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

[Veronica Sawyer]

Without seeing the FaceTime call to see how coherent he really was when the call went dead, hard to know his route. How do they know for certain he went into no man’s land? Have they found his dead cell phone, wallet, keys/key fob to his apt? I still wonder if he made it back to the streets and/or highway 13 somehow. And could be anywhere after 8 hours.

If he found his way back to the streets are there any storm drains he could’ve maybe fallen into?

 

[lassy]

If he found his way back to the streets are there any storm drains he could’ve maybe fallen into?

Most drains in my neighborhood in Eagan have grates/covers, but I’m not sure about other neighborhoods or the ones by that area.

 

[DeDee]

If we could turn back time to the place in the road where the Lyft dropped Bryce and two friends off, he had a 45 minute walk from his home, then what would we see?

Is BB staggering? Is he loud or boisterous? Who called for the uber? Did he help pay for the Lyft? A 45 minute walk while drunk and lost in the dark without a working phone can be so frightening. How far did his pals walk before he called to Facetime? Were they at home?

I wish he had stopped at the first Industrial bldg he came to and waited there - away from the woods and water. Hunkered down. Until rescued.

How could his missing not have happened?

Due to the trying to open the car doors when the Lyft vehicle was moving, he shouldn't have been left to his own desires and devices. Morally, the Lyft should have seen him to the door of his home. Or someone could have joined him but that's 20/20 and many searched for Bryce, to no avail, after the Facetime call, thus far. I join those in hope for productive weekend searches. Warm, kind thoughts for strength and peace to all who know Bryce.
.

 

[Karmardav]

are you able to link or describe where this was found?

Looks like it's in the comments here, from 2012:

gun club lake off 494 eagan

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has been to gun club lake ice fishing. It's located below the 494 bridge toward eagan on the south east side. I have caught decent sunfish open water. The Dnr website does not give much information about it. It's a walk from hwy 13 down the trail to the lake. Anyone...

fishingminnesota.com

"... It gets heavily weeded during late Spring through out the Summer and can make fishing impossible from shore.

There are some nice pannies to be had, the north side the lake is shallow where the culvert exits. The South side does have some deeper water.

Because its gets flooded occasionally from the MN river it can have a mix bag of species of fish.
Where the inlet that flows to and exits to the culvert you can catch pannies. Thats probably the best spot. I may have thrown out a humminbird smartcast to measure the depth at one time. Could be 15fow or deeper I dont exactly remember. Then again I could be wrong.
...

There is also springs that flow into it I think so be careful of thin ice. I never fish down there without the buddy system as there can be some shady folks lurking the area. Safety should be your first concern.

Either way its a really far walk to fish during the open water, I figure dragging all that equipment with you be exhausting so I have avoided it in the winter. To be honest I dont think its worth it but that just my 2 cents. Plus parking under the bridge have resulted in cars being broken into by thieves. So there's alway a risk."

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I think if I lived in the area and wanted to help search, I would get a group of people and go walk slowly around the lake or ponds together, just in case some clothing floated to the shore or something like that. Since it's not wilderness and was dark, I think the water has to be the most likely reason he hasn't been found. Very sad to consider.

 

[Trino]

Looks like it's in the comments here, from 2012:

gun club lake off 494 eagan

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has been to gun club lake ice fishing. It's located below the 494 bridge toward eagan on the south east side. I have caught decent sunfish open water. The Dnr website does not give much information about it. It's a walk from hwy 13 down the trail to the lake. Anyone...

fishingminnesota.com

"... It gets heavily weeded during late Spring through out the Summer and can make fishing impossible from shore.

There are some nice pannies to be had, the north side the lake is shallow where the culvert exits. The South side does have some deeper water.

Because its gets flooded occasionally from the MN river it can have a mix bag of species of fish.
Where the inlet that flows to and exits to the culvert you can catch pannies. Thats probably the best spot. I may have thrown out a humminbird smartcast to measure the depth at one time. Could be 15fow or deeper I dont exactly remember. Then again I could be wrong.
...

There is also springs that flow into it I think so be careful of thin ice. I never fish down there without the buddy system as there can be some shady folks lurking the area. Safety should be your first concern.

Either way its a really far walk to fish during the open water, I figure dragging all that equipment with you be exhausting so I have avoided it in the winter. To be honest I dont think its worth it but that just my 2 cents. Plus parking under the bridge have resulted in cars being broken into by thieves. So there's alway a risk."

Gun Club Lake isn't exactly in his path west, but If he walked more at an angle rather than straight west, he would have encountered Gun Club Lake. 30 degrees. Possible someone had a tent and sleeping bag. There is no monitoring of the entire area - maybe a police cruiser MIGHT go down Nichols or Cedar, but it's doubtful they leave their vehicle. No official is going to go to Gun Club at night. Can't drive there.

Anyone can walk, bike, "gather," in the entire river area at any time. It's wide open. A person could illegally put up a tent even before Gun Club Lake. Possible, probable homeless - would not doubt this.

My travels have been in daylight. Before improvements, when not many people went down there, during daylight we DID encounter a group with guns (illegal). Surprised to see us. Reported them. Don't know what they were doing, but they were up to no good. The area around Nichols and Cedar has been improved - paved parking, paved paths, nice hiking trail, nice bathrooms, picnic tables, etc. Today there are a lot of recreational DAY hikers and bicyclists. However, night would not be a time I would go there. I wouldn't even drive Nichols or Cedar at night with my husband along.

 

[lassy]

I just happened to find a couple of K9 maps for Bryce out on the web while doing a search. I am not sure if I can share those on here. I would have guessed they would be securely locked down and general public could not access them. Has anyone else on here ever found something like that?

 

[Trino]

I just happened to find a couple of K9 maps for Bryce out on the web while doing a search. I am not sure if I can share those on here. I would have guessed they would be securely locked down and general public could not access them. Has anyone else on here ever found something like that?

The entire area is public, and I have seen no indication that any area is shut down. An unpaved trail before the river is from Mendota to the Cedar Bridge. As to where Bryce accessed the area, it has been searched. No reason why anyone would want to venture there, but I guess you could do so if you wanted.

 

[lassy]

If we could turn back time to the place in the road where the Lyft dropped Bryce and two friends off, he had a 45 minute walk from his home, then what would we see?

Is BB staggering? Is he loud or boisterous? Who called for the uber? Did he help pay for the Lyft? A 45 minute walk while drunk and lost in the dark without a working phone can be so frightening. How far did his pals walk before he called to Facetime? Were they at home?

I wish he had stopped at the first Industrial bldg he came to and waited there - away from the woods and water. Hunkered down. Until rescued.

How could his missing not have happened?

Due to the trying to open the car doors when the Lyft vehicle was moving, he shouldn't have been left to his own desires and devices. Morally, the Lyft should have seen him to the door of his home. Or someone could have joined him but that's 20/20 and many searched for Bryce, to no avail, after the Facetime call, thus far. I join those in hope for productive weekend searches. Warm, kind thoughts for strength and peace to all who know Bryce.
.

I don’t blame the Lyft driver. He dropped off Bryce and his 2 friends at one of the friends house, probably assuming they all lived there. At some point Bryce decided to walk home from there. I don’t blame the friends. He has walked home from there many times before is my understanding. He FaceTimed them when he realized he was lost. They went to look for him. I’ve heard 2 different reports of when the friends called police…after they couldn’t find him and at 10:50 the next morning. Don’t know which is true. Lots of blame could be placed, or ‘if only’ thoughts, but I try to think it was just a series of misfortunate events and a fun night gone terribly wrong.

 

[lassy]

The entire area is public, and I have seen no indication that any area is shut down. An unpaved trail before the river is from Mendota to the Cedar Bridge. As to where Bryce accessed the area, it has been searched. No reason why anyone would want to venture there, but I guess you could do so if you wanted.

One map has his route along the streets, and a second tracking way back close to the river. Were the dogs way off on that one to the river? The second map is all around the ponds behind the industrial buildings they have been searching all week. LE must suspect he is in those ponds. But if so, why are they checking other leads and have boats in other lakes/ponds?
And I meant that the maps would be locked down and secure…not the area.

 

[savagewoman]

One map has his route along the streets, and a second tracking way back close to the river. Were the dogs way off on that one to the river? The second map is all around the ponds behind the industrial buildings they have been searching all week. LE must suspect he is in those ponds. But if so, why are they checking other leads and have boats in other lakes/ponds?
And I meant that the maps would be locked down and secure…not the area.

IMO
In general: Ponds seem to be a problem to search. I repeatly read on here that numerous times searches are done multiple times and they find nothing. I always wonder what they use to search and why aren't the ponds drained especially holding ponds. I'm clueless on how these searches are done and am hoping that someone develops a better way to find people in water. Just venting

 

[lassy]

IMO
In general: Ponds seem to be a problem to search. I repeatly read on here that numerous times searches are done multiple times and they find nothing. I always wonder what they use to search and why aren't the ponds drained especially holding ponds. I'm clueless on how these searches are done and am hoping that someone develops a better way to find people in water. Just venting

Yes, was it you or someone else that mentioned a pond was searched 3 or 4 times before someone was found? If they can find fish with sonar, can they not find the exact location of a 150 pound body? I have read that high tech sonar can detect things for 350 feet. Or does a body move around in there as days go by? I don’t get it either.

 

[Trino]

IMO
In general: Ponds seem to be a problem to search. I repeatly read on here that numerous times searches are done multiple times and they find nothing. I always wonder what they use to search and why aren't the ponds drained especially holding ponds. I'm clueless on how these searches are done and am hoping that someone develops a better way to find people in water. Just venting

There are underground pipes to a retention/holding pond so it's not simple to drain. The bottom is also mud, sludge. Not like a lake. Some are deep. Some not.

 

[DeDee]

I don’t blame the Lyft driver. He dropped off Bryce and his 2 friends at one of the friends house, probably assuming they all lived there. At some point Bryce decided to walk home from there. I don’t blame the friends. He has walked home from there many times before is my understanding. He FaceTimed them when he realized he was lost. They went to look for him. I’ve heard 2 different reports of when the friends called police…after they couldn’t find him and at 10:50 the next morning. Don’t know which is true. Lots of blame could be placed, or ‘if only’ thoughts, but I try to think it was just a series of misfortunate events and a fun night gone terribly wrong.

It seems that you know much more about this case than I do. I'l let this one go and leave the thread.

Blessings to Bryce Borca's loved ones.

 

[InternetGhost91]

I was out searching for a couple of hours this morning and took some photos to give context to what the area is like. I will upload them shortly.

I just wanted to give a quick update that Search and Rescue was at the scene this morning. I observed a white Search and Rescue vehicle, a giant gray truck/van marked Incident Command Center, and around 20-30 people in the parking lot of a business called Essendant, an office supply company.

 

[Trino]

I was out searching for a couple of hours this morning and took some photos to give context to what the area is like. I will upload them shortly.

I just wanted to give a quick update that Search and Rescue was at the scene this morning. I observed a white Search and Rescue vehicle, a giant gray truck/van marked Incident Command Center, and around 20-30 people in the parking lot of a business called Essendant, an office supply company.

Huge holding pond behind Essendant. Or maybe it's a natural lake. If you Google Essendant, the company has photos of the water.

 

[cenazoic]

@DeDee why would you leave? I think your approach(trying to imagine what BB may have seen, thought, did is a useful one.

Some others have more local knowledge - I’m in Minneapolis, but not Eagan, which is a suburb but not one I’m not familiar with. So close, but not real local like @InternetGhost91 or @lassy.

Nobody knows where Bryce is. Your compassion and kindness are welcome, and necessary lights, wherever you are.

 

[savagewoman]

Yes, was it you or someone else that mentioned a pond was searched 3 or 4 times before someone was found? If they can find fish with sonar, can they not find the exact location of a 150 pound body? I have read that high tech sonar can detect things for 350 feet. Or does a body move around in there as days go by? I don’t get it either.

That was me recapping Martise Windom's case. Not sure how to link to ws thread.

IMO
I learned about water searching techniques by googling this morning. Holding ponds does have sediment that makes searching very difficult. Water recovery searches seems to be a multifaceted approach and far more difficult than I thought. Technology is advancing thank goodness. Prayers to Bryce's family & friends

 

[Trino]

One map has his route along the streets, and a second tracking way back close to the river. Were the dogs way off on that one to the river? The second map is all around the ponds behind the industrial buildings they have been searching all week. LE must suspect he is in those ponds. But if so, why are they checking other leads and have boats in other lakes/ponds?
And I meant that the maps would be locked down and secure…not the area.

If he is in the ponds, it would seem he's not very far in - probably stumbled into water. It's not like he was swimming or such. He would have needed to cross the tracks to get there. Strange that he would just keep walking.

 

[InternetGhost91]

Part 1/?

Apologies if this post gets too long, but I think this is important context. All of this is IMO/from my perspective as someone living in Eagan nearby where Bryce lived and went missing. The photos are mine and maps are screenshots from Google Maps. To make it easier to reference and discuss the photos, I have numbered them and marked on the map where they were taken.

Here we go:

I wanted to start by showing a map of all pertinent addresses from the night/early morning he went missing: where Bryce was dropped off at his friend's house, where his phone last pinged, and where he was trying to go. See Map 1 for these points plotted out.

Around 11 am, we drove to the intersection of Highway 13 and Yankee Doodle, where there is a business office on one side of Highway 13 and a restaurant called Yankee Tavern on the other. News report on 11/4/22 by Tommy Wiita on Bring Me the News states that Bryce was "in a wooded area off Highway 13, the opposite direction to where he lived." Knowing this, we headed behind Yankee Tavern toward the Blue Cross Blue Shield campus, which is much larger than I thought. I had initially intended to start searching at the end of Yankee Doodle, which appeared to be a dead end on Google Maps. When we got there though, it turns out the public road ends there, and there isn't anywhere to park that isn't private property.

See photos 1-4. Although we did not stay and search here, I took a few photos. I don't recall where I saw (possibly on here?) someone reference the "BCBS Woods" - although there is a walking path with a wooded tree line area, I wouldn't necessarily call the area on BCBS property "woods". JMO. The more "heavily wooded" area is behind the businesses. Map 2 shows where these photos were taken.

See photo 4 - we did not enter the area marked "Valley Acres Police Range". If I had to guess, personally, this is where I think he ended up when he was on the phone at 2:34 am. It would have been the path of least resistance for someone who was intoxicated because it's a paved road.

We left this area in our vehicle and drove to the trailhead parking lot where we knew it would be okay to park, so we could walk the railroad tracks back toward BCBS. On the way, we encountered the Search and Rescue team. See photo 5.

To be continued in next post.