Bryce Laspisa‘s disappearance is a true crime mystery that continues to haunt his friends and family to this day. What happened in his final hours is still shrouded in mystery, and while his car was found fairly quickly, many still wonder if any other evidence was ever recovered — including his body.
Nineteen-year-old Bryce Laspisa disappeared on August 30th, 2013 in Castaic Lake, California, while on the way to visit his family in Laguna Niguel, California. He was last heard from at 2:00 am, when he called his mother to let her know he was going to pull over to the side of the road for a few hours of sleep. He was never seen or heard from again. His car was found a few hours later, driven off the side of a 25-foot embankment, but Laspisa was nowhere to be found. Yet we wanted to know — was Bryce Laspisa ever located? Here is everything we found out.
What happened to Bryce Laspisa?
At first glance, Bryce Laspisa was a typical college student. The only son of two doting parents, a good student with lots of friends, he had a girlfriend and made good grades his freshman year at Sierra College. By sophomore year, however, things in his life began to unravel. He became withdrawn, his grades began to suffer and he inexplicably broke up with his girlfriend.
His friends and family began to worry, and it was finally revealed that Bryce was drinking heavily and taking Vyvance, a medication used to treat ADHD, a condition Bryce did not have. The medication is an amphetamine derivative, and is known to have intense side effects, including depression and even psychosis, especially when mixed with alcohol. His friends and family were becoming increasingly alarmed by his behavior and changing demeanor. Laspisa’s roommate even called his parents, Karen and Michael, to share his growing concern.
On August 28th, a day after breaking up with his girlfriend Kim Sly over text message, he wound up at her apartment to talk things over. Sly was reportedly so alarmed by his erratic behavior that she took his keys, refusing to let him drive in his condition. The disagreement became so heated that Laspisa called his mother, who offered to fly up to check on him, and convinced Sly to return her son’s keys to him.
The following day, Laspisa informed his parents he would be driving home, telling them he “had a lot to talk about” with them. He is thought to have left sometime around 1:00 am, but apparently ran out of gas around 9:00 am. The roadside assistance service that Laspisa used reported that a gas station owner had delivered a few gallons of gas to him. The man offered to check the location, and found Laspisa still there several hours later. He let Laspisa know his family was worried and to check in, and at 3:00 pm, Laspisa claimed to be heading off to finish the remaining 3-hour drive.
When he still hadn’t shown up to his parents’ home several hours later, they filed a missing persons report. Police were able to locate him only a few miles away from his previous location, and once again instructed him to check in with his family. They reported he did not seem under the influence.
At 2:00 am on August 30th, Bryce checked in with his family one final time, saying he was going to pull over to get some sleep. He was never seen or heard from again. Police found his car a few hours later at the bottom of the 25ft embankment. His laptop, phone, and wallet were all inside, but he was nowhere to be found.
Was Bryce Laspisa’s body ever found?
Laspisa’s strange disappearance led to an extensive search of the area. The lake near where the car was found was dragged and charred remains were found, but they were determined not to to belong to Bryce. The woods around the car were also searched, yet nothing was revealed. Could Laspisa have met with foul play? Or could the side effects of the drugs caused him to wreck the car and then wander off? Could the accident have caused an injury, maybe even amnesia? There are multiple working theories about Laspisa’s disappearance.
As of this time, no body has ever been located, causing some to speculate that he may have simply started a new life under a new identity. No additional evidence has ever been found, but those closest to him are not ready to give up yet. According to All That’s Interesting, his mother made a public statement saying “I’ll never give up hope, but it’s really difficult. It’s gut-wrenching, every day not knowing. It’s a living nightmare.”
As of today, Bryce Laspisa’s whereabouts remain unknown. No remains have ever been discovered, and leads have yet to pan out. His friends and family continue to search, and hold out hope for his safe return.