Nine years after Bryce Laspisa’s crashed car was found at Castaic Lake, he is still nowhere to be found.

“Aug. 30th marks 9 years since we lost Bryce,” read a statement from Laspisa’s family posted to the Find Bryce Laspisa Facebook page. “Still no answers or closure. Bryce, you are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure.”

The Disappearance of Bryce Laspisa

In the early morning hours of Aug. 30, 2013, Laspisa went missing at Castaic Lake as he was driving home to Orange County from Sierra College near Sacramento, where he was a student. A former roommate of Laspisa told KCRA-TV the student partied hard and was evicted from their dorm the year before his disappearance.

The then-19-year-old began the hours-long drive to his parents’ home late in the day on Aug. 28 after he broke up with his girlfriend, according to KBAK-TV in Bakersfield.

The student’s parents reported him missing on Aug. 29 after he did not appear at their home. Law enforcement found Laspisa parked on a roadside near Bakersfield at around 8 p.m. that day and searched his car, but did not find any drugs or alcohol, according to KBAK-TV.

Laspisa last spoke to his parents over the phone at around 2 a.m. on Aug. 30. He told them he was driving on the 5 Freeway but did not see any signage showing exactly where he was specifically.

“He took a detour at 2:08 a.m. and got off the I-5 in a suburban area and was going to sleep in his car,” his mother told KHTS previously. “I told him to call me when he got up the next morning.”

Laspisa did not call back in the morning. That last call with his mother was the last time anyone heard from him.

On the morning of Aug. 30, between 4:20 and 5:15 a.m., law enforcement officials participating in a training exercise found Laspisa’s car at Castaic Lake.

The car had tumbled 15 feet down a ravine and landed on its passenger side off of Main Ramp Road, just a few hundred feet from Lake Hughes Road. Laspisa’s cell phone, wallet, laptop and clothing were in the car, but he was nowhere to be found.

Laspisa’s family said it looked like the teen had used a tool to break the back window of the car before crawling out, according to KCRA-TV in Sacramento.

The month after Laspisa went missing, a burnt body was found near Castaic Lake, to the horror of his family. However, authorities later identified the body as that of a Los Angeles homicide victim, according to KBAK-TV.

More recently, there was an alleged sighting of Laspisa in Missoula, Montana, according to the Find Bryce Laspisa Facebook page.

Detective Ethan Smith looked into the sighting. On April 25, 2022, he was able to find the man, who he said could be Bryce’s twin, according to the Facebook page.

“I was able to verify his identity and it’s not Bryce,” Smith said in an update. “​​I believe the photo being circulated of the young man on the bike in Missoula who looks like Bryce is this guy, but sadly, it isn’t Bryce. I was astounded by the resemblance between the two.”

Anyone with any information from 2013 or sooner that could help investigators locate Bryce can call (323) 890-5500.

To provide information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at  (800) 222-TIPS (8477), use a smartphone and download the Crimestoppers Tips Mobile App on Google Play or the Apple App Store, or go to the website.

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