The Unexplained Disappearance of Bryce Laspisa

Bryce Laspisa before he disappeared. Photo: Find Bryce Laspisa

Bryce Laspisa was driving home from college to see his parents one night when he pulled over to sleep. The next morning police found his car crashed but no sign of Laspisa. He has never been seen again. What happened to Bryce Laspisa?

The strange behavior of Bryce Laspisa

Bryce Laspisa before he disappeared. Photo: Find Bryce Laspisa

Bryce Laspisa was a 19 year old studying graphic and industrial design at Sierra College in Chico, California. He was by all accounts a pretty normal college student. He had a girlfriend named Kim Sly and was very close with his roommate Sean Dixon.

During the summer break after his freshman year Bryce seemed enthusiastic and optimistic about the future. He came home for the holidays and enjoyed spending time with his family.

Just a few weeks after returning to college Bryce’s behavior became erratic. Both Sean and Kim noticed that Bryce was becoming quite withdrawn and depressed.

He told them he had been using Vyvanse, a drug usually given to people with ADHD, but Bryce did not have the illness. He said he liked to use the drug so he could stay up late and play video games.

Sean also noticed Bryce had begun drinking very heavily even consuming two fifths of hard liquor in one weekend.

On the 27th of August Bryce sent a text message to Kim saying that she was better off without him and ending their relationship.

He also sent a heartfelt message to Sean saying “I love you bro, seriously. You are the best person I’ve ever met. You saved my soul.”

On the same day he also gave Sean his Xbox and gave away some diamond earrings that his Mom, Karen Laspisa, had given him.

On the 28th August Sean called Bryce’s Mom to let her know that he was worried about him. Bryce then called his Mom and told her he was at Kim’s place.

Kim had taken Bryce’s keys off him because she didn’t think it was safe for him to be driving. Karen told Kim to give Bryce his keys back and let him drive home to sleep.

Bryce left Kim’s place but didn’t go home. He started driving towards his parents home which was a three hour drive.

At 1am Bryce called his Mom again and she assumed he was calling from his apartment. It turns out her was actually 1 hours drive south of Rocklin.

At 11am the following morning Karen’s insurance called her to let her know that their son had called them as he had fun out of fuel at about 9am.

A man named Christian, the owner of Castro Tire and Gas, had driven out to meet Bryce and gave him 3 gallons of gas. He offered to return to the spot where he had met Bryce. When Christian made it back to the spot Bryce was still there.

Christian told Bryce he should go home because his Mom was worried about him. Bryce said he would and took off down the highway towards his parents house at about 3pm.

A few hours passed and Bryce’s parents hadn’t heard from him so they filed a missing person’s report with the police.

The police officers managed to find Bryce just a few miles from where Christian had seen him. They said he seemed lucid and sober and they couldn’t find any drugs or alcohol in his vehicle.

Castaic Lake near where Bryce was last seen. Photo: castaiclake.com

The police convinced Bryce to call his parents. They spoke with him and urged him to come home. He told them he was on his way. The police confirmed Bryce then left driving down I-5.

At 2am Bryce called his Mom one last time to tell her he was too tired to keep driving and that he would pull over to sleep. Karen agreed that this was a good idea and told him she’d see him in the morning.

The next morning a police officer told Karen they had found her son’s vehicle crashed near Castaic Lake. It had fallen 15 feet down a ravine and landed on its passenger side.

The back windscreen had been smashed with a tool. Bryce’s wallet, phone and laptop were all still in the car. Bryce has not been seen or heard from since.

The Search for Bryce Laspisa

Bryce’s family are still searching for him to this day. Photo: Find Bryce Laspisa

Police dredged nearby Castaic Lake looking for Bryce’s body but it was not there. Police dogs managed to track Bryce’s scent to a nearby truck stop but the trail went cold from there.

On the 4th September 2013 some charred remains were found near Castaic Lake. Tests determined these were not Bryce’s remains but the remains of a homicide victim from Los Angeles.

Bryce’s friends and family have not given up searching for him and have a Facebook page where you can follow any progress with the case.

Theories about what happened to Bryce Laspisa

It seems likely that Bryce may have suffered some sort of psychotic episode possibly induced by his drug use. He may still be alive out there somewhere but either doesn’t want to be found or can’t remember where he came from.

The fact that he left all of his important belongings behind means he was probably not thinking clearly after the accident or was intentionally trying to start a new life.

What do you think happened to Bryce Laspisa? Let us know in the comments? If you think you have seen Bryce please get in touch with his family via their Facebook page.

If you liked this article you may also be interested in the disappearances of Brian Shaffer and Lars Mittank or the unexplained murder of Elizabeth Barraza.