Oct 20, 2026 · 53 min · 21 segments
In August 2013, 19-year-old college sophomore Bryce Laspisa gave away his most prized possessions, broke up with his girlfriend, and spent 30 hours driving aimlessly through California. He sat…
Vanessa RichardsonHostBryce LaSpisa's case is a plot twist in itself.
His life before his disappearance seemed picture perfect.
He was gregarious and well-loved by his parents, girlfriend, and social circle.
He was getting good grades in college, building a hopeful future on a stable past.
Until one day when a shift in Bryce's behavior took him on a long drive.
And a decade later, we still don't know his final destination.
But before we discuss Bryce's fateful car ride, let's talk about his
life.
It's 2013.
19-year-old Bryce is Mike and Karen Lapisa's only child, but he's everything a parent could want.
Their relationship is easy, and there's seemingly no subject he won't talk to them about.
He's an open book, a trait he inherited from his mother.
Bryce is social, funny, and charismatic, which has earned him a ton of friends.
According to them, Bryce can light up any room.
He seems genuinely happy.
Bryce grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a large suburb of Chicago, 30 miles outside the city.
After he graduated from Naperville Central High School in the summer of 2012, newly retired Karen and Mike moved the family to California.
They settled in Laguna Niguel, a small city just east of Laguna Beach in Orange County, about 50 miles south of Los Angeles.
That fall, Bryce went nearly 500 miles north to Rockland, California, near Sacramento.
He started his freshman year at Sierra College, where he planned to earn credits before transferring to a four-year university.
Bryce hadn't settled on a career path yet, but he was considering a major in industrial or graphic design.
He'd always been a talented artist with a gift for both drawing and building, and he was putting together a very impressive portfolio.
His social life was just as promising.
He became close with his roommate, Sean Dixon, and started dating his classmate, Kim Sly.
Bryce and Kim became Facebook official pretty quickly, which back in the 2010s meant things were pretty serious.
Bryce LaSpisa's case is a plot twist in itself.
His life before his disappearance seemed picture perfect.
He was gregarious and well-loved by his parents, girlfriend, and social circle.
He was getting good grades in college, building a hopeful future on a stable past.
Until one day when a shift in Bryce's behavior took him on a long drive.
And a decade later, we still don't know his final destination.
But before we discuss Bryce's fateful car ride, let's talk about his
life.
It's 2013.
19-year-old Bryce is Mike and Karen Lapisa's only child, but he's everything a parent could want.
Their relationship is easy, and there's seemingly no subject he won't talk to them about.
He's an open book, a trait he inherited from his mother.
Bryce is social, funny, and charismatic, which has earned him a ton of friends.
According to them, Bryce can light up any room.
He seems genuinely happy.
Bryce grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a large suburb of Chicago, 30 miles outside the city.
After he graduated from Naperville Central High School in the summer of 2012, newly retired Karen and Mike moved the family to California.
They settled in Laguna Niguel, a small city just east of Laguna Beach in Orange County, about 50 miles south of Los Angeles.
That fall, Bryce went nearly 500 miles north to Rockland, California, near Sacramento.
He started his freshman year at Sierra College, where he planned to earn credits before transferring to a four-year university.
Bryce hadn't settled on a career path yet, but he was considering a major in industrial or graphic design.
He'd always been a talented artist with a gift for both drawing and building, and he was putting together a very impressive portfolio.
His social life was just as promising.
He became close with his roommate, Sean Dixon, and started dating his classmate, Kim Sly.
Bryce and Kim became Facebook official pretty quickly, which back in the 2010s meant things were pretty serious.
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