I've been wondering if there could have been an animal attack too. I live on one of the bluffs in Burnsville across the street from Black dog park, which is a part of the wildlife refuge. We face towards the water, and often noise is blocked by trees, but starting around October we could hear a lot more. At least two to three times a week we can hear things become lunch to coyotes or other predators. Even notably on the night that Bryce went missing, my husband and I were cooking outside at night, and we heard a eerie scream that we thought was a deer, that sounded like an animal under attack. There are a lot of people who live along the train tracks, I adopted one of the local Burnsville parks and so I see the back end of the train tracks between an Eagan and Burnsville. In theory, someone could have tried hopping a train, however by the time they are moving through Burnsville and eagan, they're usually going pretty fast.
One question I've had and I'm wondering if someone knows, does anyone know what the state of his mental health was? I hate to explore that, but I also know that intoxication can exacerbate mental health. In addition, he's about the age that especially in men different mental illnesses can suddenly emerge and present themselves. If that's the case I would then worry about being by the train tracks
Cougar spotted prowling in Twin Cities neighborhood - Bring Me The News