Ryan Borgwardt left home with a kayak to go fishing for the day on August 12, 2024. In the evening he texted his wife to say he was headed to shore.
He did not return home. Months after his disappearance and the costly search and recovery effort, Borgwardt has come forward to share with police that he is alive and well, living in an apartment somewhere in Eastern Europe.
“The great news is we know that he’s alive. The bad news is we don’t know where Ryan exactly is,” shared Sheriff Mark Podoll in a press conference.
Kayaker presumed drowned faked his death and is now living in Eastern Europe
Borgwardt’s disappearance on Green Lake, WI in August was considered a likely drowning. Search and recovery efforts included dive teams and sonar equipment to locate Borgwardt, and spanned several months. In those months Borgwardt’s wife and three children mourned the loss of their husband and father.
Every day through August, September, and October, search teams scoured Green Lake. They found Borgwardt’s kayak, his phone and wallet, a floating PFD and his fishing gear, but they did not find Borgwardt himself. By mid-October, Sheriff Podoll suggested it was time to consider that perhaps Borgwardt wasn’t in the lake at all.
The Green Lake County Sheriff Department began to search elsewhere. Days later, they found records showing Borgwardt’s passport was checked by Canadian authorities. Police searched Borgwardt’s laptop and found a search history containing questions about moving funds to foreign banks, a life insurance policy for $370,000 purchased in January, and communications with a woman in Uzbekistan.
November 11, the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office made contact with Borgwardt through a Russian-speaking woman.
According to Sheriff Podoll, their primary concern was that Borgwardt was safe and well. They asked Borgwardt a number of questions about his family and life to confirm his identity, then asked for a video.
Borgwardt supplied a video, in which he shares his new apartment in Eastern Europe and says “I am safe, secure, no problem.”
Police do not know what country he may be in, and Sheriff Podoll was unable to comment on the identity or information regarding the Russian-speaking woman.
How Ryan Borgwardt faked his death via kayak accident
Ryan Borgwardt came prepared on August 12 to fake his own death, Borgwardt shared with police. He had researched the deepest lake in Wisconsin, and planned his fishing trip accordingly.
Borgwardt stashed an e-bike near the boat launch. Then, he hopped in an inflatable, child-sized boat and paddled with his own kayak in tow to the deepest part of Green Lake. He overturned the kayak and threw his phone and wallet into the water. Borgwardt then paddled his inflatable boat to shore, got on the e-bike and rode through the night over 70-miles to Madison, Wisconsin where he then boarded a bus to Detroit.
Borgwardt crossed the border into Canada and caught a flight to Eastern Europe. Presently, Borgwardt has no plans to return to his wife and children in Wisconsin.
Authorities continue to be in communication with Borgwardt, and are stressing the importance to Borgwardt of his return home to “clean up the mess he created.” No warrants have been issued yet, and Sheriff Podoll stated that no warrants may be needed if Borgwardt cooperates and returns home soon.
According to Sheriff Podoll, Borgwardt’s biggest concern is how the community might react to him upon his return to his family. Sheriff Podoll also shared that Borgwardt didn’t expect authorities to go more than two weeks searching for him on the deepest lake in Wisconsin.
Borgwardt shared his reasons for faking his own death and fleeing the country with the police.
“He just had personal matters going on and felt this was the right thing to do,” said Sheriff Podoll. “There was talk about the insurance plan he took out. It wasn’t for him, it was for his family.”
According to Sheriff Podoll, Borgwardt has expressed remorse for what he has put his family through, as well as for the amount of hours and resources put in by the community for the search and recovery effort.
“We keep pulling at his heartstrings,” said Sheriff Podoll. “We’re not going to give up. We’re going to continue because he needs to come home to his kids.”
Photo of Ryan Borgwardt, the missing kayak angler who faked his death. Feature Image: NBC News | YouTube
