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

[Whiteorchids]

I have always thought that Bryce was upset with his parents for repeatedly tracking him down. He had to talk to his mom on the phone at KS's house to get his keys back, his mom had been talking to his roommate about his concern of what had occurred the night prior, his mom tracked him down in Buttonwillow, sent Christian back to check on him in Buttonwillow, pinged his phone, sent the police to question him, had the police search him and the police made him speak to her (when he didn't want to), had Christian track him down AGAIN, had Christian then sit there and wait for him to leave and then follow him for 10 miles on the freeway, then they kept calling him over and over and over. They said in the show that he didn't want to speak to his mom and when she asked what he was doing after the police did a sobriety check on him and checked his vehicle he said something along the lines of, "I'm putting my things back in my car because the police just searched the car." <----- though Karen said it very nonchalant in the show I can't imagine a 19 year old being thrilled about what had just occurred with the police. I stand by my original opinion that he never intended to go home. Though he may have led his parents to believe that is where he was heading, I don't believe he ever intended to go home that weekend. (And the police seem to waiver on that, as well.)

So true. My son who graduated college last year talked about that with me.. I was overly clingy like that with him. He gets livid with me if I check up on him like that anymore. He told me to STOP or he would have to cut ties with me for awhile.

It's hard but I stopped doing that and our relationship is much better.

 

[Whiteorchids]

I agree. the mom is in denial. I see obvious clues that he is depressed and ashamed of telling the truth to his parents. He is upset about the breakup, ashamed his parents will figure out he used drugs and most likely ashamed that he wasted his parents money and dreams by not wanting to continue college. College is not cheap. If he thinks he wasted $10-20k of his parent's money, it can be pretty devastating. That is a lot of pressure. He most likely asked for a ride to Mexico or is in a homeless shelter.

I agree but I think he loved his Mom very much and after all this time that's passed somehow he would have gotten a message to her even through anonymous letter or message through a friend if he was still alive somewhere.

 

[trenchmouth]

Watched the episode. My take Bryce had some demons. I get a sense of a shame or guilt he had about himself or something he did. Maybe something illegal? Got a STD? Had a homosexual relationship? Who knows. Then he drank and medicated himself and had a psychotic episode. Decided to take his life. Survived the crash. Walked to truck stop. Got a ride out of the area. Committed suicide in a remote area. I don't believe he is out there. I get a denial vibe from the parents too.

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[LaborDayRN]

whiteorchids - this was really a very good show and it is pretty clear LE and the parents have differing opinions on what happened to Bryce and why. I think Bryce did walk away- at least at first. Whether he is still alive out there at this point - I am not sure. But people have walked away before. he sat in Buttonwillow for a long long time contemplating something. And he was obviously avoiding going home. I agree with the post above in that Bryce has skeletons in his closet.

Sadly, I'm of the belief that Bryce is no longer with us. I think there are several possibilities of what may have happened. In my mind, one possibility it that he was having a psychotic break of some kind. It may have been a result of the drugs and alcohol, or the drugs and alcohol may have been his way of self medicating due to the psychosis. He was of an age where Schizophrenia can start to manifest.
The other possibility IMO is that Bryce was suicidal. He gave away many cherished belongings before he left school. He took hours and hours to supposedly drive home. He sat in Buttonwillow for 13 hours! There is nothing in Buttonwillow. He drove aimlessly up and down Lake Hughes Rd. This is quite a desolate area. (I'm from the area) This leads me to believe that he was struggling with something, contemplating something. Something that was difficult for him. Then LE reports that he was traveling at a rather high rate of speed, off of the road, down the embankment towards Castaic Lake.
Again, this is a huge park. A huge desolate area. It's quite possible that Bryce wandered away from the wrecked vehicle, possibly injured, collapsed and has yet to be found. Sadly, we've all seen missing persons located years later near the last spot there were seen.
In all honesty, I hope I'm wrong and that we hear Bryce went walk about for a few years, calls his folks and returns home safe and happy. In a perfect world.................

 

[LinasK]

Just watching it now, taped it earlier. Some immediate comments: 1) Mom never should have told girlfriend to give him back his keys. 2) the show isn't accurate in it's depictions. Magic Mtn Parkway isn't in Buttonwillow, it's South of Lake Castaic in the Grapevine, which is good hour away from Buttonwillow. 3) After all those hours he spent just sitting there in Buttonwillow, they should have driven up there to meet him, it wouldn't have taken them more than 3 hours to get there if it wasn't rush hour. 4) Dumb idea to agree to let him sleep on side of road(Highway I-5, Major Interstate) when there are many motels in Castaic, Santa Clarita/Stevenson Ranch area- cheap ones too.
And now that I've seen the whole thing- Mom should have asked him what was wrong.

 

[EmiLove832]

I've also been following the case since the beginning and just finished the show, you all are right his Mom is in denial. I can't imagine facing the truth would be easy but how many times have we heard from family that the missing person would never do this or that? Only to find out they did do this or that.

It bothers me that Kim and Sean weren't a part of the show. I've always felt that their insight was crucial. I do recall Kim making a comment here that Bryce's family had cut her off since he had broken up with her? Or something along those lines.

I go back and forth between him being dead in the lake and mental illness. He was the perfect age for mental illness to start and using drugs would not have helped.

I had forgotten how long he was in Buttonwillow. Seeing the reenactment made it a lot stranger than it read in reports. Just sitting in a car on a hot day for hours and hours is very odd.

If only Kim had been able to keep his keys from him, maybe there would have been a different outcome.

 

[LinasK]

Thanks for the rundown of the show. It's strikes me as odd that KS and SD was not on the show. They were two very important people in his life. BL was a big gamer giving and giving away his system and earrings is very telling to me. Wasn't he friends with the blonde gal that went missing and was found after hanging herself? She was found by Marc Klass in northern CA I believe.

Sorry, I'm so brain dead right now. My memory is bad. I'm thinking more and more suicide. So sad. I hope he's found either way so his family can have closure and find peace.

Maybe Bryce was suicidal, but I think the relationship to Linnea Lomax is just a red herring.

 

[LinasK]

Sadly, I'm of the belief that Bryce is no longer with us. I think there are several possibilities of what may have happened. In my mind, one possibility it that he was having a psychotic break of some kind. It may have been a result of the drugs and alcohol, or the drugs and alcohol may have been his way of self medicating due to the psychosis. He was of an age where Schizophrenia can start to manifest.
The other possibility IMO is that Bryce was suicidal. He gave away many cherished belongings before he left school. He took hours and hours to supposedly drive home. He sat in Buttonwillow for 13 hours! There is nothing in Buttonwillow. He drove aimlessly up and down Lake Hughes Rd. This is quite a desolate area. (I'm from the area) This leads me to believe that he was struggling with something, contemplating something. Something that was difficult for him. Then LE reports that he was traveling at a rather high rate of speed, off of the road, down the embankment towards Castaic Lake.
Again, this is a huge park. A huge desolate area. It's quite possible that Bryce wandered away from the wrecked vehicle, possibly injured, collapsed and has yet to be found. Sadly, we've all seen missing persons located years later near the last spot there were seen.
In all honesty, I hope I'm wrong and that we hear Bryce went walk about for a few years, calls his folks and returns home safe and happy. In a perfect world.................

True, Labor Day, but if he made it back to I-5, and the search dogs tracked him back to the Truck Stop, he could've hitched a ride with anyone to anywhere. I do believe he was still under the influence of drugs and alcohol. He could also be the victim of foul play...
To be on the safe side, they ought to drain the lake. At least they attempted sonar.

 

[LinasK]

I've also been following the case since the beginning and just finished the show, you all are right his Mom is in denial. I can't imagine facing the truth would be easy but how many times have we heard from family that the missing person would never do this or that? Only to find out they did do this or that.

It bothers me that Kim and Sean weren't a part of the show. I've always felt that their insight was crucial. I do recall Kim making a comment here that Bryce's family had cut her off since he had broken up with her? Or something along those lines.

I go back and forth between him being dead in the lake and mental illness. He was the perfect age for mental illness to start and using drugs would not have helped.

I had forgotten how long he was in Buttonwillow. Seeing the reenactment made it a lot stranger than it read in reports. Just sitting in a car on a hot day for hours and hours is very odd.

If only Kim had been able to keep his keys from him, maybe there would have been a different outcome.

And in Buttonwillow of all places! In the heat, it stinks like cow poop. The only other things there besides gas are fast food and motels. I hate to spend more than 30 min. there.

 

[LinasK]

Labor Day- what's at the red marker?

 

[LinasK]

Were the burning remains from when Bryce first went missing ever ID'd? I know they ruled out BL, but that whole situation was very weird to me.

Yes, it was a male homocide from the L.A. area.

 

[LinasK]

Oops, sorry about my post about Lake Hughes. For some reason I had it stuck in my head that Bryce was missing from there rather than Castaic Lake.

The confusion is easy to understand because he traveled on Lake Hughes road and Lake Hughes isn't far from Lake Castaic. Pyramid Lake is also in the Grapevine.

 

[LinasK]

I called NCMEC, who said that Bryce's case is still open with them. His category is "Missing". His NCMEC case number is 1222511. Here's his NCMEC listing:
http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMA/1222511

I know that sometimes there's a delay between law enforcement disposition of a case and that info getting through to NCMEC for their system, so I decided to check further.

I found Bryce still listed on the State of California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Missing Persons page, Agency: Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Case Number: 131196406.
http://dojapp.doj.ca.gov/missing/detail.asp?FCN=2321324200242

He's listed on there as Missing Person, Report Type: Unknown Circumstances.

I called them, and they said they still have an active case for him. They said they have no further information on his case status except that it's open with them, and gave me another number to call for the specific PD assigned to Bryce's case.

The number they gave me was Granada Hills Missing Persons, and isn't a number I can find used for a PD contact for Bryce before.

I've been trying to call them, but I haven't been able to get through. I'll let you all know what they say when I do.

Okay, think I figured out the confusion and link between this case and Lake Castaic and Granada Hills/Northridge. L.A.P.D. has always had a branch - the Devonshire Division on Devonshire St. I grew up off of Devonshire St. It is technically the border between Granada Hills and Northridge. That's maybe why you were directed to call there for Missing Persons???

 

[LaborDayRN]

Labor Day- what's at the red marker?

LisasK, Oh my. Can you tell me what post # that is? I can't even remember posting it. I'll look it up.

Honestly, there is no way they could drain Castaic Dam. It stores drinking water for the western portion of the greater Los Angeles area. The surface area is 2, 235 acres. It's huge.

 

[Lamima]

Just watching it now, taped it earlier. Some immediate comments: 1) Mom never should have told girlfriend to give him back his keys. 2) the show isn't accurate in it's depictions. Magic Mtn Parkway isn't in Buttonwillow, it's South of Lake Castaic in the Grapevine, which is good hour away from Buttonwillow. 3) After all those hours he spent just sitting there in Buttonwillow, they should have driven up there to meet him, it wouldn't have taken them more than 3 hours to get there if it wasn't rush hour. 4) Dumb idea to agree to let him sleep on side of road(Highway I-5, Major Interstate) when there are many motels in Castaic, Santa Clarita/Stevenson Ranch area- cheap ones too.
And now that I've seen the whole thing- Mom should have asked him what was wrong.

These were my thoughts too. I don't get the sending others over to the truck stop to check on him 3 times in like 13 hours...when they could have been there themselves and demanded to know what was going on with him. I think he was clearly suicidal. Breaking up with GF and giving his stuff away to room mate and then sitting at that truck stop for so long. He was contemplating suicide. And driving down that cliff was his failed attempt and I think he went elsewhere and succeeded...JMO.

 

[Trackergd]

I caught the tail end of the ID episode last night. I have also followed this case from day one. I still have a very strong opinion on the boat ramp area access, however what happened after that goes to two different scenario's for me. I really think the low lake level should have been exploited by divers and underwater ROV's.

 

[Lamima]

Oh, and in the show last night, the parents did mention he got in trouble a couple times with the law but they downplayed as normal minor young guy stuff, nothing major. Anyone know what those incidents were? I haven't read the beginning of this thread.

 

[Dixie811]

Hey all. Just finished watching Bryce's episode. Didn't have time to thoroughly read everyone else's posts about it because of a toddler currently hanging on my legs. I'll leave my thoughts.
I didn't hear them mention the fairly recent move from Chicago... guess they figure it isn't relevant.
I noticed that on Disappeared Bryce's mom insists he would NEVER walk away and not want to talk to them. I think many of us WS members remember back in 2013 his parents DID seem to think that for a while. Remember when they started discouraging publicity on his case and put out signs saying they weren't mad?
I wish there had been some other interviewees aside from Bryce's parents and their PI such as Sean, Kim, and/or Christian. Perhaps those individuals didn't want to participate.
The Laspisa's investigator stated that the Laspisa's home address was programmed in the GPS in the car. Bryce obviously wasn't trying to get home, but it seems like maybe that's what he was planning when he first got into his car?
It's odd that his parents continually encouraged Bryce to drive through the night (twice) when he had had no sleep and was acting so erratically. Plus Kim and Sean (trusted friends) had been so concerned about his behavior as well. If he was having psychological issues, the sleep deprivation would have aggravated that.
We heard the detective state that they believed Bryce not to be in the area of the lake/hills because he wasn't found. We all know how that goes.
I think Bryce likely committed suicide (either in the lake or after hitchhiking away), and his odd behavior leading up to doing so was due to feeling indecisive about his decision. The suicidal thoughts could have been triggered by all the Vyvanse/alcohol.
Other scenarios I believe possible include mental illness/break or dying from accident injuries.
I'll come back later to read more.


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[la2cabo]

Hey all. Just finished watching Bryce's episode. Didn't have time to thoroughly read everyone else's posts about it because of a toddler currently hanging on my legs. I'll leave my thoughts.
I didn't hear them mention the fairly recent move from Chicago... guess they figure it isn't relevant.
I noticed that on Disappeared Bryce's mom insists he would NEVER walk away and not want to talk to them. I think many of us WS members remember back in 2013 his parents DID seem to think that for a while. Remember when they started discouraging publicity on his case and put out signs saying they weren't mad?
I wish there had been some other interviewees aside from Bryce's parents and their PI such as Sean, Kim, and/or Christian. Perhaps those individuals didn't want to participate.
The Laspisa's investigator stated that the Laspisa's home address was programmed in the GPS in the car. Bryce obviously wasn't trying to get home, but it seems like maybe that's what he was planning when he first got into his car?
It's odd that his parents continually encouraged Bryce to drive through the night (twice) when he had had no sleep and was acting so erratically. Plus Kim and Sean (trusted friends) had been so concerned about his behavior as well. If he was having psychological issues, the sleep deprivation would have aggravated that.
We heard the detective state that they believed Bryce not to be in the area of the lake/hills because he wasn't found. We all know how that goes.
I think Bryce likely committed suicide (either in the lake or after hitchhiking away), and his odd behavior leading up to doing so was due to feeling indecisive about his decision. The suicidal thoughts could have been triggered by all the Vyvanse/alcohol.
Other scenarios I believe possible include mental illness/break or dying from accident injuries.
I'll come back later to read more.


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I completely agree with your post except I don't think any injuries acquired during the crash were significant enough to cause death or memory loss.

Sitting in Buttonwillow for 13 hours leads me to think he was either contemplating life/death and/or trying to "sober up" before getting to his parents home. I don't think going to their home was his original plan, I think he was feeling pressure from mom to come home.

I too think mom is in denial about several things. She reiterated a few times that Bryce had just spent the summer with them and everything was perfect. I don't know of many 19 year olds that are going to hang with mom and dad enough for them to get a full grasp of what is TRULY going on in their lives. Mom is under the impression that the drinking/drugging started when he got back to college after summer break. Really? I think his drinking/drugging at college was a continuance of summer break, escalating along the way. Mom should have given KS alot more credit in her interpretation of how Bryce was acting and not force her to return his keys. KS is an extremely bright and insightful person who would've known Bryce better than anyone. She knew something was up but I think mom viewed her more as a scorned girlfriend who was not going to let him break up with her and was trying to keep him at her home by taking away his keys. I don't think that was the case at all. KS was trying to keep him there out of deep concern for Bryce's safety and well-being.

After seeing the show it's clear that the parents and law enforcement are not in agreement. I am also under the impression that the PI is in as much denial as mom. I get it though. She's trying to be an ally and friend.

I now think Bryce hitched a ride out of the area and took his life somewhere else. I don't think he'd be able to stay under the radar for almost 3 years now. I sincerely hope the parents can get some closure regardless of the final outcome. It has to be torture living with the unknown for this long.

 

[jellybeanz]

[video=youtube;wzj0PisqdW0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzj0PisqdW0&sns=fb[/video]

or

http://vodlocker.com/81j74jwqgb1j