CA CA - Bryce Laspisa, 19, Castaic, 30 Aug 2013 - #4

[PoirotsGirlFriday]

So this mention of a hotel was a new revelation to me and has my mind spinning with new possibilities! Many thanks to RoseGarden for posting that. It's funny - when I first heard about Bryce sleeping in his car, I remember thinking "Why didn't he just stop at some dirt cheap motel?" I just could not imagine sleeping in my car, but then I am female, so... Anyway, to me the idea of him stopping at one of the motels near Lagoon Drive would just make waaaaay more sense than the idea of him hanging out in his car for hours on end on a VERY hot day.

Now, I know we don't know for sure he was in a hotel room. He COULD have been in the parking lot. But it seems like it would have been easy for the police report to say "found in a hotel parking lot" instead of "found at a hotel". Furthermore, if he was just hanging out in the lot it makes me think he wasn't there long. You know how you have to put down your license tag # when you check in? I always assumed that was partly so they could keep an eye on non-paying guests using their parking lot. Seems like in the middle of the day he would be noticed and ran off, if he was just sitting there for hours. But I could be totally wrong about that.

When I was about Bryce's age I had an argument with my Mom and decided I wanted to "serve her right" and just disappear since she didn't seem to care about me anyway. (Just my reasoning af the time; wasn't true in reality). So when I left for work the next morning I snuck a backpack of some clothes, toiletries, etc. out with me. And when I got off work I simply drove straight to a Motel 6 about 30 min away from home, paid $40 cash and got a room. Didn't call my mom or anything. Never gave her any indication I wasn't coming home that night. :blush: I spent the evening watching tv, texting friends, taking a long bath and eating from the vending machine. So I guess my point simply is that it would make perfect sense to me if Bryce wasn't planning a secret rendezvous nor meeting someone. But simply wanted some time away to think, chill, sort out some problems or maybe even just sleep. Maybe he was making life decisions and in the middle of it, here comes the police, per Mom, to check on him. I would probably start acting like I was en route to Laguna Niguel or going to visit friends too, if I was caught in the middle of changing my life course possibly. (Assuming he may have wanted to leave school, etc.)

Just some of my thoughts now that I have heard about this hotel. All just my opinion.

ETA: Does anyone know if a cell phone charger was mentioned as being one of the items left behind in Bryce's car? I'm assuming it would have been left since his phone was. But I'm more interested in if he packed a charger at all. Just thought if there was no charger found among his stuff left in the car, it could possibly be an indication that when he left his apartment, he intended to come back that night. Or that he knew he would be "dumping" the phone later. I don't know... it's just something that I wondered about. My brothers carry their chargers with them in their backpacks everyday. They hate to be without it. For one of them, it's because he is on social media constantly and also plays a lot of games. And for the 19 yr old, it's because of his girlfriend. It seems she doesn't like it if his phone is not kept charged all the time so she can text or call him all day, every day. Which come to think of it, if Bryce really didn't break up with his gf, it's extremely odd that she and he didn't text each other at all on Thursday, that I know of.

 

[kmw461]

@ kmw461:

If of sound mind, does this young man have it in him to just up
and leave his parents suffering without knowing if he is dead or alive?

Would he / could he do such a thing? TIA

If you had asked me that a couple of years ago, when the boys were playing baseball together, I would have said absolutely not! But a couple of years have passed, people change and, as it was stated that he was taking some pills, you never know how that can mess with someone's mind and make them do things that you never believed they would. My son and I have discussed this and he felt that Bryce was particularly close to his mom....and though he might have gone off for a few days on his own without contacting her, he can't imagine him going this long letting his mom think the worst.

 

[kmw461]

@Seajay

Correction in your timeline - per the radio interview with Karen, Bryce's GPS indicated he would arrive in Laguna at 3:25 a.m., not in 3 hrs and 25 mins. That was an error in earlier reporting.

http://www.kfiam640.com/articles/local-news-465708/castaic-body-update-11628535/

 

[kmw461]

There could be a friend that his parents, girlfriend, friends from school and his room mate are not aware of.
This friend could be helping him.

Entirely possible. Bryce was a big gamer and had an online gaming presence. Someone way early on (sorry, not going to dig thru 4 threads to find it), was wondering the significance of his gaming name....I believe it was Purple K. He could have developed a relationship with someone thru a gaming board.

 

[kmw461]

I found the timeline - it was this this post in Thread #1 And here is the part I am now focused on:


From the law enforcement transcript (you have to scroll WAAAAAY down or search for the word "Buttonwillow) on this page - Transcript - I noted in the conclusion (read paragraph in reverse):

BBM. They said he was at a hotel, which would make sense the amount of time he was there. There are a couple of $35 - $38 hotels right there at the truck stop they mention. It is possible that Bryce did not relay the hotel part back to his parents when he did finally speak with his mom at 10PM, about a half hour after the officer told him to call his parents.

But the head injury, accidental roll of the car, and his current wanderings are a separate matter. I do believe he was coming home to share new information in the big talk, and things inadvertently changed. Does Bryce have any friends that would meet him at a hotel in Buttonwillow, ie, who hail from somewhere around there? Musings...

Wow, wow, wow!! Great sleuthing!! Why are we just hearing about the hotel now? Dragracerz vehemently denied that the family was holding anything back. Are they aware of this? It may mean nothing (Bryce was sleeping in his car parked in the hotel parking lot).....OR, it could mean there's another person involved who paid for the room and food. Is it just me or is it strange there's been no mention/record of Bryce buying any food over the course of several days. It's HIGHLY unlikely that he paid for cash for food, but then would have charged a $1.17 drink. However, if there is another person involved, they could have paid for food.

 

[kmw461]

Okay I read it some where now can't find it- that his 2am call with Mom, about going to pull off interstate, the cell pinged supposedly in Fraizer Park? Well Fraizer Park is 33 miles from Castaic and that tower is here-( AT&T one)
34.774222 -118.968500

That must have been an error. His car was spotted on camera at 2:09 a.m. in Castaic and his phone was found in the crashed car.

 

[lillygator]

Wow, wow, wow!! Great sleuthing!! Why are we just hearing about the hotel now? Dragracerz vehemently denied that the family was holding anything back. Are they aware of this? It may mean nothing (Bryce was sleeping in his car parked in the hotel parking lot).....OR, it could mean there's another person involved who paid for the room and food. Is it just me or is it strange there's been no mention/record of Bryce buying any food over the course of several days. It's HIGHLY unlikely that he paid for cash for food, but then would have charged a $1.17 drink. However, if there is another person involved, they could have paid for food.

this sums up my thoughts as well.
I too wonder if the family knew this and was this just released??? I don't recall reading about it until now. I think that changes a few things.

 

[Jo in Calif]

There is really nothing sophisticated in having a bat phone. It is simply a pay as you go phone, purchased at any best buy, walmart or target.
If a 19 year old had a cell phone in their parents name, they would sure as heck know that their calls would show up on the bill or on line.
Being on an allowance with a card from your parents is a means of them keeping track of everything you spend money on.
I can see a 19 year old feeling smothered, they sometimes do at that age, want to be independent but not yet have the means to do so.
Teens commit suicide all the time, without leaving a note, nor considering the impact it will have on their loved ones.
A teen could also stage their own disappearance, without having a thought about the impact it would have on their loved ones, sort of committing suicide without really dying.
I am not saying this is what happened, but if a teen felt like they had something going on in their life that their parents would never accept, they might feel, in their immature brain, that this would be their only choice.

 

[hannah1988]

I agree. This hotel info could really change things! I seem to remember that the officer that found him in Buttonwillow searched his car. If he was found in a hotel room, why would they search the car? Maybe he was found in the parking lot?

 

[2Hope4]

The phone number is more interesting.. as in it's not in his name, nor his parents, right?

I would LOVE to think he was IN a hotel that day, but I think it's more likely the parking lot. There's been nothing other than the police reporting to dispatch that he was found at the hotel. I think if it had been significant, it would have been released at some point in a media interview, or something if he had a room there. Police did talk to him, and if he wasn't the one that paid for the room, his license plate wouldn't have been on the room registration, so LE would have had more difficulty finding. JMO

 

[Quester]

Just remembered ...

It was said the parents had the roommate check to see if all of BL's hand weights were accounted for at their apartment ... roommate did ... and, reportedly, the weights were all at the apartment.

So ... either LE asked the parents to do the above check or parents were concerned that BL may have taken a/some of the weights with him on the trip.

Implication ... parents/LE may have been concerned about BL being suicidal and may have been trying to rule out suicide by drowning with weights.

How concerned were/are the parents about the suicide possibility? Did roommate and/or g/f and/or friends give any indication that BL may have been suicidal and/or talked about suicide?

 

[kevsrebla]

The phone number is more interesting.. as in it's not in his name, nor his parents, right?

I would LOVE to think he was IN a hotel that day, but I think it's more likely the parking lot. There's been nothing other than the police reporting to dispatch that he was found at the hotel. I think if it had been significant, it would have been released at some point in a media interview, or something if he had a room there. Police did talk to him, and if he wasn't the one that paid for the room, his license plate wouldn't have been on the room registration, so LE would have had more difficulty finding. JMO

I did a look up on the phone number. white pages says,
630-408-3355
AT&T Wireless mobile phone from Laguna Niguel, CA

But it is a IL area code

Can anyone do a search on this and find out exactly who's name it is under

 

[kevsrebla]

I was not on much yesterday so had some catching up to do. The motel thing is interesting. So some questions come up on that. How and or who paid for it? Supposedly per dragracerz there were no charges on his atm card that were unusual. Was he alone in the room? Dep. may not have seen anyone, they could have hidden. Was this what the unplanned trip was really about instead of going home?

 

[Quester]

Did the parents sell their home in IL or rent it out?

Was the move to CA approached as a temporary move, while BL went to college, or a new start / long term change with the intention of staying in CA for quite some time to come / live out their retirement lives?

 

[geevee]

This is the entire incident report that was linked upthread that has info about the phone pinging, etc., maybe it'll help:

---
ID: 13-169947
Missing adult. 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug 29. 25200 block of San Michele.
Description
9:33 p.m.: DEP HERNANDEZ FROM KERN CO SHERIFF`S HAS FOUND SUBJECT BRYCE AT A HOTEL AT HWY 58//FWY 5 SUBJECT SAID THAT HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO VISIT A FRIEND DEP STATED SUBJECT IS NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE NEEDED AND NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM SUBJECT WAS TOLD TO CONTACT HIS FAMILY AND ADV OF LOCATION [8/29/2013 21:05:53 : pos3 : HARKEYJA] [Cleared with unit 442] [8/29/2013 20:57:23 : pos14 : MADRIGALT] JENNIFER FROM KERN CO SHERIFF WILL HAVE A DEPUTY DRIVE BY LOCATION OF PINGED LOCATION (TRUCK STOP) [8/29/2013 20:56:11 : pos3 : HARKEYJA] Unit : 442 MALE WHITE 511 170 RED HAIR AND BLUE EYES [8/29/2013 20:49:25 : pos3 : HARKEYJA] <[8/29/2013 20:48:45] *PHILLIPSJR> Can we get the local PD Do a drive by for a 2003, Sand colored Toyota Highlander 6VXN536. [8/29/2013 20:44:48 : pos14 : MADRIGALT] PER BRAD AT&T;, CODE#1394142....35 24 08.781N, 119 23 52.599W WITHIN 271 METERS, AREA OF 27700 LAGOON DR. BUTTONWILLOW, CA....LOCATION IS REAL TIME, AT&T; PINGED PHONE TWICE AND CAME UP TO THE SAME LOCATION [8/29/2013 20:25:00 : pos14 : MADRIGALT] VIA TELEPHONE, 18-442 REQUEST(S)/REQUIRED PING OF 630-408-3355...SPOKE TO NICOLE AT AT&T; AND WILL FAX FORMS TO PING CELL PHONE...LAST HEARD FROM SUBJECT AT 1230 8-29-2013 [8/29/2013 19:27:59 : pos3 : HARKEYJA] UNIT ADVISED TO COPY MDC [8/29/2013 19:16:49 : pos9 : CEValdivia] Cross streets: PADRINO// NBH: 951J1 92677 33.55548,-117.68859 MILANO COMPLEX 930 (SEE THE MAN) REFERENCE HIS 19yo SON
--

 

[kevsrebla]

Did the parents sell their home in IL or rent it out?

Was the move to CA approached as a temporary move, while BL went to college, or a new start / long term change with the intention of staying in CA for quite some time to come / live out their retirement lives?

I understand that both parents retired early and they moved to CA to retire. I also think they sold their home in IL.

 

[Voice4theSilent]

I understand that both parents retired early and they moved to CA to retire. I also think they sold their home in IL.

One of the admins on the Find Bryce FB posted awhile back that someone had put an orange ribbon somewhere on their "old house" in Ill. regarding Bryce's disappearance. I took "old house" to mean that it wasn't theirs any longer. I am on my phone but from a computer it should be easy to look it up and see when it was last sold.

 

[kmw461]

I understand that both parents retired early and they moved to CA to retire. I also think they sold their home in IL.

Kev - you are correct on both counts.

 

[Quester]

I understand that both parents retired early and they moved to CA to retire. I also think they sold their home in IL.

BBM - I would guess the parents sold the IL home as well but does anyone know if this is true?

Can someone, who knows the address of the IL home, do a RE search to see if it was indeed sold? TIA

 

[kmw461]

One of the admins on the Find Bryce FB posted awhile back that someone had put an orange ribbon somewhere on their "old house" in Ill. regarding Bryce's disappearance. I took "old house" to mean that it wasn't theirs any longer. I am on my phone but from a computer it should be easy to look it up and see when it was last sold.

It was sold. As of this morning when I drove by, their old house as well as the rest of the block still has orange bows on their mailboxes.