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Ryan Bordwardt was presumed dead after faking own death but was found in Europe
Credit:Shutterstock:Earl D Walker
A Wisconsin kayaker who was suspected of faking his own death has been found safe and well in Europe.
Recently Euroweekly News told the unusual story of Ryan Borgwardt, a 44-year-old, who had gone missing on August 12 of this year in Green Lake County and was suspected dead by drowning. His car and other belongings were found, as well as his kayak, but strangely there was no sign of Mr.Bordwardt despite a massive search operation scouring the area. However, his passport was traced at an airport in Canada and from that point, officials believed him to be in eastern Europe.
In a dramatic update on the story, he has been located in eastern Europe and is alive and well. According to officials, he has been talking to investigators but it remains unclear whether he will ever return home to his wife and three children. Green Lake Country Sheriff Mark Podoll said in a news conference on Thursday: “Great news: We know that he’s alive and well.” He added: “The bad news is, we do not know where, exactly, Ryan is and he has not yet decided to return home.”
Investigators communicating daily with kayaker presumed dead
On November 11, investigators made contact with Borgwardt after an anxious wait and have been communicating with him on a daily basis. However, he has still not made contact with his family. He did send a video in which he said: “I am in my apartment. I am safe, secure, no problem.”
Borgwardt relayed to officials how he had faked his own kayak death
Borgwardt did go on to relay to the investigators how he had managed to control the “death stunt” to fake his own drowning. Apparently, he had stashed an electric bike near the lake’s boat launch, paddle onto the water with a kayak and child-size inflatable boat and overturned the kayak. He then threw his phone into the lake and paddled back to shore in the inflatable boat. Cycling through the night, he eventually reached Madison, 80 miles away and boarded a bus to Detroit. He eventually reached the Canadian border, where he took a flight to Europe. Investigators are still trying to verify the exact story.
Borgwardt carried out several operations before his faked drowning
Before faking his “disappearance,” it was reported that Borgwardt had carried out several operations including transferring funds to a foreign bank account, changing his email address and communicating with a woman in Uzbekistan. Further information regarding this woman is unknown.Borgwardt had also replaced the hard drive on his laptop and cleared his browser history on the day he disappeared.
Further reports suggest that in January, Borgwardt took out a $375,000 life insurance policy, which Podoll confirmed was supposed to help his family. The motives for abandoning his family in such a surreal and calculated way are still unknown and investigators are trying to get to the bottom of the story. Podoll said:“In our communications, we are expressing the importance of his decision to return home and clean up the mess that he has created.” He added that Borgwardt had expressed regret for how he had hurt his family and “also feels bad about the amount of hours that we have put in the community.”
Borgwardt will likely face heavy charges for obstruction of justice
The search for Borgwardt since he vanished from sight in August has not only been painstaking and emotional for the family, but also a costly and time-consuming effort for search crews and authorities. Borgwardt faces potential charges for obstruction of justice although he remains to be sentenced. The county will also be claiming money to compensate for search and rescue costs.
In his defence, Borgwardt stressed that having chosen the deepest natural lake in Wisconsin, he was convinced that investigators would stop looking for him. As for his family, the sheriff of Green Lake county said that they were “very emotional” after whiplashing between mourning him and coming to terms with the idea that he may have abandoned them. Podoll added to this almost in tears: “Christmas is coming, and what better gift he could give his kids to be there for Christmas with them.”
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