By Candlelight – Episode 4

The Disappearance of Bryce Laspisa

In August of 2013, nineteen-year-old Bryce Laspisa left his girlfriend’s apartment in Northern California, telling those around him he was driving home to his parents. He never arrived.

Over the next 48 hours, Bryce’s behavior grew increasingly concerning: prolonged stalling in Buttonwillow, a late-night drive toward Castaic Lake, and a mysterious crash that left his belongings behind—but no sign of Bryce himself.

In this episode, Ashlin tells Bryce’s story by carefully examining the timeline, search efforts, and the theories that have followed his disappearance for more than a decade. Through a survivor’s lens, she also explores how crisis, exhaustion, substances, and internal psychological warfare can shape behavior in ways that are often misunderstood from the outside.

This episode is not just about a mystery.
It’s about a young man, the people who loved him, and the unanswered question of what happened after he walked away from his vehicle in the early morning hours of August 30, 2013.

🕯️ Content Warning & Listener Discretion
This episode includes discussion of suicide, suicidal ideation, crisis states, and hospitalization for safety.

If you need to pause, skip, or return later—that’s okay.

Name: Bryce David Laspisa
Missing Since: August 30, 2013
Age at Disappearance: 19
Height: 5’11”
Weight: Approx. 170 lbs
Hair / Eyes: Red hair, blue-green eyes
Distinguishing Mark: Taurus bull tattoo on left shoulder
Last Known Location: Castaic Lake area, Los Angeles County, California
Vehicle: 2003 Toyota Highlander, found overturned near Castaic Lake

👉 Official NCMEC Missing Poster:
https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1222511/1

Please contact:
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department: 323-890-5500
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:
1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)

If you are struggling, please know: you matter, and you deserve support.

United States:
Call or text 988 — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Or go to your nearest emergency room and say (or hand them a note):
“I am in a mental health crisis.”

Outside the U.S.:
Visit findahelpline.com to locate local resources.

Please stay with us.
Don’t blow your candle out.
One candle loses nothing by lighting another.

If you are listening as a friend, partner, parent, or loved one—your presence matters.

If by some chance you are out there and ever hear this:
You are not forgotten.
You are not alone.
You are not defined by the events of late August 2013.

You matter, just as you always have.
People love you and would simply like to know you are safe.

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children — Bryce Laspisa (official poster)

• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

• Media coverage of Bryce’s disappearance and decade-long unresolved case

🎙️ By Candlelight Podcast
📸 Instagram: @bycandlelightpod
🕯️ Listener stories and case recommendations:
bycandlelightpod@gmail.com

Before You Drift Off
Some episodes stay with us longer than others. After listening, rest matters.

Case InformationIf You Have InformationMental Health ResourcesA Note to BryceSources & Further ReadingBy Candlelight partners with Promeed to support better sleep and winding down when the stories feel heavy.
🛏️ Shop Promeed: https://tidd.ly/3NuP52E
✨ Use code CANDLELIGHT15 for 15% off and help support the show.

Tonight’s candle is lit for our very first listener submission.

In this episode of By Candlelight, we head to Crown Point, Indiana — to a place locals have whispered about for generations: Gipsy’s Graveyard. Before reading our listener’s story, we explore the local lore, the historical record, and the strange experiences people have claimed to have there over the years.

Then, we read Meg’s account exactly as she lived it — a night that began as a college adventure and turned into something far more unsettling.

Lost time. Disorienting sounds. A feeling of being guided the wrong way.

Some places don’t need proof to leave a mark.

🕯️ Listener discretion advised.

Have a story of your own? We want to hear it.

Send your true crime, paranormal, eerie, or unexplained experiences to:

📧 bycandlelightpod@gmail.com

Please put Story Submission in the subject line, and let us know:

• If we can use your real name

• If you’d like names changed

• Or if you’ve already changed them

You’re welcome to include articles, links, or photos. If you send photos, please clearly state whether or not we have permission to share them on social media. If you don’t say yes, we’ll assume the answer is no.

Stay connected, see behind-the-scenes moments, and keep the candle burning between episodes.

📸 Instagram: @bycandlelightpod

If you enjoyed this episode, following the show, leaving a rating, or writing a review helps more than you know — especially while we’re still growing.

🕯️
As always, thank you for hanging out with us.
Stay curious.
Stay spooky.
And remember — don’t blow out the candle just yet. You never know what may be lurking in the dark.

Listener SubmissionsFollow UsSupport the Show

By Candlelight – Episode 2

Fireside Check-In & Five Urban Legends

Ashlin returns with a special mini-episode to share what’s been unfolding behind the scenes at By Candlelight, how future episodes are staying on track, and a small thank-you to listeners for their patience and support.

Then, gather ‘round the fire as we drift into five eerie tales that refuse to fade with time—from the Vanishing Hitchhiker to the haunted roads of Chicago’s Resurrection Mary. These stories are meant to be listened to in the dark, passed along like whispered warnings, and carried with you long after the candle burns low.

This episode is part update, part gift, and part campfire confession—an intimate moment before we return to the shadows.

✨ Don’t blow out the candle just yet… you never know who might be standing at the roadside.

✉️ Share Your Story
Have a chilling encounter, a family mystery, or a true crime tale of your own? Send your stories to bycandlelightpod@gmail.com.
Use subject “listener story” or “episode suggestion.” Let us know if you’d like to remain anonymous.

Before You Drift Off
By Candlelight partners with Promeed to support better rest and winding down after the stories fade.
🛏️ Shop Promeed: https://tidd.ly/3NuP52E
✨ Use code CANDLELIGHT15 for 15% off and help support the show.