. So many of us continue to keep him in our thoughts and prayers.

 

[Hatfield]

I just looked at pictures of the lake. It has really gone down quite a bit. Saw an article where a special agents firearm, badge and other items lost 22 years ago were found by fishermen. If it drops further over the summer, it would be worth LE diving the lake to look for any number of items including firearms and remains.

I had not thought about the drought affecting the lake level. That is a really good point.

None of us want to find out he actually died in that water but until he is found, it remains a possibility IMO. So I think its a wonderful idea to search it again while the water level is so low.

The low water level would mean there is a lot less surface area that even needs checked.

From what I remember about this lake, it was an extremely deep lake and so having less water would most likely make the task of searching it a little easier.

If a new water search is ever done, I see it as a win-win situation. Because if he is not found there, then that gives renewed hope that he could still be alive and wandering somewhere.

We all just want to find him. Wherever that may be.

 

[Cuoco7]

I took these back in March. It was the first time I was able to go by myself. I had never been, and felt I wanted to see what the overall area was like. It was about noon and it was fairly desolate at that time way up on the road. The hills above lake are so vast, you could hike for miles. Anyways, just wanted to post these since March and I saw the topic came up again.

 

[gitana1]

But then would he have been able to successfully leave the area with (seemingly) no one seeing him and remain in hiding (or at least hidden) for all of this time? I don't know but I highly doubt it. MOO

Yes. I have posted several examples of people with transient or global
amensia who wandered for months or years. Some resulted from head trauma. I remember one 70 year old man in particular. He fell in a hiking accident, lost his memory and just started walking, for weeks, across the country.

 

[rachaellouise]

I see the whole "missing and don't know who they are" theory thrown around quite a lot in missing persons cases, and I can understand why people would rather cling to that hope as its a nicer outcome than death. But whilst there are miracle cases like the one posted above, they are a rarity. Possible? Yes. Probable? Unlikely. JMO


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[gitana1]

I see the whole "missing and don't know who they are" theory thrown around quite a lot in missing persons cases, and I can understand why people would rather cling to that hope as its a nicer outcome than death. But whilst there are miracle cases like the one posted above, they are a rarity. Possible? Yes. Probable? Unlikely. JMO


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You're right. It is not probable. I think, however, that being missing due to mental illness such as schizophrenia, or, dissassociative fugue, or, bipolar disorder with psychotic features, is much, much more common. That type of scenario is not rare at all.

 

[lillygator]

checking for news

 

[Psychedelia]

View attachment 74434View attachment 74435View attachment 74436View attachment 74438

I took these back in March. It was the first time I was able to go by myself. I had never been, and felt I wanted to see what the overall area was like. It was about noon and it was fairly desolate at that time way up on the road. The hills above lake are so vast, you could hike for miles. Anyways, just wanted to post these since March and I saw the topic came up again.

Thanks for those pics! Is the last pic near where his car was found?

 

[Cuoco7]

Thanks for those pics! Is the last pic near where his car was found?

No, I don't think so. It was where I parked and just took it to show the vast area in the hills. I stopped a bit lower down the road.

 

[Hatfield]

View attachment 74434View attachment 74435View attachment 74436View attachment 74438

I took these back in March. It was the first time I was able to go by myself. I had never been, and felt I wanted to see what the overall area was like. It was about noon and it was fairly desolate at that time way up on the road. The hills above lake are so vast, you could hike for miles. Anyways, just wanted to post these since March and I saw the topic came up again.

Thanks so much for sharing these as it really shows how much lower the water level is. Amazing.

It made me think that even a ground search of where water used to be but is dry now may be good to do. The sand/silt/dirt where the water level is down so much that it would be good if a row of people lined up like LE does elbow to elbow and walked the dry shorelines below where his truck was.

I am sure kids play on the dirt shoreline these days however if they are not specifically looking for bones they may miss something like that. The sand and silt probably buries things over time when water was there. Over time, a bone or bones may stick out of the dirt eventually if he ended up there. You would hope a citizen would spot something like that.

Anyway, those pics really helped us all realize how much lower the water has gone down. It is amazing and makes us feel sorry for the people in California with the whole drought situation.

The pics are dramatic and its amazing how much lower the water level is.
We may even have photos from the time he went missing to compare exactly how much it went down as compared to when he went missing.
That would be interesting to see as well.

Anyway thanks so much for sharing the photos.

 

[Hatfield]

If you look at the 3rd photo from the left and look at the large rocks on the dry part that used to be under water. The part in the photo that is closest to the camera in foreground shows many large rocks. That is why trying to find someone under water using just sonar is so difficult. Objects like those large rocks show up on sonar and it makes it very difficult to distinguish what is down there.

Having a real underwater video camera with a light is probably the best way when searching underwater because using just sonar detectors can be limited. Or scuba divers is better yet I suppose.

The debris like large rocks and stumps makes underwater searches very difficult. I think that is why it is so hard on searches for anyone in water.

 

[lillygator]

would authorities consider searching in the lake at this point or is that something family would have to pay for?

 

[la2cabo]

would authorities consider searching in the lake at this point or is that something family would have to pay for?

If I remember correctly Bryce's parents are convinced he is nowhere in or around the lake. Perhaps they have concrete proof of this that we're not privy to, I don't know. I don't think they would support a search of the lake area at this time.

It's touching to see that almost 2 years later there are still many people very much interested in Bryce and his well-being. I hope it's not another 2 years before the family (and us) has some closure.

 

[Psychedelia]

Thanks so much for sharing these as it really shows how much lower the water level is. Amazing.

It made me think that even a ground search of where water used to be but is dry now may be good to do. The sand/silt/dirt where the water level is down so much that it would be good if a row of people lined up like LE does elbow to elbow and walked the dry shorelines below where his truck was.

I am sure kids play on the dirt shoreline these days however if they are not specifically looking for bones they may miss something like that. The sand and silt probably buries things over time when water was there. Over time, a bone or bones may stick out of the dirt eventually if he ended up there. You would hope a citizen would spot something like that.

Anyway, those pics really helped us all realize how much lower the water has gone down. It is amazing and makes us feel sorry for the people in California with the whole drought situation.

The pics are dramatic and its amazing how much lower the water level is.
We may even have photos from the time he went missing to compare exactly how much it went down as compared to when he went missing.
That would be interesting to see as well.

Anyway thanks so much for sharing the photos.

Yes, one thing I noticed on my recent drive down the 5 was just how DRY everything was. It's always been a long, boring, arid stretch, but I have never seen it THAT dry, with that much dead vegetation. I saw one massive dust storm and a lot of tumbleweeds. It's actually quite scary.

 

[cluciano63]

How low is that lake now, I wonder?

 

[rosesfromangels]

Yes, one thing I noticed on my recent drive down the 5 was just how DRY everything was. It's always been a long, boring, arid stretch, but I have never seen it THAT dry, with that much dead vegetation. I saw one massive dust storm and a lot of tumbleweeds. It's actually quite scary.

I just drove past this area this past Saturday, and of course thought of Bryce. Buttonwillow is out in the middle of absolutely nowhere, and is hardly anything to speak of. I can't imagine why he would have stopped there unless needing gas. Castaic isn't much bigger, and still out in the boonies. Strange case.

More on the non-town town of Buttonwillow:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttonwillow,_California

 

[rosesfromangels]

How low is that lake now, I wonder?

3 to 4 ft. HIGHER than last summer, which surprises me.
http://www.signalscv.com/section/36/article/136365/

 

[GigTu]

8 threads later, this has probably already been mentioned. However, it is my first instinctive thought after reading a few news articles. If he was sleeping in the car, and another came and car-jacked him, then took his car on a joy ride, he wouldn't necessarily be any where near that lake. Instead, he would probably be somewhere along the route between where the tow truck first came - and the lake.