His family never saw it coming... 

Rambo 8:12

Him giving away his possessions is a MASSIVE red flag.

PSA to parents: if your kids friends call and say they're concerned about them absolutely DO NOT brush it off because it takes a lot for someone's buddies to do that.

The beginning of this story, and how he was giving his stuff to his friends/breaking up with his girlfriend are all massive signs of suicide. My heart goes out to him.

The Mechanic deserves an Award for being such an empathic, caring, upstanding citizen. He didn't know Bryce or his family & he went above & beyond to help the family

I’m just astonished that their kid was only three hours away and they didn’t just go pick him up. If they’re told that he’s just been sitting there, it’s obvious that he is not doing well (as his friends said). It’s frustrating to hear that he sat there for a whole day and they didn’t just go to him.

Holy crap, can we give props to this selfless mechanic, Christian, who really went out of his way for a complete stranger. You’re a good man.

As a mother of two young men, I can say without a doubt that once I got the call from the girlfriend, I would’ve hopped in my car & taken off & not mentioned it. There were so many red flags. They had so many opportunities to change their minds & just get in their car. How tragic. Not saying this is the parent’s fault. Just saying I think they made some bad choices when they must’ve realized something was really wrong.

I can't believe the INSANE levels denial by his parents! This was SOOO preventable. I mean, just how many one-in-a-million chances did they get to intervene?! It's like the UNIVERSE was trying to prevent this, and they just shrugged and rationalized every time!

The third time he's lied to them about coming home, you'd think they'd go and fetch him, no?

His parents should have gone and picked him up. When somebody is acting strangely, you shouldn't trust them to drive themselves anywhere. Especially not on a 3-hour trip.

As soon as I heard about him giving away valuables, my heart sank. A lot of people do that before attempting. Some write wills, some blow their money and others gift their most valuable items to friends and family. It's a sign that should not be ignored. Especially if the person doesn't seem their usual self

It drives me nuts knowing that Bryce's parents didn't jump in their car right away to go to him. They knew where he was. Even after all the forewarning from his girlfriend and room mate. As a parent I would be on my way as soon as they knew he was fine the first time from Christian's report... and they still didn't do anything when they knew he was only a few hours away from reports from the police. His parents really dropped the ball on this one.

Him breaking up with his girlfriend, giving away his things, substance abuse, and very erratic behavior are HUGE red flags for suicide

Why was Christian willing to drive nearly two hours to make sure he got home and the parents didn't even meet him half way 😭😭

The conversation with a friend's parent about something serious is never a good time. Good on Shawn for taking that initiative

Excitement and momentary happiness is NOT the same thing as not being suicidal...

NO ill intent toward the parents, but after several hours of trying to coax my kid to come home from a strange town with no success, I would have just driven up to find him myself.

As soon as Bryce started giving his prized possessions away to his friend and severed ties with his girlfriend it was obvious this dude was planning on offing himself

The mechanic though oh my GOD, the effort he put in to helping this family, whAt a kind hearted soul!!!!! Bless him!!!!

I would drive 3 hours for an acquaintance I was worried about. Can’t believe the parents couldn’t do it for their son

when he gave his earrings and xbox to his friend, him being suicidal was the first thing I thought. If someone starts giving you their precious things out of nowhere, pay attention to them. Usually this behavior is an apology, a parting gift.

I cannot believe that, despite so many missed opportunities, Brice's parents did not drive 3 hours up to Brice in Buttonwillow from their home!! If I were them, I would have dropped everything and drove to him!

I always thought it a bad thing that my mother was so pushy, but feel it's a godsend after hearing this. If she told me she's flying out, and I told her not to, she'd say, "I don't care if you want me there or not. Something isn't right. You stay right there until I get there." Don't be upset with your overly pushy parents. It could potentially save you someday.

Major love for the stranger who show more love to him than his own parents ❤️

Christian is a really wonderful person. I hope he doesn’t blame himself for not following him all the way home. He did so much to make sure he was safe

I'd like to thank Christian for being such a wonderful human. He went above and beyond to look out for Bryce. We need more people like that.

I lost my son to drug addiction 2 yrs ago 😢, but at least I knew what happened. I cannot imagine losing a child this way, with no closure. I hope his parents have found some kind of peace thru this 🙏🙏

That mechanic is a real good dude.. wish he was my neighbor

That Christian guy is a living legend. Truly a genuine guy that went out of his way to help a complete stranger.

Why his parents just didn’t drive to get him in all that time is beyond me, he was there for hours and hours and they had enough time.

Not my words, but I saw this on an unresolved mysteries subreddit: "Something of an insider here... I can say with certainty that there were issues between Bryce and his family. While Bryce's mother, Karen, is an unrepentant psycho, I am told that Bryce had a tight, borderline codependent relationship with her in the years leading up to his disappearance, but not much is known about their relationship in the final year or so. His relationship with his father, Mike, was at times very tumultuous as Mike would lose his temper, yell, and scream at Bryce over things as trivial as not understanding how to complete his math homework. I don't know if the relationship was ever physically violent, but there was most definitely a lot of verbal/emotional abuse going on in that household, and not just with Bryce. The latter part of Bryce's teen years were marred by a few incidents, such as getting busted with MDMA, as well as a lot of underage drinking issues that have gone largely unreported, all of which served to soil his familial ties. As I understand, Bryce was well on his way to becoming a teen-aged alcoholic. He was apparently known for taking booze to high school and spending some school days maintaining a desired level of intoxication. It's very safe to assume that this behavior continued to spiral out (evidenced by his taste for Adderall and other scripts), and he suffered a psychotic break from it (evidenced by his friends calling his mother with their concerns). It must have been some pretty disturbing behavior in order for kids, who all used drugs recreationally, to contact their friend's parents with concerns about his mental state. When Bryce left home to attend community college, he did not do so by his own motivation. Karen and Mike shopped around for what school he would attend, gave him no decision in the matter, and shipped him out when the school year began. The decision was in part based on the availability of dormitories as they wanted Bryce out of the home as soon as possible, which seems in keeping of what I know to be true of their style of parenting. They sent him to Sierra College, in Rocklin, CA, which is a 460 mile drive from his parents' home in Laguna Niguel. Mike and Karen were both very controlling parents, the type that foster harsh, rebellious behavior from their kids. They sought to control every aspect of his life and used their money to do so. Bryce owned literally nothing of his own and was frequently reminded of it when he stepped out of line. To me, his actions were a great big, 'Fuck you,' to his manipulative, controlling, abusive parents. What better way to let them know you're done than by intentionally wrecking their car and leaving behind all the accoutrements they paid for with their money, and leveraged as a means of control? The time he spent in that small rural town was most likely waiting on someone to give him a ride. I believe the big story he wanted to tell his family was that he would be dropping out of school and moving elsewhere. I believe he wanted to say it to their faces but chickened out and decided that he was just going to move on. I believe his family knows this and have used the media, his friends, and so on, to wage a pressure campaign against him. I believe the police have encountered him at some point and have respected a request for silence, thus leading them to their conclusion that he is voluntarily missing. Karen is a duplicitous snake and has pushed several falsehoods throughout this ordeal, most especially the, 'Bryce was a good boy, this was totally unexpected,' narrative, when it was clear he was starting to spiral out. They never once mention that he was basically driven from the home due to his behavior. Mike isn't duplicitous, so to speak, just thick as a brick, emotionally stunted, authoritarian, and a bit spineless when it came to being an advocate for his kids. Bryce's parents regularly looked through his phone records, to see who he was associating with via calls and texts. They also somehow have control of his Facebook and email accounts, though we all know how easy it is to set up alternates. No doubt he needed a burner phone to communicate with whomever came to retrieve him. They have been trying so hard to keep the heat up on him that it's no wonder we've not seen hide nor hair of him since his disappearance. I believe that when the Laspisas moved from Chicago to Southern California, they were mainly just looking for warmer weather and a place to retire. No doubt Bryce had a lot of bad influences he left behind, but he was a social kid and well liked by most who knew him, so he didn't have trouble making friends at Sierra. I believe the person who was to meet him wasn't late, per se, but was traveling a long distance and due to changes in Bryce's plan, he had time to kill in Buttonwillow. I believe his plan was to drive to Laguna Niguel, drop off the car and everything his parents were paying for, have 'the talk' with them, then meet with his friend to depart. I suspect they were driving from multiple states away. My guess is that he went to the Pacific Northwest as he has been possibly spotted a few times in Oregon. The drive from Portland to Buttonwillow is about 13 hours, and 15-16 if coming from Seattle. The majority of Oregon sightings place him somewhere around Eugene, which is a big college town. I absolutely believe that Karen knows more than she has admitted. She is the type of person who would manufacture a massive lie to protect herself from the smallest embarrassment. Knowing what I know about that woman, I find it quite likely she said something that led Bryce to say, 'Fuck it,' and deviate from his plan. I also think she is the type of person (i.e. a malignant narcissist) who would lie to her own family about what was said as so to shield herself from the embarrassment of her complete failure as a parent and wife. If you watch her various media appearances, there is nothing genuine about her attitude or emotional state. It's all fake and rehearsed. Every photograph of her shows her making an exaggerated, forced grimace indicating emotional pain, but there is nothing genuine about it. She is a vile narcissist whose emotional expressions are sophisticated systems of manipulation, and the main reason for my posting on this matter is to expose her for the fraud that she is. Even some of her closest friends have finally noticed this and some have actively sought to keep her at arm's length, while others have walked away entirely. To my knowledge, everything Mike knows about this situation he heard from Karen, as I don't believe Mike spoke to him much during the entire ordeal. It's also very possible Bryce moved back to Chicago. That's a huge city, one which would be easy to disappear in to. His parents occasionally travel to Chicago to meet with friends and family, and they also had a pow-wow with media types there a while back, but they still live in California to this day."

the story started with him giving away his stuff and my heart just absolutely sank.

Who else was saying “Nooooooo” when Christian decided it was safe to stop following Bryce??

When people start giving away important, valuable things; it is a red flag for suicide. Breaking up for no reason is another one. This broke my heart as a mother.

I am beginning to wonder if I just watch you not so much because of the stories but because of your talent to tell a story in all its details and keep your audience captivated.

Thank you Mr ballen for sitting on the side of the highway to tell this story! ❤️

Why on earth didn’t his parents drive out to him when he was sat in a car park for 9 hours? Totally bizarre

Hats of to Christian. He sounds like such a caring individual that I be he'll carry a burden of guilt with him, probably for the rest of his life.

His parents never did see this coming. So sad. I applaud the mechanic Christian for being such a good guy in Bryce's time of need. No one does that these days. I hope he's found one day. 😢🙏

What a nice guy the mechanic is and the police officer 2 decent people ❤

This is the case I can’t let go. One time, I had an emotional breakdown and tried to drive 4.5 hours to my parents. I got maybe halfway and I couldn’t go on. Called my parents and said I was at a rest stop. Fell asleep in the car and woke up to my daddy knocking on my car window. Yep, middle of the night and he drove all that way go get me. Ever since I heard about this case, I have been so grateful my dad did that. Now that he’s gone, I realize more and more how lucky I was to have him. I could have been like Bryce. It just really gets to me.

As soon as my child starts giving away his loved possessions, I'm on my way.

Chris is the type of person that restores my hope in humanity in this appalling world we live in these days 🙏🏼💙 hats off to him

A mechanic was more invested than his own parents. Poor guy

Christian displaying amazing empathy as a human being for others.

So strange. That guy Christian is a gem, the world could do with more like him.

20 years later someone think they spotted Bryce 10 miles away from his home. The parent: let's stay home and wait. if it's him we're sure he'll come home soon.

It's stories like these that really amplify the chaotic, unpredictable, deadly world we live in! Just passing through, just like you. Please remain in the light.

I am 31 and I didn't answer my phone for a couple days at one point and my dad showed up at my house 3 hours away. These parents REALLY didn't want to get out huh?

Hey Christian ( mechanic ) I hope you're reading this and know that you're one hell of a good man .

Love you mr ballen thank you for all these endless stories that you narrated so perfectly to where we understand them and always so entertaining i work in a nursing home 10pm til 6:30pm i spend all my shifts listening while im working helps keep me entertained

This one hits so close to home cus it's exactly how one of my housemates started to behave right before he tried to attempt. The sudden change in drinking and drug-use habits, breaking up with his gf and cutting off some friends, giving away valuable items. Of course we realized these were signs of something to come and we and his closer friends went as far as to buying him a plane ticket to go home to his family (we're all international students and his family lives in a different continent). But on the literal day of his flight, we had to rush him to the hospital after he intentionally tried to overdose. It was only later that I found out from his friends what had caused this spiral. He was horribly SA'd by a guy at a party and he just could not cope with the trauma. I can't even imagine what he must have gone through and how alone he must have felt in all of this. His family did take him back to their country. Last year a bunch of us received a message from him and he said he's doing a lot better and he thanked us for what we had done. Yes, depression is a silent killer. I have it myself. But idk if it causes such an abrupt and drastic change in lifestyle so quickly. I think with Bryce, he either had something bad done to him or he did or became complicit in some horrible act done to someone else. That's what he wanted to speak to his parents about but ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it. I applaud my housemate's family for their genuine desperation to be at his side. We were a bit worried at first since we come from a shared culture where older people think mental health issues are a myth or something to be ashamed of. But they put aside all their beliefs and only cared for him and his well-being. I'm not trying to sound nasty but I can't imagine having my child be 3 hrs away and not immediately driving to him at the first sign of trouble. When my cousin had a psychotic break, his sister flew across the world to be at his side and make sure he was safe. Bryce would still be with everyone if his parents weren't so dismissive and lacking in their initiative. Yes, hindsight is strong but if even Bryce's friends are worried to the point of calling them, you would think that they as the parent would jump into action.

The moment he said he was tired of driving and wanted to take a nap after acting the way he did earlier I would have drove out with my husband to go pick my son up.. I can’t understand how they slept that night.

"He's not like that, he's not suicidal"....that's how suicide succeeds

A stranger tries to accompany him home while his own parents stay at home and avoid facing him with his as-yet-unspoken-about issue. This suggests to me that his parents knew what he wanted to talk about and were terrified of speaking about it. Otherwise they would have gone straight out and got him. They are hiding something.

It's crazy to me that his parents didn't go get him. I once missed my flight home from Vegas; I was safe and would have to stay another week with my boyfriend before I could fly back, but my mom still asked both myself and my boyfriend separately if she needed to drive the 8 hours in one direction to come get me. I was calm, just a little upset. If I had been acting like this there would be nothing I could say to prevent her from getting to me

Parents should have been driving his way the whole time after she learned Christian was having to follow him

WTH. If that were my kid, after 3 attempts, I would have driven down there myself. Hell, I would have driven down there after the gf and bf called. And did the annoying parent thing by staying on the line the entire time. Christian is an angel. Not a lot of people would go that far. We need more neighbors, friends and human beings like him. 💖

As a father of two children, that story really hit home with me, you are an amazing story teller, I was truly invested in it and actually cried non-stop for an hour after it, I hugged my kids so hard for a while after watching this(they thought I was a weirdo) I can't even process what was happening in the end.....hats off mr ballen. I haven't subscribed to anyone on you tube ever, considered it, then thought it was in poor taste to do so sorry

I feel sorry for Brice. I think he was stalling. There was so much opportunities to save Brice, but the parents were negligent. Literally they cant drive 3 hrs to get him? Brice sat there for additional 9 hrs!

I'm half way through this video, and all I can think of is: why, the hell, the parents DIDN'T just drive to get their son? One of them could stay home, the other could drive, instead of waiting for him to come up by himself. Especially after numerous times Bryce failed to actually drive home. Come on, parents.

The car repairman was more willing to physically go take care of Bryce than his parents.

As a fellow Bryce, I hope he’s found and has found himself doing better

I watch alot of you tube. I think your subscribership out ranks many of the channels I watch. Kudos, and don't stop. I love your storytelling, even the stories I've already heard.

The mechanic was so caring, he went out of his way for a complete stranger several times. The thing about suicidal people is that you can put on a happy face so no one suspects it, I’m guessing the family just can’t accept it

Christian needs a “life raise”, good human right there

How heartwarming that Christian went to such lengths to help this family that were total strangers. I know from experience that many good people live in California’s San Joaquin Valley. It’s sad that, in the end, this tragedy wasn’t able to be averted.

I suffer from mental illness and was going through a tone of stress. I remember walking to my car to head to work and the next thing I know I'm waking up in a different parking lot several hours later with no memory of how I got there. For some reason, this video reminded me of it.

I’m sorry but his parents infuriate me. If that was my son I would drive out there myself and pick him up instead of sending everyone to go check on him.

I can't believe his parents never went out to get him, a mechanic with no real relationship to Bryce did more than them.

These missing person cases hit me hard. Had a 19 year old kid go missing where I live, I remember putting up his missing posters at work and talking to his mom, they found his body last month (he was missing for 2 years), they found his body 5 miles from where I work and I was devastated as was my coworker.

I found you on RU-vid shorts. I'm hooked! You are a rockstar!!! Keep doing you

For him to give belongings away and the other actions, it does sound like he was suicidal.

Every time I hear this sad story I'm at a total loss to understand how his parents didn't drive back to him right away. They had so many opportunities. The guilt they must feel is unimaginable.

dang I wish I had family and friends this caring and patient

this story always blows my mind

Christian is an exemplary person for going above an beyond to help a stranger.

cops, Christian, everybody else checking on him... parents waiting at home like "he'll be here any minute." smh 🙄

So heartbreaking! I have only one son and I just can’t imagine the pain and grief Brice’s parents are going through. I wish they would have just gone to where he was when he just sat in his car at the rest area and then the parking lot of whatever establishment and just drove him home. I hope he’s found soon or they find out what happened to him.

I can't imagine the feeling his parents feel not knowing... To just not know ANYTHING! Ugh I am so sorry for them. Mrballen, waaay awesome commentary of the odd but entirely addictive! ..in story form, of course! Very cool. Thanks for the stories.

Mannnnn , a triple *SALUTE* goes out to *CHRISTIAN* for going the extra mile when nobody asked him too ✊.. The WORLD needs more people like *CHRISTIAN* in it 🤞💯

What do I do while I wrap christmas presents? I listen to Mr.Ballen. ❤💯

The second he started giving away his important things, my heart dropped and I realized where this was going. I feel so bad for his friends and family, being suddenly confronted with that severe warning signs.

Why didn't the parents just drive up and get him when he was sitting around parking lots in that little town? Seems very weird that they'd just not think of that.

Give that repair man a raise or an award or something holy shit what a great dude lol

I just discovered you. You are a terrific narrator. I enjoy your stories, thank you.

This is extremely frustrating. Why didn't his parents just make the three hour drive?

“suicide? this is NOT my son.” It’s almost like a lot of depressed ppl put on a mask so that people don’t know that they’re depressed

I feel bad for families who find it so difficult to accept the reality of a child’s death or disappearance that they believe it must have been foul play. Foul play is such a worse scenario but yet that is still easier to believe than that their child was depressed/suicidal.

I just found out about MRBALLEN 2 days ago. I'm a truck driver and I've been beng listening to all these stories every since while I drive. Imagine driving down the road in the middle of the night listening to some of these scary stories with the dome light on because I feel theirs someone or something behind me in the cab in my bunk starring at me. 😅😅😅😅😅

The parents were literally a couple of HOURS from their son. I'm not trying to judge them, as I'm sure they considered their options, but damn. They (or one of them) so could have driven straight to him multiple times before he drove off the road. I'm sure they are really kicking themselves and I realize that hindsight is 20/20...

Christian's amazing for doing all that out of his own will when he didnt have too.

New subscriber here. You're a very talented story-teller! So pleased to have found your channel.

Sounds like Bryce might have been through something traumatic or had a dark secret of some sort. Maybe he accidentally killed someone for example. That might help explain his strange behavior

Someone needs to start a petition to crown MrBallen as the King of RU-vid

“He was happy he was not suicidal “ the biggest mistake you can make is assume someone isn’t suicidal because they’re “happy”

Me personally, I would've been in my car going to him. I wouldn't waste time calling to make sure he is coming. Also, that guy willing to drive and check up on him and then drive behind him over halfway to his parents house doesn't make sense to me either. I mean something was clearly wrong and I would've had my keys in my hand and on my way to get my son as soon as I got the first call from his best friend saying, something isn't right with your son.

this story speaks to me since i'm a suicidal person. those are all typical signs of a suicidal person: giving away important stuff, cutting ties with people, getting reclusive, speaking in an unclear and mysterious way... i'm absolutely sure that was a suicide attempt, but the window broken from the inside out means he either got some clarity and wanted to live, or that he saw it didn't work and went to try again. either way this is tragic, i'm so sorry for the family and hope they have healed at least a bit, and god bless Christian for trying to help, hope he's alright wherever he is

Christian did more to try to save him than his parents did.