14 DAY TRIAL // Authorities have recovered the burnt remains of a man near Castaic Lake in California on Wednesday morning.
The body was found by a cyclist having spotted a brush fire at around 6 a.m., near Lake Hughes Road, according to Los Angeles County Fire staff and Santa Clarita Valley Station police.
The identity of the male is yet to be confirmed, but officials believe that it could be missing 19-year-old Bryce Laspisa.
“We don’t know a whole lot. We’ll know a lot more once the autopsy is performed,” sheriff’s Lt. Dave Dolson tells KTLA.
The Laguna Niguel resident went missing on Friday, August 30. He called his family at 2 a.m. to tell them that he was in the Castaic Lake and he was planning to sleep in his car.
“He said ‘I got off the 5 (Freeway) in a residential area. I’m tired, I’m going to sleep in my car.’ That’s the last I talked to him,” mom Karen Laspisa tells KTLA.
He was studying at Sierra College near Sacramento and he was headed to visit his parents in a new, white Toyota Highlander.
The SUV was found on its side in a ravine near Castaic Lake. It was empty, prompting a search for the teen. Divers were sent out into the lake but could not find anything.
“At this point there’s no way we can connect the two because we don’t have a positive identification on the body,” sheriff’s Lt. Wes Sutton addresses the possibility of Niguel’s body being found charred.
Teams also scoured San Francisquito Canyon and the missing student’s family set up a Facebook account for the search mission.
“Totally out of character. He’s the kind of son who will call you if he’s got a hangnail. He’s totally an open book,” his father, Michael Laspisa, adds.