CA CA - Bryce Laspisa, 19, Castaic, 30 Aug 2013 - #5

[LinasK]

Some very interesting thought processes going on here. Riverking may not be too far off-base.

I went on a short business trip with a close business collegue last week. He works on the Central East Coast and I on the west. During some idle chit chat I asked him how his son was doing (he had always said his 22/23 YO son was kind of a lost soul as it related to college and career). He hesitated a few minutes then said; "my son is doing awesome, he has found his true calling. He is working on a Pot farm in the Central Valley (roughly four hours north of Castaic). I don't really agree with what he is doing...But he is very happy and focused. That makes me and the wife very happy".

Apparently there is quite the network out there for this type of "life style" (his words). He described it as communal living where like minded folks (people who love the art and science of growing pot) can live and work in relative obscurity.

Well, Bryce going to the Central Valley would make more sense given it's closer locale to Buttonwillow/Castaic than getting to Oregon when his vehicle was gone, but I guess if a friend has a car, the distance is irrelevant...
Maybe that's why Tehachapi was brought up recently.

 

[BluePoppy]

Catching up a little bit...

BBM
Actually the dispatch report says he was AT a hotel, not in a hotel.

All the motel speculation: Whenever emergency personnel (police, fire, etc) arrive at the location of a call, if the call is not at a specific address, they must give the closest physical address to the dispatcher. A car in the middle of the street will be assigned as being at the physical address it is closest to. There is a Super 8 motel and an Econo Lodge closest to the intersection where his phone pinged. These motels also have very large parking lots to accommodate semi's. He could have easily been parked on the curb or one of those lots & LE would give the motel address as the location of the call.

RSBM
Three scenarios come to mind:
1. You throw caution in the wind and go for it(need to get to the lake, wanna kill myself, not-my-self, wanna do ????). Instead of hitting the brakes and stopping. You turn the wheel. and roll it a few times. Plausible
2. You are not in it. It rolls itself (forward). Hits a stump or larger bush, turns the wheel and rolls it. Not as plausible, based on info available.
3.You are not in it. Trying to dislodge it. It rolls backwards..Hits brush and turns, rolls. Plausible

I was pretty careful about going back over all that was posted and looked at the Google view. There is only one tower at a break in the guardrail between the two ends of Main Ramp Road.

No, I was not there for the search. I am going by what was posted and the Google view.

It never rolled down the side of the mountain on the road. This wash with gravel you are referring to is no bigger then 2 feet wide at the most. He wasn't attempting to get down the side of hill at 19 years old in that small SUV he would not risk it. Even being 33 with a big lifted 4x4 I wouldn't do it not a chance. He's SUV got stuck in the soft sand and as he tried to turn the wheel it rolled that's what the evidence points to. There are impressions where the vehicle landed and where the tow truck pulled it out. I think there is a lot of confusion surrounding the actual "crash site"

I should note we tried to replicate his positioning with my truck at the site to try and understand what he was doing. I've been involved with the search teams and the volunteer group since this happened. The one thing that I think needs to get cleared up is the actual accident itself there is a lot of misleading info on where the truck landed and google maps is not helping this situation much.

There seems to be an ongoing thought that Bryce tried to access the Lake from behind the cell tower. The "hill" from the cell tower down to Main Ramp Rd is VERY steep. It is NOT something anyone would try to go down. There is no way a vehicle could go down this way WITHOUT rolling. The last part of the way just before the road is a very steep drop. More cliff-like.

Tracker - I think it's the "wash" part of your comment that is confusing. There is no type of wash area near where Bryce was from the cell tower to the crash site. The top is a small gravel/sand type access driveway & the bottom has a gravel type shoulder to the side of the road.

People keep saying he was exhausted and needed his sleep. I don't understand that. If he took only 1 pill on Tuesday, slept Tuesday night, possibly slept Wednesday night, slept Thursday morning (told Christian he was sleeping) and also slept most of the day on Thursday (in the parking lot of a cheap motel) why in the world would he be so tired a few hours after leaving Buttonwillow that he would need to pull off the freeway and sleep in his car in Castaic ?

We have heard that Bryce did not sleep Mon or Tues night & drove Wed night to Buttonwillow. He was up all night playing the new Madden game & I suspect he was up all night again Tues night as well doing the same. Dragracerz also indicated Bryce took a couple Vyvanse.

BBM - Isn't SD, the roommate, from Antelope Valley?

Antelope, near Roseville, not Antelope Valley.

 

[gitana1]

*IF* Riverking's theory is correct, wouldn't BL be a huge liability to his current "employers" given the media attention and following this case has received? TIA

No. They often just pay cash and many of their farms are remote or in areas that are clannish, keep to themselves and do not blab to outsiders and/or are anti-government.

In fact, some poor 15 year old gal was being held as a pot farm slave up at one of those farms recently, raped repeatedly and kept in a coffin-like box and forced to work the farm. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...15-April-kept-sex-slave-4-foot-metal-box.html

She was there for a month before she was rescued. And her case was extreme - a young girl being kept as a slave and tortured - so it makes sense that someone eventually tipped off LE.

Bryce presumably, if he was working such a farm, is there voluntarily and there is little chance that a fellow worker or his bosses would report him or bother him in any way. They really need the hands at this time of the year and it is not that easy to find good hands to help with the harvest.

This is big business up there. I know people who make their entire living growing pot. They own homes, drives decent cars, and put their kids in private schools. It is CRAZY.

 

[CatFancier]

New and old, this is how we do things here...

We take facts from LE and MSM and we work with them. If it's spinning off from that, we come up with our own ideas in an attempt to find a missing person.

WE DO NOT speculate that they are drug dealers, drug farmers or drug addicts unless we get that idea from LE or MSM.

What we have so far is an old use-level drug conviction that dragz has said Bryce pleaded guilty to without pleading down at all. We have early MSM reports that Bryce took one pill around the time he left.

WE WILL NOT discuss this drug dealing, drug farming, drug addicted situation in regards to this missing person. We are not some gossip site, insensitive to the feelings of victims. YES, victims. Bryce is one, his family are others.

 

[kevsrebla]

http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/616/JK_Interview_1_1378336526_9975.mp3

Listening to this interview again and caught something I had not in the past. They are talking about the friend he was going to "blow off steam" with. Karen mentions his only friend in S Cali as Charlie. Who is Charlie? Has he been checked out?

 

[Voice4theSilent]

http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/616/JK_Interview_1_1378336526_9975.mp3

Listening to this interview again and caught something I had not in the past. They are talking about the friend he was going to "blow off steam" with. Karen mentions his only friend in S Cali as Charlie. Who is Charlie? Has he been checked out?

In my opinion, it sounds as though she was guessing it was "Charlie" because she was convinced he didn't have any friends between college and home. IIRC she stated that "Charlie" had not been in contact with Bryce and so she was (assuming) Bryce planned to contact him when he got
to Laguna Niguel.

I imagine there were plenty of kids at school with Bryce that grew up
in some of the areas between Bryce's college and Laguna Niguel so I always wondered how they could be so sure he didn't know someone from a class, etc. that may have lived/grew up somewhere within a drivable distance from Buttonwillow.

 

[SDHELPS]

http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/616/JK_Interview_1_1378336526_9975.mp3

Listening to this interview again and caught something I had not in the past. They are talking about the friend he was going to "blow off steam" with. Karen mentions his only friend in S Cali as Charlie. Who is Charlie? Has he been checked out?

If I remember correctly KL spoke of his only real SoCal friend being in Laguna Nigel but I do not recall his name. Perhaps this is who she is speaking of?

 

[Trackergd]

Perhaps my comment about the "wash" was misplaced. That's how it looked from Google Earth. If you look at Google earth, just below the radio tower is some gravel going in a line towards Main Ramp Road where it appears to get larger and wider. I had taken this to be a wash or runoff.

I read something a thread or two ago that (to me) indicated that he had attempted both gates to the Main Ramp Road, I may have misunderstood the "caught on camera" references.

I can think of no other reason to try to access the break in the guardrail at the tower than to look for an egress point as the gates were locked It is not enough cover to hide from LE while taking a rest or thinking.

It is a perplexing jumble of information that does not quite fit together.

All this said, I have a hunch that Bryce is alive. Without all the gory details, a body in the water would have been a "floater" by now.

 

[Voice4theSilent]

Catching up a little bit...

All the motel speculation: Whenever emergency personnel (police, fire, etc) arrive at the location of a call, if the call is not at a specific address, they must give the closest physical address to the dispatcher. A car in the middle of the street will be assigned as being at the physical address it is closest to. There is a Super 8 motel and an Econo Lodge closest to the intersection where his phone pinged. These motels also have very large parking lots to accommodate semi's. He could have easily been parked on the curb or one of those lots & LE would give the motel address as the location of the call.





There seems to be an ongoing thought that Bryce tried to access the Lake from behind the cell tower. The "hill" from the cell tower down to Main Ramp Rd is VERY steep. It is NOT something anyone would try to go down. There is no way a vehicle could go down this way WITHOUT rolling. The last part of the way just before the road is a very steep drop. More cliff-like.

Tracker - I think it's the "wash" part of your comment that is confusing. There is no type of wash area near where Bryce was from the cell tower to the crash site. The top is a small gravel/sand type access driveway & the bottom has a gravel type shoulder to the side of the road.

We have heard that Bryce did not sleep Mon or Tues night & drove Wed night to Buttonwillow. He was up all night playing the new Madden game & I suspect he was up all night again Tues night as well doing the same. Dragracerz also indicated Bryce took a couple Vyvanse.


Antelope, near Roseville, not Antelope Valley.

Can you point me in the direction of the article or post from Dragracerz that states Bryce didn't sleep at all on Monday or Tuesday night? TIA

 

[Trackergd]

I've been following this forum since the day Bryce went missing and my concern is Bryce and dragz can confirm that. I came here registered weeks ago and wanted to provide a different angle based on what I know to try and help others here and see if other posters can see what I missed maybe. That and the fact I'm a resident of the area and have been for 25+ years can answer questions . about it. Also being apart of the search crews since the begging I have been physically and emotionally involved as well.

First of all I wanted to make sure you were not offended by my request that you get verified. It was not an attack on you, rather a way to give your comments and perspective more weight in the discussion.

Thank you for being a SAR volunteer. We need more like you nationwide.

We have avoided too much discussion on the drug angle out of respect for Bryce and his family. We do need to be sensitive about their feelings at this time and we don't want to have Dragz stop posting as we value his input and perspective as well. Sometimes it is a fine line we walk to get to the facts without causing pain to the family.

One of the dangers of the internet and forums in general is that we cannot see each others faces, hear tone in voices and see body language, and this can cause comments to be misconstrued.

Again, thanks for joining and for caring about Bryce.

 

[BluePoppy]

RSBM I can think of no other reason to try to access the break in the guardrail at the tower than to look for an egress point as the gates were locked It is not enough cover to hide from LE while taking a rest or thinking.

The chain link fence around the cell tower has privacy slats in it. Someone driving around the back side would be completely obscure & hidden from the road. Especially at night.

 

[kevsrebla]

Perhaps my comment about the "wash" was misplaced. That's how it looked from Google Earth. If you look at Google earth, just below the radio tower is some gravel going in a line towards Main Ramp Road where it appears to get larger and wider. I had taken this to be a wash or runoff.

I read something a thread or two ago that (to me) indicated that he had attempted both gates to the Main Ramp Road, I may have misunderstood the "caught on camera" references.

I can think of no other reason to try to access the break in the guardrail at the tower than to look for an egress point as the gates were locked It is not enough cover to hide from LE while taking a rest or thinking.

It is a perplexing jumble of information that does not quite fit together.

All this said, I have a hunch that Bryce is alive. Without all the gory details, a body in the water would have been a "floater" by now.

It is a perplexing jumble of information that does not quite fit together

is what makes this a challenge and interesting to say the least

 

[Trackergd]

The chain link fence around the cell tower has privacy slats in it. Someone driving around the back side would be completely obscure & hidden from the road. Especially at night.

Well that changes my opinion a bit. Thanks for the insight.

 

[kevsrebla]

First of all I wanted to make sure you were not offended by my request that you get verified. It was not an attack on you, rather a way to give your comments and perspective more weight in the discussion.

Thank you for being a SAR volunteer. We need more like you nationwide.

We have avoided too much discussion on the drug angle out of respect for Bryce and his family. We do need to be sensitive about their feelings at this time and we don't want to have Dragz stop posting as we value his input and perspective as well. Sometimes it is a fine line we walk to get to the facts without causing pain to the family.

One of the dangers of the internet and forums in general is that we cannot see each others faces, hear tone in voices and see body language, and this can cause comments to be misconstrued.

Again, thanks for joining and for caring about Bryce.

Bold print in your quote. So very true

 

[gitana1]

<modsnip>

Back to Bryce, what more can be done, assuming he is out there, to get him home? I saw on the FB page that Lamar signs is willing to put up some signs for Bryce for free!

Where would be the best places for such signs? I'm thinking along the 5, one by Castaic.

Also, anything else anyone can think of to get the word out? Have truck stops across the west been fully blanketed with info about Bryce? That would be a good weekend trip each week, if the funds are available, for Bryce's loved ones to do, up and down the 5 and 101 freeways, putting up flyers at rest stops and truck stops.

And what about a great youtube video that can be linked to about Bryce, featuring pictures of him, video of him, his parents talking, the information about him missing, etc.? I am more than willing to make such a video. I'm pretty good at making nice videos now, but I would like to have some personal information about the kind of person Bryce is, how his family is feeling right now and maybe a couple more photos. It should be no more than 2 minutes long and accompanied by music. I would need to be able to download any video of Bryce and/or his parents, the sheriffs talking, etc. I could make a really beautiful video for him if I had all the data.

Let me know, Dragracerz, if I can help.

 

[BluePoppy]

Though I think it's very possible he wanted to disappear on purpose, I think we're getting really off course here with thinking he went to Oregon intentionally. There were a couple possible sightings, but for me, that doesn't translate to: that's where he wanted to go.

 

[LinasK]

<modsnip>

Back to Bryce, what more can be done, assuming he is out there, to get him home? I saw on the FB page that Lamar signs is willing to put up some signs for Bryce for free!

Where would be the best places for such signs? I'm thinking along the 5, one by Castaic.

Also, anything else anyone can think of to get the word out? Have truck stops across the west been fully blanketed with info about Bryce? That would be a good weekend trip each week, if the funds are available, for Bryce's loved ones to do, up and down the 5 and 101 freeways, putting up flyers at rest stops and truck stops.

And what about a great youtube video that can be linked to about Bryce, featuring pictures of him, video of him, his parents talking, the information about him missing, etc.? I am more than willing to make such a video. I'm pretty good at making nice videos now, but I would like to have some personal information about the kind of person Bryce is, how his family is feeling right now and maybe a couple more photos. It should be no more than 2 minutes long and accompanied by music. I would need to be able to download any video of Bryce and/or his parents, the sheriffs talking, etc. I could make a really beautiful video for him if I had all the data.

Let me know, Dragracerz, if I can help.

Definitely I5-especially between Buttonwillow and Castaic. I5 is a major freeway route from the Bay Area to L.A. and back, especially on the holidays and by truckers all the time!!! Make sure you hit the Flying J truck stop in Frazier Park- it's right off 5.
Do Hwy 99 too- alternate route, and more widely traveled than 101 I believe.
Magic Mountain, and if you get as far North as Coalinga- Harris Ranch- lots of travelers stop there to eat, use the restrooms.

 

[inkpink]

Th 8/29/13 9pm Buttonwillow near truck stop Wellness Check: Responding to a call from KL - CHP officers stop and search Bryce’s car spotted on Lagoon Drive in Buttonwillow. BL was found in good spirits. Parents had authorized a search for drugs and alcohol but CHP found none. KL told Radio personalities, John and Ken, that the police spent 20 minutes with her son. http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_24086325/search-continues-man-missing-trip-from-chico-orange

Rest of timeline at link [FONT=&quot]&#42780;&#42780;&#42780;[/FONT]

I think that it's very telling that the parents authorised/(requested??) a search for drugs and alcohol. I think he may have been steaming mad at that especially given his prior charge. He may have been on his way home to inform his parents of his change of plans re.College but as he headed there he decided to stop off to blow off some steam (or whatever....) at the dam before arriving but has then crashed the SUV which was the last straw and then I'm going with RiverKings theory. JMO

 

[Ghostwheel]

I just got back from an I5 run and haven't caught up yet, but I wanted to share what I found out on the drive. I think I found out where the missing time went for Bryce between Buttonwillow and Castaic. There is some major road work going on on the Grapevine. Normally Grapevine hill has 4 lanes going north and 4 going south. They have cut north down to 3 lanes, and commandeered the 4th lane for southbound traffic. Be cause there is a center divide with a hill between north and southbound lanes, the one lane that is usually north, but is now going south is a single lane with no way to pass anyone. If you get in this lane going south, it is smooth sailing as long as no one breaks down. HOWEVER, if you end up in one of the two right southbound lanes, both of those lanes eventually merge, so about a half mile down from where the single southbound lane and the two southbound lanes split off, you end up in 1-2 mile an hour traffic until you pass where those two lanes merge. I went through there at 9:00 pm last night, and was stuck going 1 1/2 to 2 miles per hour for about a mile and a half (you do the math). Yep, I lost over an hour trying to get 1 1/2 miles (while watching the single lane up above me zooming through like nobody's business. Sigh...) Behind me, a truck had broken down and caused an even larger back up behind where I was.

There was no warning that I could see (but it could have been blocked by the trucks) that told me the lanes were splitting off, so when it happened ( I was in the middle lane) I just stayed where I was at. It looked like a freeway detour, but beyond that, back in August The southbound I-5 Frazier Mountain Park Road on-ramp was CLOSED through August 29, 2013 (And it was still closed when I went through.) That means that if Bryce had gotten off at Frazier park at the top of Grapevine hill, he'd have had to detour around to get back on the freeway. That would explain the detouring off the freeway.

 

[Riverking21]

Well I went to the park and the pay phones have been removed the spoke with the main office and they told me they were removed from there. The 7/11 is the closest to there.