Dive teams returned to Castaic Lake Tuesday in the search for a college student from Northern California whose overturned sport utility vehicle was found Friday in the rugged area north of Los Angeles.
The search continued as Bryce Laspisa's girlfriend expressed hope that he will be found and authorities released more information about the hours leading up to the disappearance of the 19-year-old Sierra College student .
Authorities said Tuesday that Laspisa -- who was traveling from Roseville to visit his family, about 400 miles away in Orange County -- was the subject of an earlier missing person report by family members, who contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Department Thursday.
Kern County Sheriff's deputies found the 19-year-old later that night in Buttonwillow and he was removed from the missing persons statewide database.
Family members said Laspisa last spoke with them Friday at about 2 a.m. from Buttonwillow, just west of Bakersfield. His 2003 Toyota Highlander was found by a caller who reported the vehicle to the California Highway Patrol about three hours later.
The vehicle was on its side on Main Ramp Road, about 100 feet from Lake Hughes Road, near Castaic Lake. The location is about 40 miles north of Los Angeles and about 90 miles south of Buttonwillow along the 5 Freeway corridor.
Laspisa's girlfriend, 20-year-old Kim Sly, said she has been worried sick since he left her house, when she thought he was heading to his apartment.
"I've thought about every possible scenario about where he could be and what could've happened to him," Sly told NBC4. "I still remain hopeful that he is out there somewhere trying to get home, and I really hope that he will just show up or call anybody."
Teams searched the area throughout the weekend and into this week. The search team included divers, horseback riders and aerial and canine units.
Sly gave authorities some of her boyfriend's dirty clothes in hopes the dogs would locate the scent.
Laspisa is 5-feet-11, 170 pounds with red hair and blue eyes. He has a tattoo of a Taurus bull head and Roman numeral on his left shoulder.
He was last seen wearing white cargo shorts, a blue and white checkered shirt and red Nike shoes.
His wallet and laptop were found in the SUV.
Contact 323-890-5500 with information.
More Southern California Stories:
- LA, SF Buy Third of All U.S. Electric Cars
- Resolution Allows Angels to Drop "Of Anaheim"
- 3 Hurt in Ammonia Spill at Cheese Factory
- Witnesses: Driver Ran Red Light Before Hit-and-Run
- Threats on Video of Westlake Footballers' Fight
- Detectives Investigate Woman's Death
- Search Goes Cold for Missing College Student
- Woman Sues LAPD After Falling from Patrol Car
