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

[Ava Adore]

I'm with the majority here. I think mom and dad weren't aware of their sons issues. He, to me, was obviously depressed, whether brought on by the speed and alcohol he was using, or whether he was trying to self medicate with it. I wish he would have let them know so that maybe one could have driven down the first time they realized he was still sitting at that gas stop.

I hope they find the body and bring this family some peace.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Dixie811]

Does anyone else think it's odd that Mrs. Laspisa's purports to have only asked Bryce "What are you doing?" On the several occasions she spoke to him on the phone during this two day attempt at driving? Including when she spoke to him on Christian's phone and when the police officer was present? Perhaps it is just the editing of the show. But I found myself thinking "WHAT?!" at that point I would have SO many more questions for my kid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lamima]

Does anyone else think it's odd that Mrs. Laspisa's purports to have only asked Bryce "What are you doing?" On the several occasions she spoke to him on the phone during this two day attempt at driving? Including when she spoke to him on Christian's phone and when the police officer was present? Perhaps it is just the editing of the show. But I found myself thinking "WHAT?!" at that point I would have SO many more questions for my kid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes. And I say this as a mom of a current 19 year old son at college.

 

[Ava Adore]

Yes. And I say this as a mom of a current 19 year old son at college.

I think if my son's girlfriend called and said she had taken his keys and was scared, I would have trusted her instinct and told him to sleep it off. I wa surprised they told her to give him the keys.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Dixie811]

This case reminds me just a bit of Mitrice Richardson


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cvaldez1975]

I have an 18 year old son and I would do the exact same thing... in fact I probably would have driven to buttonwillow myself!!! my own son recently had mental health issues due to the steroids he must take for his chemo and I had his @zz hospitalized! he was very mad! but he needed it!

I do agree that mom is in some deep denial over his issues though. and I think he walked away, I don't know whether he is still alive though. he may have killed himself. although I do think onset of schizophrenia is entirely possible.

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.)

 

[cvaldez1975]

no sleep DEFINITELY exaggerates psychotic symptoms. just went through that last month w my kid.

he was already acting a bit odd for a few days (he has cancer and has to take steroids) well his auntie came to see him and he stayed up almost all night w her and after that wasn't sleeping and a few days later spun out of control.

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.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tssiemer]

Yeah I'm boggled why they didn't go to him if he was only 3 hours away. After the second call that he was still there, I would be on my way, something was wrong.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Voice4theSilent]

Does anyone else think it's odd that Mrs. Laspisa's purports to have only asked Bryce "What are you doing?" On the several occasions she spoke to him on the phone during this two day attempt at driving? Including when she spoke to him on Christian's phone and when the police officer was present? Perhaps it is just the editing of the show. But I found myself thinking "WHAT?!" at that point I would have SO many more questions for my kid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ABSOLUTELY!!! And Dad never got on the phone? Nope. I don't believe it. They have been to the police station to file a missing person's report, go through the lengthy process of having his cell phone pinged and sending police to his location to do a sobriety test and search his car and all she asks him is (calmly) "What are you doing?" and then is perfectly fine with him telling her that there are zero signs on the freeway he is driving on when she asks him to tell her what signs he sees? I believe there is a lot more that went into the conversation. I am not faulting mom and dad if they were frustrated, upset, reactive, etc. but it definitely plays a part in his mindset and where he may have ended up and why. It's a shame that, IF something more was included in their conversations, that they aren't being reported to those actively helping to look for him and get some answers. MOO.

 

[Lamima]

I have an 18 year old son and I would do the exact same thing... in fact I probably would have driven to buttonwillow myself!!! my own son recently had mental health issues due to the steroids he must take for his chemo and I had his @zz hospitalized! he was very mad! but he needed it!

I do agree that mom is in some deep denial over his issues though. and I think he walked away, I don't know whether he is still alive though. he may have killed himself. although I do think onset of schizophrenia is entirely possible.

:grouphug: Sending up thoughts and prayers for you and your DS.

 

[Voice4theSilent]

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.

From my understanding, mom kinda controlled when they were to talk to the media and to what extent. I think that KS and SD's involvement in the show would have reiterated the direction that the Investigators are leaning and I don't think that is something that Mom wants to believe.

 

[Voice4theSilent]

I have an 18 year old son and I would do the exact same thing... in fact I probably would have driven to buttonwillow myself!!! my own son recently had mental health issues due to the steroids he must take for his chemo and I had his @zz hospitalized! he was very mad! but he needed it!

I do agree that mom is in some deep denial over his issues though. and I think he walked away, I don't know whether he is still alive though. he may have killed himself. although I do think onset of schizophrenia is entirely possible.

BBM Oh! I would have absolutely done the same thing, not faulting her for what she did to protect her child....just pointing out that a lot of 19 year old men wouldn't appreciate the attention from their mothers.

 

[LinasK]

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.

#690.

 

[LinasK]

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.

I agree. Although Mom kept claiming they were " an open book" and that she had such a tight bond with Bryce, I really didn't get that vibe when they kept downplaying his drinking and using drugs. Something isn't adding up between what she's saying and Bryce's actions. Either he didn't feel the tight bond or that they weren't as forgiving of his substance abuse or there's some reason he didn't want to continue life as it was- hated school/girlfriend, gay???

 

[LinasK]

Does anyone else think it's odd that Mrs. Laspisa's purports to have only asked Bryce "What are you doing?" On the several occasions she spoke to him on the phone during this two day attempt at driving? Including when she spoke to him on Christian's phone and when the police officer was present? Perhaps it is just the editing of the show. But I found myself thinking "WHAT?!" at that point I would have SO many more questions for my kid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I would've supplemented/changed "What are you doing?" to "What's wrong", "What's really going on with you?". I guess she figured she didn't want to pressure him, but I would've then driven up to meet him when he clearly was procrastinating in Buttonwillow. He had no other legit reason to stick around there. He should've gotten a motel room there. Mom could've been there in less than 3 hours.

 

[LinasK]

Yeah I'm boggled why they didn't go to him if he was only 3 hours away. After the second call that he was still there, I would be on my way, something was wrong.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

According to others who have mapped it, it wasn't even 3 hours, so if there wasn't traffic...

 

[Dixie811]

Yeah I would've supplemented/changed "What are you doing?" to "What's wrong", "What's really going on with you?". I guess she figured she didn't want to pressure him, but I would've then driven up to meet him when he clearly was procrastinating in Buttonwillow. He had no other legit reason to stick around there. He should've gotten a motel room there. Mom could've been there in less than 3 hours.

It just makes me wonder if there was already some precedent for this type of behavior. For him to be acting the way he was with no explanation and his parents were still okay with him driving in that condition? I would have been very alarmed as a parent.
I do wonder if this wasn't the first incident of him acting "off", perhaps due to an increasingly apparent mental illness or issue related to drug/alcohol use. I wonder if over the summer at home with his parents Bryce did anything else unexplainable that would have... desensitized?... them to this odd behavior a bit, without even realizing so.

 

[LinasK]

ABSOLUTELY!!! And Dad never got on the phone? Nope. I don't believe it. They have been to the police station to file a missing person's report, go through the lengthy process of having his cell phone pinged and sending police to his location to do a sobriety test and search his car and all she asks him is (calmly) "What are you doing?" and then is perfectly fine with him telling her that there are zero signs on the freeway he is driving on when she asks him to tell her what signs he sees? I believe there is a lot more that went into the conversation. I am not faulting mom and dad if they were frustrated, upset, reactive, etc. but it definitely plays a part in his mindset and where he may have ended up and why. It's a shame that, IF something more was included in their conversations, that they aren't being reported to those actively helping to look for him and get some answers. MOO.

The thing is is that what I am referring to as "The Grapevine" is a major stretch of divided mountainous Interstate 5 Highway that runs between the Tehachapi Mountains and the San Fernando Valley. Parts of it are very civilized, but there are also long stretches of it with nothing in-between.(for example between Frazier Park and Pyramid Lake or between Pyramid Lake and the town of Castaic). It takes about an hour driving to get through it. When Bryce told her he saw no signs, it was 1 of 3 things: 1) he was lying to her, 2) the drugs/alcohol impaired his vision, or 3) at the particular moment she asked him, he was in a stretch where there was nothing. There are numerous cities/towns of various sizes large and small throughout the Grapevine.

 

[Niner]

Hey - I'm going to post my thoughts about your thoughts as I read, so some of the questions might have already been answered.

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 with "what" he probably wanted to talk about with his parents.

snipped by me...

Did they happen to mention Mike Laspisa adopted Bryce when he was 2? So not his biological Dad.

I did not know that! And I've been here since day one too! :thinking: I was wondering why his mother kept saying "Mike", instead of "his father" - now I do!

Did they also mention the Vyvanse bender Bryce was coming down from, he hadn't slept for days prior to taking of to his folks?

They did - and I believe THIS is the reason he sat at that truck stop/rest stop - whatever it was - for SO long. His mind was probably freaking out! I'm sure he was NOT used to taking this type of drug. He was just spaced out and when Christian (roadside service guy) came back the last time and made Bryce drive - I don't think he was ready yet. That's why he got off the freeway again, and I believe he had just told his mom he was pulling over to sleep for the night. If I remember that correctly.

snipped by me...
It was also mentioned in the show that he was definitely accelerating intentionally when he was going down the grassy hill to the 25 foot embankment he went over, to the point that his under carriage was unearthing large rocks due to the speed of the car. Also, the water, from where his car went off the road, looked a lot closer than it actually was....leading the investigators to believe that his intent was to put the car into the water. Investigators believe he is no longer in the Castaic area, possibly walked (so that he wasn't seen) up by the dam and to the truck stop where he hitched a ride somewhere and continues to hide out. Parents believe the only possibility, if he is alive, is that he has amnesia from the car crash and doesn't know who he is, or he has sudden onset schizophrenia or something similar that is preventing him from knowing who he is or how to get home to them. (I took notes and will add more if I missed something of importance.)

I didn't hear that part - "definitely accelerating intentionally" - must have been letting one of the cats out...
I too think he "might" have amnesia from the car wreck, and he hitched a ride at the truck stop to who knows where! I hope! Otherwise, I believe they should have looked in Castaic Lake again when the drought hit!

I agree on what you said Voice4theSilent about his mom kept tracking him... that might have played into his psyhotic mind...

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.

I'm :laughcry: here! Oh so true! I had to drive thru last October.

You're bringing back memories of driving thru the Grapevine, LinasK! Thank you! Living in the Bay Area driving down to Northridge to visit my parents!

So - in conclusion - I believe he sat in that car just freaking out - spaced out - whatever - and his mom kept interrupting that. I definitely would have driven down there after finding him the second time - with the police I believe it was.
Anyway - he could be among the hundreds of homeless in our area now - I'm hoping he's still alive out there - somewhere!

 

[Whiteorchids]

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

Thank you Linask. I couldn't remember her name. I think most of us questioned why in the heck Mom tell KS to give him the keys. I believe KS knew it was in BL best interest not to let him have those keys. Remember the write up she did here on SD about the day he showed up at her apt was acting crazy in the days that led up to this? I'm at work and too lazy to look for it.

He was most likely self medicating with the drugs and alcohol. Dual diagnosis it's very common that people with mental illness are addicts as well because the drugs make them deal with the MI messing with their head.

I just feel in my heart by giving away his belongings he was going to end his life and by being at BW so long he was building up enough courage to do it. Maybe the call from his Mom was the final straw. I personally don't believe that conversation went so sweetly. I feel he was mad and an argument ensued