EAGAN, Minn — After seven weeks without answers about what happened to missing 23-year-old Bryce Borca, Eagan Police have provided an update confirming they have extensively searched over 1000 acres but have still not located Bryce.
Police also provided a statement from Borca’s family that reads:
“Our family wants to express immense gratitude for the continued community support for Bryce and our entire family, including the Eagan Police Department, county special operations, friends, and countless volunteers.
We miss Bryce every minute of every day. He is an incredibly kind and thoughtful young man who has touched so many with his selflessness and loyalty. This has been extraordinarily challenging for our family, and we appreciate the love and prayers so many have provided us through these unspeakable times.
We continue to ask for your support in our continued effort to locate Bryce. Thank you.”
Witnesses say Borca was heavily intoxicated when he exited a Lyft ride near 3256 Hill Ridge Dr. in Eagan at about 2:08 a.m. along with two friends. The group had been drinking on a party bus that evening. The Lyft driver reported that Borca at one point tried to exit the vehicle while it was moving because he was so drunk.
When they parted ways, Borca’s friends thought he was walking home to his apartment at 3435 Promenade Ave., which would have taken about 45 minutes. But a search warrant affidavit revealed that Borca apparently went in the wrong direction.
With a 2% charge remaining on his iPhone, Borca called his friends at 2:34 a.m., 26 minutes after they last saw him, and Borca told them he didn’t know where he was.
“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,” Eagan Police Detective Desiree Schroepfer wrote in the affidavit.
Borca’s friends searched the area along Highway 13 on Oct. 30. The next day, 100 search and rescue professionals and 250 volunteers took part in an organized grid search, but Borca was not found.
A searcher found a tie which Borca was believed to be wearing, and another searcher found a pair of shoes, but investigators ruled that the shoes did not belong to Borca.
Eagan police obtained cell phone records that showed Borca traveled through a small industrial area near Highway 13 before heading into heavily wooded terrain with several marshes and ponds. Surveillance video from a nearby business showed Borca walking alone.
Police collected additional Apple devices from Borca’s apartment in hopes that they could sync and provide a more updated location for Borca’s iPhone on the “Fine My” app. Police have not said if any of those efforts were successful.
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