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

[InternetGhost91]

I drove past Essendant/Highway 13 tonight on my way home after dark to check out the lighting situation. It is cloudy, but as others have speculated in this thread, it was bright enough from the light of the moon and the businesses nearby for us to see and someone could certainly have seen where they were going on foot. The businesses and airport on the Bloomington side of the river were also a significant source of diffused light. I was surprised how well I could see.

As for the lights in the trailhead parking lot, there are actually only 2. They were the smaller type just meant to light up the 8 parking spots and that immediate area. Regardless, there would have been plenty of light on the railroad tracks. If Bryce is not in the ponds, he could be anywhere. But it seems based on posts from family/friends on the Eagan FB page that the area has been searched as well as it could have been in 2 days.

A real mystery all around. I hope the family at least is happy with whatever LE is doing.

all JMO/my real life observations

 

[lassy]

I drove past Essendant/Highway 13 tonight on my way home after dark to check out the lighting situation. It is cloudy, but as others have speculated in this thread, it was bright enough from the light of the moon and the businesses nearby for us to see and someone could certainly have seen where they were going on foot. The businesses and airport on the Bloomington side of the river were also a significant source of diffused light. I was surprised how well I could see.

As for the lights in the trailhead parking lot, there are actually only 2. They were the smaller type just meant to light up the 8 parking spots and that immediate area. Regardless, there would have been plenty of light on the railroad tracks. If Bryce is not in the ponds, he could be anywhere. But it seems based on posts from family/friends on the Eagan FB page that the area has been searched as well as it could have been in 2 days.

A real mystery all around. I hope the family at least is happy with whatever LE is doing.

all JMO/my real life observations

Thank you for checking that out at night!
I have suspected he could see fairly well to follow the RR tracks back there and make his way around. I would still like to know if he could see that big building/parking lots/houses behind the ponds…where he could have made his way back to civilization if he wanted to. Guessing he could have, but maybe he had some unfortunate event by the ponds while intoxicated? Like I said previously, was someone else there? Did he just go to wash off and fell in? Did he leave that area?
Wonder if there is a camera on that big building facing the ponds that caught something.

 

[InternetGhost91]

Thank you for checking that out at night!
I have suspected he could see fairly well to follow the RR tracks back there and make his way around. I would still like to know if he could see that big building/parking lots/houses behind the ponds…where he could have made his way back to civilization if he wanted to.

based on what i saw tonight, i would say yes. it actually looked brighter by the businesses and railroad tracks than on Highway 13, because there aren’t streetlights on the highway but the airport and businesses light up the tracks.

 

[InternetGhost91]

Related to your point, I have also noticed that people (guessing family or friends) seem to be ‘patrolling’ that site, especially early on. They will answer or shut down posts that make any comments that they don’t like, guesses as to what happened that they don’t like, posts that said he was found, etc. Yet if anyone asks a question or for an update…nothing.

Why would they be doing that? Why soo much secrecy? It’s confounding

 

[lassy]

based on what i saw tonight, i would say yes. it actually looked brighter by the businesses and railroad tracks than on Highway 13, because there aren’t streetlights on the highway but the airport and businesses light up the tracks.

Perfect! That makes a person wonder why he didn’t make his way out from back there. Or maybe he did get out.

 

[InternetGhost91]

Perfect! That makes a person wonder why he didn’t make his way out from back there. Or maybe he did get out.

I’m thinking again about Martise Windom. There are holding ponds all over this area that aren’t visible on Google Maps. If not in one of the ponds behind the tracks, he may be in a pond nearby.

 

[lassy]

I’m thinking again about Martise Windom. There are holding ponds all over this area that aren’t visible on Google Maps. If not in one of the ponds behind the tracks, he may be in a pond nearby.

Wouldn’t LE have checked other ones around that area? They were focused on the ones close to that building for a few days.

 

[InternetGhost91]

Wouldn’t LE have checked other ones around that area? They were focused on the ones close to that building for a few days.

Ex: On Highway 13 on the side of the road opposite Yankee Tavern is an office building, there’s a pond there. Not sure if they’ve checked it. There are others nearby that they might not have checked. I wish someone at the initial search would say where exactly it took place

 

[lassy]

Ex: On Highway 13 on the side of the road opposite Yankee Tavern is an office building, there’s a pond there. Not sure if they’ve checked it. There are others nearby that they might not have checked. I wish someone at the initial search would say where exactly it took place

I think there are 2 ponds by the Blue Cross Riverpark building over there…I used to work over there years ago. I also wondered if they checked those.
It sure would be helpful to know what was already searched and to get some updates from LE.

 

[annpats]

I drove past Essendant/Highway 13 tonight on my way home after dark to check out the lighting situation.

Well done. I hope you didn't go alone though.

PS...did you see many other people about in that area?

 

[InternetGhost91]

Well done. I hope you didn't go alone though.

PS...did you see many other people about in that area?

Many people were working in the area at the industrial and other businesses. Essendant has a second or third shift in the evening. Even at BCBS which is business hours, several people still in the area, although today is a weekday and not Saturday at 2:30 am. Yankee Tavern parking lot was half full tonight, would have been totally empty except for maybe a few staff closing at 2:30 am.

 

[annpats]

We already know he managed to walk a lot further than expected.

Do you think it's possible he crossed the Cedar Avenue Bridge or the Hwy 77 bridge and ended up on the Bloomington side of the river?

Could he have also jumped from either of those bridges into the river?

 

[annpats]

Yankee Tavern parking lot was half full tonight, would have been totally empty except for maybe a few staff closing at 2:30 am.

I hope the tavern has a camera or two out the front. He would've walked past there and I do wonder if someone nefarious was hanging around in the parking lot after hours and may have followed him.....

 

[InternetGhost91]

We already know he managed to walk a lot further than expected.

Do you think it's possible he crossed the Cedar Avenue Bridge or the Hwy 77 bridge and ended up on the Bloomington side of the river?

Could he have also jumped from either of those bridges into the river?

AFAIK police have not searched the river. anything feels possible at this point.

 

[Vail]

If people are assuming there's more LE knows and isn't saying, what are the options for what that could be? To me, anything I can think of can quickly be ruled out.

Suicide seems highly unlikely IMO, because if he wanted to be alone to harm himself, he wouldn't have called his friends to tell them he was lost.

Foul play was already ruled out by police according to this article by a local Fox affiliate.

Last night I was thinking maybe he got into a fight with the friends he was with, and that's why he left their apartment to walk home. But then it wouldn't make sense for BB to call them when he got lost.

None of us have a crystal ball. But based on other cases that have later been resolved, what are the possibilities for something police would hold back that isn't foul play or suicide? I can't think of even one single option.

Some reasons I can think of that they would keep quiet are:

1. They were doing something illegal or stupid when Bryce got lost (such as urban exploring, breaking and entering/trespassing or hanging out at a fire out in the pond area) or
2. He was potentially accidentally shot while walking through the gun range or
3. He met with his fate while on one of the business/industrial areas and there could be a potentially bad law suit
4. They actually do suspect foul play but aren't about to advertise it because they need to surveil suspects and don't need public speculation or harassment.
5. They have reason to believe he is deceased from self harm - this is a common reason for not wanting public involvement, not speaking to the press and for family to be very private. It is unfortunately the only rational explanation for why Bryce would walk himself into the woods and away from civilisation.

 

[MURDERER_SERVANT]

Some reasons I can think of that they would keep quiet are:

1. They were doing something illegal or stupid when Bryce got lost (such as urban exploring, breaking and entering/trespassing or hanging out at a fire out in the pond area) or
2. He was potentially accidentally shot while walking through the gun range or
3. He met with his fate while on one of the business/industrial areas and there could be a potentially bad law suit
4. They actually do suspect foul play but aren't about to advertise it because they need to surveil suspects and don't need public speculation or harassment.
5. They have reason to believe he is deceased from self harm - this is a common reason for not wanting public involvement, not speaking to the press and for family to be very private. It is unfortunately the only rational explanation for why Bryce would walk himself into the woods and away from civilisation.

Methinks it’s like 4 ..

 

[MURDERER_SERVANT]

Maybe he was found and died afterwards .
Maybe he was not lost in the first place .
Not much we know for a fact so far ..

 

[GMS]

I drove past Essendant/Highway 13 tonight on my way home after dark to check out the lighting situation. It is cloudy, but as others have speculated in this thread, it was bright enough from the light of the moon and the businesses nearby for us to see and someone could certainly have seen where they were going on foot. The businesses and airport on the Bloomington side of the river were also a significant source of diffused light. I was surprised how well I could see.

As for the lights in the trailhead parking lot, there are actually only 2. They were the smaller type just meant to light up the 8 parking spots and that immediate area. Regardless, there would have been plenty of light on the railroad tracks. If Bryce is not in the ponds, he could be anywhere. But it seems based on posts from family/friends on the Eagan FB page that the area has been searched as well as it could have been in 2 days.

A real mystery all around. I hope the family at least is happy with whatever LE is doing.

all JMO/my real life observations

Thanks for sharing your personal insight.

I know it's been reported that Bryce was captured on surveillance video walking alone. Was the business that recorded the video ever identified or made public by LE?

 

[lassy]

Methinks it’s like 4 ..

I keep thinking either 1, 4 or 5, but go back and forth between them.
Considering the K9 map all around those ponds, and the searches around there lately, IMO the pond seems to be where LE thinks he is.
If he was in a state of self harm, would he have called friends that he was lost? Maybe. I know someone that called a significant other before taking a bunch of pills. Cry for help? Again that call is probably key.
Seems to me he was not trying too hard to get back to civilization…given he likely could see the buildings and lights from the RR tracks and pond area.
Or were there other people at those ponds? A party he was headed to? Is that why he walked in that direction from the friend’s house rather than his apt in the opposite direction? When he crossed 13, would he have known he was going the wrong way and turned back? Or just too intoxicated? Did he talk to anyone else on his phone between leaving his friends house and calling them a half hour later? Why did the friends give up on looking for him and wait until the next morning to call LE? Didn’t think a lost friend in a wooded area needed help at 3am? Whether they were intoxicated or not, that seems odd to me.
If there were people by the ponds, what happened? Were the people nefarious or people he knew? Pushed in? Accidentally fell in? If LE suspects foul play, is that why they are still searching the grounds around the ponds, trying to find something else?

If he was there alone by the ponds? Did he choose to be there and self harm? Or just accidentally fall in since he was intoxicated and lost and it was dark?

IMO, any of the ‘accident’ scenarios don’t seem like good reasons for family and LE to keep things quiet though.
Again, more questions than answers and just speculating.

 

[lassy]

Thanks for sharing your personal insight.

I know it's been reported that Bryce was captured on surveillance video walking alone. Was the business that recorded the video ever identified or made public by LE?

Not that I have seen/read. There is little information in general being given out by LE.