Case snapshot
On August 30, 2013, 19-year-old Bryce Laspisa disappeared between Buttonwillow and Castaic Lake, California, after a bizarre 13-hour drive that should have taken three. His SUV was found overturned near the lake with his phone, wallet, and laptop inside, but Bryce was gone. A decade later, no trace of him has ever been found.
The drive that made no sense
Bryce Laspisa was a sophomore at Sierra College in Rocklin, California. By all accounts, he was adjusting to college life. But in the days leading up to his disappearance, something shifted.
Friends noticed he seemed withdrawn. His girlfriend, Kim Sly, later told investigators that Bryce had been acting strangely. He’d given away his Xbox, some clothes, and a pair of diamond earrings he’d bought for her. He told her to sell them if she ever needed money. When she asked why, he didn’t give a clear answer.
On August 28, his mother Karen received a call from one of Bryce’s roommates. Bryce had been drinking heavily and had taken what the roommate described as a couple pills of Vyvanse, a prescription stimulant. Karen was concerned, but Bryce assured her he was fine. Still, she asked him to come home to Laguna Niguel for the weekend, about 450 miles south.
Bryce agreed. He left Rocklin on the afternoon of August 30 in his 2003 Toyota Highlander. The drive should have taken roughly six and a half hours. He never made it.
13 hours to go 350 miles
At 11:00 p.m. on August 30, Karen’s phone rang. It wasn’t Bryce. It was a service station attendant in Buttonwillow, a small town off Interstate 5. The attendant said a young man had been sitting in his car for hours. He seemed okay, just not moving. The attendant ran the plates and called the number on file.
Karen and her husband Michael immediately called Bryce. He picked up. He said he was too tired to drive and planned to sleep in the car. They told him to get a room or drink some coffee, anything but sleep in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere. Bryce said he’d keep going.
At 12:30 a.m., Karen called him again. He was still in Buttonwillow. Three more hours had passed and he’d gone nowhere.
She contacted roadside assistance and had them deliver gas to Bryce, even though he didn’t need it. The driver later said Bryce seemed lucid, polite, and calm. He accepted the fuel, thanked the driver, and got back in his vehicle. Karen kept calling. Bryce kept answering. Each time, he said he was on his way.
At 2:08 a.m. on August 31, Bryce called his mother. He told her he was too nervous to come home. She asked why. He didn’t explain. He said he’d slept for a while and was getting back on the road. That was the last time anyone in his family heard his voice.
A final ping, then silence
At 2:15 a.m., roughly 90 minutes south of Buttonwillow, Bryce’s 2003 Toyota Highlander was spotted by a security camera on the southbound 5 near Gorman. He was still headed in the right direction. But instead of continuing toward Laguna Niguel, something changed.
Around 5:30 a.m., a driver called 911 to report an abandoned SUV off the side of Templin Highway near Castaic Lake. The vehicle had gone off the road, crashed through a fence, rolled down an embankment, and come to rest on its side. The rear window was shattered. There was no one inside.
Kern County deputies arrived and ran the plates. The vehicle belonged to Bryce Laspisa. Inside the SUV, investigators found his wallet, his cell phone, his laptop, and his duffel bag. His phone had been plugged into the charger. There was no blood. No sign of struggle. No note.
Karen and Michael were notified just after 6:00 a.m. By the time they arrived at the scene, search teams were already combing the area.
The search
Castaic Lake and the surrounding hills became the focus of an intensive search effort. Search and rescue teams scoured the shoreline, trails, and campgrounds. Divers went into the lake. Cadaver dogs were brought in. Helicopters flew grid patterns overhead. Volunteers distributed flyers. For days, the area was saturated with personnel.
They found nothing.
No clothing. No footprints leading away from the vehicle. No signs that Bryce had wandered into the wilderness. Cadaver dogs did not alert to anything near the crash site or the water. It was as if he had stepped out of the SUV and disappeared.
One detail stood out to investigators. The positioning of the vehicle and the damage suggested it hadn’t simply veered off the road. The crash appeared deliberate. Tire marks and the trajectory indicated the SUV may have been accelerated toward the embankment. But there was no way to know for certain whether Bryce had been behind the wheel at the time.
What happened in those missing hours
The timeline between 2:15 a.m., when Bryce was captured on camera near Gorman, and 5:30 a.m., when the vehicle was discovered, remains a gap with no explanation. Castaic Lake is not on a direct route from Buttonwillow to Laguna Niguel. It’s east of the interstate, off the main road. Bryce would have had to exit deliberately and drive several miles up Templin Highway.
His phone records showed no additional calls or texts after 2:08 a.m. There were no financial transactions. No surveillance footage from gas stations or rest stops. No witnesses reported seeing him.
Some have speculated that Bryce may have met someone during those hours. Others believe he may have driven to the lake intentionally, either to harm himself or simply to disappear. But without evidence, these remain theories.
Leads that went cold
In the days and weeks following Bryce’s disappearance, tips poured in. Some reported sightings in nearby towns. Others claimed to have seen someone matching his description at truck stops or hiking trails. Each lead was investigated. None were substantiated.
There were rumors that Bryce had been struggling with depression or substance use. Friends acknowledged he’d been experimenting with alcohol and had taken Vyvanse recreationally in the days before he vanished. Some wondered if the combination had triggered a mental health crisis. But Bryce had no documented history of suicidal ideation, and those closest to him said he seemed anxious, not despairing.
One particularly haunting detail emerged later. In the weeks before his disappearance, Bryce had broken up with Kim, then reconciled with her, then grown distant again. On the night of August 28, just two days before he vanished, he told her he loved her but that he felt stuck. He didn’t elaborate.
Kim was never considered a suspect. Neither were his parents or his friends. Investigators found no evidence of foul play.
Where the case stands now
Bryce Laspisa has been missing for over a decade. He would be 30 years old today. His case remains open with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Despite ongoing efforts by his family, private investigators, and volunteer search teams, no physical evidence has surfaced.
Karen Laspisa has never stopped searching. She has hired private investigators, organized search parties, and kept Bryce’s story alive through social media and true crime communities. She has followed up on hundreds of tips. None have brought her closer to an answer.
In 2020, cadaver dogs were brought back to Castaic Lake for another search. Again, nothing was found. In 2021, Karen worked with a team to conduct a sonar sweep of the lake. The results were inconclusive.
There is no body. There is no confession. There is no closure.
The Bryce Laspisa disappearance remains one of California’s most baffling missing persons cases. The evidence suggests he was alive when he left the vehicle. The timeline suggests he had hours to act. But what he did, where he went, and whether he left that area alive are questions that remain unanswered.
Where to dive deeper
- Documentary: “Disappeared: Where’s Bryce?” (Investigation Discovery)
- Podcast: “The Mysterious Disappearance of Bryce Laspisa” (“True Crime Garage”, Wondery)
- Podcast: “Bryce Laspisa” (“Trace Evidence”)
