Thirteen years later, 19-year-old Sierra College student Bryce Laspisa remains missing

It has been 13 years since Bryce Laspisa was last seen.

The 19-year-old student went missing August 30, 2013, near Castaic Lake, Los Angeles County, California after experiencing car trouble.

Bryce, an only child to parents Karen and Michael Laspisa, grew up in Naperville, Illinois before relocating to California where he lived with his family in Laguna Niguel, Orange County.

He attended Sierra College, a public community college in Rocklin, California, around 500 miles from his family's home in Laguna Niguel.

Leading up to his disappearance, Bryce had spent the summer staying at his parents’ home before making the journey back to Rocklin to start the fall semester. His demeanour had shifted, his classmates said, and they noticed that he had started giving away some of his things.

Bryce’s roommate reportedly said that Bryce had been acting strangely and had something on his mind but wouldn’t express what.

Near the end of August, he made his way to Chico, California, where his girlfriend, Kim Sly, lived in Butte County, and broke up with her.

Kim said he wasn’t acting like himself and she was concerned about his wellbeing.

The night before he had sent her a text message saying: “You’re better off without me.”

She added that she tried to hide his keys from him as she believed he was not fit to drive.

Bryce’s mother, Karen, offered to buy a plane ticket to visit him, but he said he was fine and that he would drive to the family home where they could have a conversation.

Karen recalled that her son said: "Don't book the flight until I talk to you. I have a lot to talk to you about."

From there, he began the several-hour drive back to his parents’ home in Laguna Niguel.

The following day on August 29, 2013, Bryce's parents were alerted that his vehicle had run out of fuel and he requested roadside assistance in the Buttonwillow Community in Kern County.

Although refuelled, his vehicle remained parked at a gas station in the area for several hours.

Worried, his mother requested that the local business who assisted him return to check on her son. They later reported that he appeared to be fine. They informed her that they had told Bryce he should continue driving. Bryce then called his mother and confirmed that he was heading back to the family home, however when he had not arrived three hours later, she was so concerned that she contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Office to report him missing.

According to cell phone data, Bryce's cell phone last pinged in Kern County, just a short drive from where he had contacted roadside assistance. An officer spoke with Bryce and looked in his vehicle, but found nothing to suggest something wasn't right with the teenager.

Bryce's mother did not hear from him again until 2:08 a.m. on August 30. He called her to tell her he was tired and would pull into a residential street off Interstate 5 to take a rest before continuing the journey.

Bryce never showed up to his parents’ home.

The family vehicle was found on its side at the bottom of a 15-foot ravine off Main Ramp Road at Castaic Lake.

Blood was evident on the front windshield consistent with a vehicular crash and the back window was shattered from the inside, indicating the driver had exited via the rear of the SUV.

All of Bryce’s personal effects were found inside the vehicle, including his cell phone, laptop, and wallet.

There was no blood evidence at the scene to suggest that the driver was seriously injured.

At 2:15 am, around seven minutes after his phone call with Karen, surveillance cameras captured Bryce's vehicle traveling up Lake Hughes Road toward the area where his SUV would later be found. Then, at 4:29 am, the same cameras captured the vehicle traveling up the road again in the same direction.

Less than an hour later, the vehicle would be discovered at the bottom of a nearby embankment.

It remains a mystery as to where Bryce was or what he was doing during the more than two-hour gap between these two sightings of his SUV.

There were extensive searches of the area on horseback, on foot and by air, including searches with a canine unit. Nearby bodies of water were also searched but there was no trace of Bryce. It felt as though he had vanished into thin air.

Since no body had been found, his family remained hopeful.

Karen said: "We have our faith and we said that there's been no body found, so until there's that kind of resolution we have hope that one day he will be found."

In the fall of 2013, a burned body was discovered near Castaic Lake. Those who remembered Bryce's case wondered if it could be his remains; however, the body was later identified to be that of a homicide victim from out of the area.

More than thirteen years later, no confirmed sightings of Bryce have ever been reported and investigators have never determined what happened to him after he left his vehicle near Castaic Lake.

His disappearance remains a mystery.

Listen to the podcast episode below: 

Sources: [X][X][X][X][X]