Burning body found near Castaic Lake amid search for missing man

Investigators gather evidence at the scene off Lake Hughes Road near Castaic Lake where a burning body was discovered early Wednesday morning.

By Angel Jennings and Robert J. Lopez

Sept. 4, 2013 8:07 AM PT

A burning body was discovered Wednesday near Castaic Lake, close to an area where authorities have been searching for a missing 19-year-old man.

Firefighters responded to a call of a brush fire at 6:04 a.m. about three miles north of Lake Hughes Road, said Los Angeles County fire supervisor Bernard Peters. It took fire crews 18 minutes to reach the blaze.

“We got there and it was what appeared to be a body,” Peters said.

The person was pronounced dead at the scene.

“We have no idea who this is,” said L.A. County sheriff’s Sgt. Rich Nagler. “We are waiting for homicide [detectives] and the coroner’s to arrive.”

Since Friday, authorities have been searching Castaic Lake for 19-year-old Bryce Laspisa, whose pickup truck was involved in an accident in the area.

Laspisa was driving a 2003 Toyota Highlander that was found on its side about 5:30 a.m. Friday on the Main Ramp Road near the lake, authorities said. Several hours earlier, Laspisa called his parents, reportedly from Buttonwillow in Kern County, according to the sheriff’s department.

Authorities said Laspisa lives in Roseville, in Placer County, and had been driving to visit his parents in Orange County.

Deputies on Tuesday scoured San Francisquito Canyon and surrounding areas with the aide of a helicopter and search dogs. Rescue divers from the sheriff’s department searched Castaic Lake for evidence that might help investigators locate the man.

Laspisa was described by authorities as white with red hair and blue eyes. He is 5-feet-11 and weighs 170 pounds.

He has a tattoo of a bull’s head with a Roman numeral on his left shoulder. He was last seen wearing white cargo shorts, a blue-and-white checkered shirt and white-and-red Nike shoes.

Anyone with information was asked to call Det. Chris Carns at (323) 890-5500.

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Angel Jennings

As assistant managing editor for culture and talent, Angel Jennings oversees the Los Angeles Times’ Metpro and internship programs as well as works closely with HR and department heads to help manage a broad range of responsibilities, including tracking, recruiting, interviewing and selecting diverse candidates for job opportunities and advancing the company’s efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and access. She also works across the newsroom on retention, training and career development efforts. Jennings previously worked as a reporter in Metro. She got her start in the Metpro program in 2011 and has since worked on assignments with many departments in the newsroom, including Metro, National, Calendar, Business and podcasts. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska.

Robert J. Lopez

Robert J. Lopez is a former Los Angeles Times investigative journalist. He was part of a team of Times reporters awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for uncovering corruption in Bell, a small city near Los Angeles. He and several Times colleagues were Pulitzer Prize finalists in 2023 for investigations that exposed corruption, criminality and worker exploitation in California’s legal cannabis market. Born and raised in L.A., he is a graduate of the University of Hawaii.

Burning body found near Castaic Lake amid search for missing man

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