Bryce Laspisa: The Car That Crashed Through the Railing with No Body Inside – Where Did He Go After That Final Call to His Mom?

On the night of August 29–30, 2013, 19-year-old Bryce Laspisa was driving home from Sierra College in Rocklin, California, to his parents’ house in Laguna Niguel. What should have been a straightforward seven-hour trip turned into a 30-hour odyssey of erratic behavior, long stops, and a final phone call that would be his last.

Bryce had been acting strangely for days. He gave away his Xbox and his mother’s diamond earrings, sent emotional messages, broke up with his girlfriend, and drank heavily. At one point he sat in a parking lot for over 12 hours while friends and family urged him to keep driving.

At 2:08 a.m. on August 30, Bryce called his mother Karen one last time. He said he was exhausted, had pulled off Interstate 5, and was going to sleep for a bit. He described the area as a residential neighborhood. She agreed it was a good idea. He promised to call when he woke up.

A few hours later, California Highway Patrol officers knocked on the Laspisa family’s door. Bryce’s 2003 Toyota Highlander had been found overturned at the bottom of a 15–25-foot embankment near Castaic Lake, roughly 90 miles south of where he had last called. The rear window was shattered (possibly kicked out from inside), and his phone, laptop, and wallet were still in the vehicle. There was almost no blood and no sign of Bryce.

Security cameras captured the SUV driving through the Castaic Lake recreation area twice in the early morning hours—fueling speculation that he was circling, perhaps building courage or scouting an exit. Police dogs tracked a scent from the crash site across a bridge to a nearby truck stop, where the trail went cold.

Despite extensive searches of the lake, surrounding wilderness, and drainage areas, no body or personal effects have ever been recovered. Bryce would now be 32. His family continues to search, but after more than 12 years, the haunting question remains: Did he survive the crash and simply walk away into a new life, or did the darkness that overtook him that night claim him completely? The embankment still stands silent, and Bryce Laspisa remains missing.