[KHTS] – The family of Bryce Laspisa is asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact a private investigator, according to a person hired by the family to help find him.
“What has been a problem from the start with this is that there have been a lot of agencies involved, and a lot of good-hearted people,” said Shannon Tulloss, a private investigator. “It has been a blessing to the Laspisa family — unfortunately, it has resulted in a lot of misinformation,” she said.
After Laspisa’s 2003 Toyota Highlander was found overturned on the Castaic Lake Main Boat Launch access road at the end of August, a search lasting several weeks was undertaken by Sheriff’s Department officials.
Laspisa, 19, was apparently on his way home from college, when his car ran out of gas.
What happened next is still subject to speculation, but a private investigator hired by his family believes he’s still out there, based on her ongoing investigation.
“He likely did not sustain a debilitating injury at the scene,” the investigator said, noting the absence of blood that would be associated with such an injury. “Given his physical conditioning, he absolutely had the ability to leave the scene.”
There were also two sets of dogs that tracked him walking away, she said.
“Logic is usually our best friend,” Tulloss said. “All the logical facts surrounding this case seem to indicate that likely he walked away from the scene.”
Community members led several search parties for the missing teen, and while there have been several reported sightings, there has no been no positive identification.
Officials are no longer searching, she said, having deemed Laspisa “a willfully missing adult.”
As a result, any information about his whereabouts submitted to law enforcement agencies would not be tracked, because he is not being actively investigated as a missing person, she said. Tulloss asked that anyone with information use a private phoneline the family has established.
While Tulloss acknowledges that he’s not a minor, she’s still seeking Laspisa because Mike and Karen Laspisa want to know their only child is OK, she said.
“Since he is an adult, he has every right to be missing,” she said. “He has a legal right to be unavailable, and if that’s his choice, then the family will respect that.”
However, she’s hoping to appeal to Bryce or friends of his on different grounds.
“The moral necessity is that his family be informed that he is alright, and he’s OK, ” she said. “They would love the opportunity to rebuild the relationship.”
Anyone with information on Bryce Laspisa’s whereabouts is being asked by family members to contact 949-292-4400.
Search Still On for Missing Teen; PI Hired
