The Mysterious Disappearance of Bryce Laspisa

My love affair with all things true crime started only a year ago. I began binging podcasts to pass the time driving the 40 minutes route to and from work, 5 days a week. I feel as though I can confidently refer to myself as a true crime "connoisseur" of sorts - an have no less than 8 true crime podcasts on constant rotation.

Throughout my short, fast paced, highly intense true crime listening career, no stories have stuck with me quite as much as the missing persons cases. The ones where the victim disappears without a trace. The ones that are seemingly unsolvable - even by the finest investigators - allowing your thoughts to wander to the darkest corners of your mind.

A prime example is the ongoing unsolved mystery of Bryce Laspisa - the 19 year old Californian native who disappeared without a trace on August 30, 2013, after a few-days of reportedly strange behavior.

Bryce was a student at Sierra College, a university located in Rocklin, California. Life seemed good - he had a girlfriend he was in love with, and was embarking on his studies in graphic design. However, after a few weeks of drinking harder than usual, friends started to become concerned with Bryce's odd demeanor. In fact, so much so, that one of his closest friends even contacted Bryce's mom, to advise what he had observed an his concerns. Shortly after that phone call, Bryce broke up with his girlfriend, for no obvious reason, leaving people baffled and wondering - what was going on?

Shortly after the breakup, Bryce went to visit his now ex-girlfriend in her home in Chico, California, an 83.5 mile drive from Rocklin, as per Google Maps. The details of this visit are irrelevant, other than his ex-girlfriend was so concerned about his behavior that she took it upon herself to call his mom, worried that he was in no shape to be driving. After speaking with Bryce, Ms. Laspisa told his ex-girlfriend that she was comfortable allowing Bryce to drive home, to Laguna Niguel, his childhood home.

On August 29, 2013 Bryce started out on what was assumed to be a journey back to his parents house. Google Maps logs the traveling time between Chico and Laguna Niguel as just under 8 1/2 hours, however, Bryce seemingly pulled over at the tiny town of Buttonwillow, approximately 5.5 hours from Chico. His parents were made aware to his stop only by way of notification at 9:00 a.m. by roadside assistance - Bryce had run out of gas. Thinking that he would be back on the road in no time. they thought nothing of this stop initially, but eventually the worry would only increasingly grow when the "quick stop" turned into an alarming, non-sensical 13 hours - in a town with essentially no amenities, and a town where Bryce was reported to have never left his car. Many people - even the police, who even completed a sobriety test which Bryce passed - witnessed his vehicle on the side of the road and tried to help him along his way. He was also in contact with his parents several times via phone, who were not sure what to think about this unplanned, long, unexplained, stop. His last phone call with his parents 2:08 A.M. where he assured them he had left Buttonwillow, but was now pulling over to take a nap. Knowing Bryce had been up for many hours at this point, they did not discourage this idea.

The next morning, his parents received the news they had been dreading since the whole ordeal started - a knock on the door from the police. Bryce's abandoned vehicle had been found at approximately 5:30 a.m., on its side by Castaic Lake, at the bottom of an embankment. All of Bryce's personal belongings remained inside, but there was no sign of Bryce. The crash had been violent, and the chances that Bryce had sustained no injuries and just walked away were minor. Searches were done of the lake and surrounding area, but this is where this case grows cold - no trace of Bryce was found.

The most predominant theory in this case is that Bryce suffered from a mental break. It was confirmed by friends, roommates. and Bryce's girlfriend that Bryce had been experimenting with an ADHD medication (not prescribed) called Vyvanse. Psychological breaks can often come with little to no warning, and it is clear Bryce was not in a good headspace at the time of the crash. Did he perhaps make it away from the gruesome crash, seemingly uninjured, and walk away from his life? Did he suffer a psychotic break, or head injury, and retain no memories of his former life? Was Bryce met with foul play? Or perhaps, was this just a case of a poor police investigation and his body has been at the bottom of Castaic Lake all along?

The psychotic break theory is the one most often drawn. Sightings of Bryce on the streets of California have been reported for years, but it is my understanding from the Facebook page created for leads, that none of them have lead to the successful discovery of Bryce.

Although this true crime case isn't gory, and has no ending or necessarily even a whodunnit? attached to it, I can't help but think about this case frequently. The strange circumstances are nothing short of mind boggling and the fact that it has been almost 10 years without a trace of Bryce Laspisa leads to this plethora of theories; and not one can be ruled out. It remains a true mystery.

As any of the great true crime podcasters will tell you, the importance of spreading these stories and continuing to speak about them is the best way to help in trying to get them solved. The influence of true crime podcasts cannot be undermined - just look at the Kristin Smart case, which has almost been brought to a legal conclusion thanks to the internet sleuthing of Chris Lambert, from Your Own Backyard. I cannot help but think about the Laspisa's and the years of unanswered questions - and the peace it would bring them to finally get some answers.

Just imagine if those answers came as a result of a winning article posted on Vocal+? Stranger things have certainly happened!