MN MN - Bryce Borca, 23, college student, seen at 2AM, search focused near Minnesota River, Eagan, 30 Oct 2022

[savagewoman]

New details in Eagan missing person investigation revealed in search warrant

• Borca had spent the evening drinking with friends on a party bus, according to the affidavit, and was dropped off by a Lyft ride near 3256 Hill Ridge Dr. in Eagan at about 2:08 a.m. along with two friends.
• Borca's friends thought he was walking home to his apartment at 3435 Promenade Ave., which would have taken about 45 minutes.
• 2:34 a.m., Borca called friends over Facetime, told them he didn't know where he was and that his phone was at 2% charge.
• During that call, Borca shared his location which put him in the wooded area off Highway 13 (the opposite direction of his apartment.)
• The 12-minute call abruptly ended and subsequent calls went to voicemail, leading friends to believe Borca's phone had died.
• Friends search the area along Highway 13 on foot but were unable to locate him

 

[Trino]

Heading into wooded area with several marshes and ponds. Not good. Seems he headed the wrong way on Yankee Doodle, and this road dead ends.

 

[Vail]

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This case shares more similarities with Tyler Davis than it does with any college kid falling into a river. You'd have to know Eagan to understand just how unlikely it is he is in the river unless he intentionally hiked to it, and I say hike because it is a long walk through trails or marsh or up to the bridge as a previous poster pointed out. This is as intensely suburban as it gets - my grandparents lived off Cliff Rd very near this area and when I was a kid we biked all over for miles - it couldnt have been more safe...but there is a TON of water everywhere, from drainage ditches to culverts to creeks to marshes and ponds to small lakes. If he wandered off the street anywhere away from a building there is a chance he could have tumbled into water but it is truly unlikely.
It should have been fairly easy for him to turn back around from where the call dropped off and locate Yankee Doodle again and walk home - he had no reason to try cutting across anywhere. Having to cross 35E isn't great but this route is fully lit and there is a sidewalk the entire way. I realize he was possibly drunk but he should know the area pretty well, especially with the lights of the shopping complex parking lots in full view. Even if he did something dumb like walked through the mall to reach the back side of his apartment, he is certainly aware there is a pond back there.

Of note, there is a bar at the corner of 13 and Yankee Doodle where he reportedly facetimed his friend.

I'm hoping there is confirmation from the Lyft driver that he was in the car, and a good explanation for why he wasn't dropped off at home.

 

[squareandrabbet]

• Borca had spent the evening drinking with friends on a party bus, according to the affidavit, and was dropped off by a Lyft ride near 3256 Hill Ridge Dr. in Eagan at about 2:08 a.m. along with two friends.
• Borca's friends thought he was walking home to his apartment at 3435 Promenade Ave., which would have taken about 45 minutes.
• 2:34 a.m., Borca called friends over Facetime, told them he didn't know where he was and that his phone was at 2% charge.
• During that call, Borca shared his location which put him in the wooded area off Highway 13 (the opposite direction of his apartment.)
• The 12-minute call abruptly ended and subsequent calls went to voicemail, leading friends to believe Borca's phone had died.
• Friends search the area along Highway 13 on foot but were unable to locate him

45 minutes?!?

When he was so drunk he was wandering around noncomprehending for 12 minutes?

that’s not very friendly of them IMO… the Lyft driver couldn’t do any better??

I certainly hope it wasn’t a hit and run… or a “hit and bundle corpse into trunk”…

 

[PommyMommy]

NOV 3, 2022

New details in Eagan missing person investigation revealed in search warrant

Bryce Borca disappeared early Oct. 30 and has not been found. Searchers found his tie, according to a search warrant.

www.kare11.com

[...]

Eagan police collected Borca's Apple computer and older iPhones in hopes that the devices synced and contained information on the phone that apparently died as Borca was attempting to walk home early Sunday morning.

The search warrant affidavit reveals later that morning a searcher found a tie believed to belong to Borca in the roadway along his suspected route of travel.

Eagan Police Detective Desiree Schroepfer added that Borca was also seen on nearby business surveillance video walking alone.

[...]

The Lyft driver told police Borca was extremely intoxicated and at one point tried to exit the vehicle while it was still moving.

[...]

Cell phone records obtained by police show Borca traveled through a small industrial area near Highway 13 before heading into heavily wooded terrain with several marshes and ponds, according to the search warrant.

[...]

 

[DeDee]

Apparently, LE feel foot searches are either dangerous due to the terrain or would be fruitless because the area to search is so large. I hope he is found somehow. Bryce is a nice looking gentleman who wears a cardigan and tie to a party. Classy.

Late one evening while in New Orleans, I had a spat with my SO. Nothing serious, mainly annoyed. We got off the Magazine St trolley to complete our walk to where we were staying. He went down one street while I went down another. His sense of direction was better than mine. I phoned a friend who gave the best advice. "Stay where you are. Don't move. I'll be there soon."

During the fairly lengthy Facetime Bryce had with friends, I wish they had told him to stay right where he was. Do not move. That someone would come to him. His friends must feel deep anguish over their inability to locate their buddy. Maybe some will never drink alcohol again.

Praying for the Eagan community and especially for his dear loved ones who will not see his shining face on Christmas morning this year and the years to come.

 

[lassy]

Still confused as to his route after all the details came out yesterday. Early on, reports said he was last seen at Yankee Doodle and Coachman. Then a house around Terminal Drive/13. Now the house was actually Letendre and Hill Ridge.
So did he travel west from the house across 13, down thru Terminal Drive and the industrial area to get to where he called friends in the dead end wooded area down past Yankee Tavern at 13 and Yankee? And then which direction did he head? He seemed smart enough not to head farther west into the marsh, which seems like pretty treacherous and rough terrain. How far would he have gotten, that days of ground searches didn’t find him? Or did he head back up Terminal to the lakes/ponds?
Where was his tie found?
If he FaceTimed friends and shared his location and they went to look for him, why did they give up and go home and wait until morning to call police?
Why did he not wait there since he shared his location with them?
Why didn’t Bryce call 911 if he was lost and friends didn’t show up? Can’t you still call 911 with a dead phone?
I get people don’t think straight when they are drunk, but they all seemed pretty smart.
Too many questions still.

 

[lassy]

Still confused as to his route after all the details came out yesterday. Early on, reports said he was last seen at Yankee Doodle and Coachman. Then a house around Terminal Drive/13. Now the house was actually Letendre and Hill Ridge.
So did he travel west from the house across 13, down thru Terminal Drive and the industrial area to get to where he called friends in the dead end wooded area down past Yankee Tavern at 13 and Yankee? And then which direction did he head? He seemed smart enough not to head farther west into the marsh, which seems like pretty treacherous and rough terrain. How far would he have gotten, that days of ground searches didn’t find him? Or did he head back up Terminal to the lakes/ponds?
Where was his tie found?
If he FaceTimed friends and shared his location and they went to look for him, why did they give up and go home and wait until morning to call police?
Why did he not wait there since he shared his location with them?
Why didn’t Bryce call 911 if he was lost and friends didn’t show up? Can’t you still call 911 with a dead phone?

Also, where is his cell phone now? With him, or did they find it?

I get people don’t think straight when they are drunk, but they all seemed pretty smart.
Too many questions still.

 

[Valiant]

snipped
Why didn’t Bryce call 911 if he was lost and friends didn’t show up? Can’t you still call 911 with a dead phone?

You an call 911 without a valid SIM card, but you still need battery power to call 911.

 

[lassy]

Thanks for sharing the update.

Based on the statement below, do they feel comfortable that he's not in that area? that, unfortunately, he's in the river? It's basically been 2 days of organized searches involving volunteers - doesn't seem an excessive amount of time imo. Curious what others think.

"volunteers are no longer needed as authorities have suspended expansive ground search efforts near the Minnesota River."

Agreed. A few days of ground searching doesn’t seem like enough…given they haven’t found him yet and the area around the river is pretty expansive. Police have given no updates since about water searches or anything related to this case. Only piece of info/details came from the news station yesterday.

 

[savagewoman]

Agreed. A few days of ground searching doesn’t seem like enough…given they haven’t found him yet and the area around the river is pretty expansive. Police have given no updates since about water searches or anything related to this case. Only piece of info/details came from the news station yesterday.

They also did drones and pretty lengthy helicopter searches for 2 days doing grid searches. 1 day before organized foot searches and during foot search.

Imo
- Maybe there will be more searches once leaves drop more.
- My 25 yo son said there were Halloween party buses all weekend so possibly he was in a costume. When I mentioned the cardigan to him he thought j. witness because nobody wears sweaters at that age.
- I know the area well and can't imagine doing what he did but I have been drunk TNTC before and can't believe I survived college.
- His buddies were probably drunk too so we're not thinking straight to call police (maybe not thinking he was in danger) or having him stay put. I'm assuming they were his 2 friends that he was dropped off with at one of their houses. The 2 went running around on foot looking for him since it was close by. Seems no one was thinking clearly and I'm praying they can forgive themselves.

 

[lassy]

Yeah, I drank plenty back in college too and am still here. Also know the area as I live in Eagan and used to work back where he was when he called friends.
I also knew about the drones and helicopters and also heard they had hounds, and sonar, etc in the lakes early on.
If his friends went to look for him relatively quickly after the call, I wouldn’t think he would have taken off or gotten too far, especially in the marshy area in the dark. But who knows.
Heartbreaking that they haven’t found him. Family and friends must be devastated.

 

[TLobo]

I can kind of understand why the search would be called off, if they're confident that they have walked or flown over or scanned all of the area between Hwy 13 and the river, as well as the smaller bodies of water there, but...now what? Is the plan to just wait until his body is discovered in someone's backyard shed, or in 3 feet of water in the swampy space, or...? Not at all a critique of LE's decisions, but I'm really curious about how it is expected to play out from here.

Just a terrible situation all around.

 

[UltraViolet4545]

My sister & I are local to the area and hiked out there this morning, we wanted to at least try. The general area he got lost in isn’t all that large, but it is very treacherous and difficult to move through. We were covered head to toe in burrs, there are thick shrubs/vines/trees.

IMO, after the foot searches did not find him, all that’s really left is the river. That must be why the police are focused on that. The river is slow and quiet, in the pitch dark, you could be wandering along and easily fall right in without seeing it beforehand. The water is freezing cold this time of year and there is undercurrent, plus the dark, and if he was intoxicated… I can see how it would happen.

It’s really sad and I hope they find him quickly, because snow and freezing weather will set in any day now.

 

[deadfoot13]

My sister & I are local to the area and hiked out there this morning, we wanted to at least try. The general area he got lost in isn’t all that large, but it is very treacherous and difficult to move through. We were covered head to toe in burrs, there are thick shrubs/vines/trees.

IMO, after the foot searches did not find him, all that’s really left is the river. That must be why the police are focused on that. The river is slow and quiet, in the pitch dark, you could be wandering along and easily fall right in without seeing it beforehand. The water is freezing cold this time of year and there is undercurrent, plus the dark, and if he was intoxicated… I can see how it would happen.

It’s really sad and I hope they find him quickly, because snow and freezing weather will set in any day now.

What a kind thing to do!

 

[lassy]

My sister & I are local to the area and hiked out there this morning, we wanted to at least try. The general area he got lost in isn’t all that large, but it is very treacherous and difficult to move through. We were covered head to toe in burrs, there are thick shrubs/vines/trees.

IMO, after the foot searches did not find him, all that’s really left is the river. That must be why the police are focused on that. The river is slow and quiet, in the pitch dark, you could be wandering along and easily fall right in without seeing it beforehand. The water is freezing cold this time of year and there is undercurrent, plus the dark, and if he was intoxicated… I can see how it would happen.

It’s really sad and I hope they find him quickly, because snow and freezing weather will set in any day now.

If it is that treacherous sober in the daylight, how would a drunk guy make it though to the river in the dark? In dress pants and no hiking shoes. Especially when up to the point of the phone call, stuck to city streets?

 

[lassy]

If it is that treacherous sober in the daylight, how would a drunk guy make it though to the river in the dark? In dress pants and no hiking shoes. Especially when up to the point of the phone call, stuck to city streets?

Makes no sense to me that he would venture into that terrain in the dark.

 

[squareandrabbet]

Makes no sense to me that he would venture into that terrain in the dark.

Maybe he was angry. Or jittery.

 

[lassy]

I can kind of understand why the search would be called off, if they're confident that they have walked or flown over or scanned all of the area between Hwy 13 and the river, as well as the smaller bodies of water there, but...now what? Is the plan to just wait until his body is discovered in someone's backyard shed, or in 3 feet of water in the swampy space, or...? Not at all a critique of LE's decisions, but I'm really curious about how it is expected to play out from here.

Just a terrible situation all around.

Agree. Is LE just waiting or actively doing anything to find this guy? I see no updates on their Facebook site.

 

[lassy]

Maybe he was angry. Or jittery.

Maybe. Does that make a guy want to go thru thick brush and marshes. I don’t know the guy, but he looks a lot like my clean cut 23 year old son, who isn’t much into wilderness treks. Lol