The original version of this article appeared on ExplorersWeb.
The missing kayaker who faked his own death and fled to Eastern Europe has returned to his home state and turned himself in.
On Tuesday, 45-year-old Ryan Borgwardt returned from the nation of Georgia to Wisconsin, where he surrendered himself to the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The next day in court, he was charged with obstructing an officer. He was then released on a $500 bond after entering a not-guilty plea.
Now, with Borgwardt back in the States and communicating with authorities, his strange journey can begin to be untangled.
The ‘Drowning’
Borgwardt had allegedly planned his “accident” for some time, according to court documents obtained by ExplorersWeb. On Aug. 11, he went up to Green Lake, which he chose, he told authorities, because it was the deepest lake in the state.
Once there, he packed his vehicle, carefully pulling it all the way up to the doors of his shop to avoid security cameras. He loaded it with an e-bike and inflatable raft he had bought secretly, as well as his kayak. On the way up, he stopped and bought a hat and backpack from Walmart.
Court documents allege that Borgwardt stashed the bike and backpack in a patch of trees and set out onto the lake in his kayak, making his way toward what he believed to be the deepest section. Borgwardt transferred to the inflatable raft and began throwing things into the lake: first his phone, and then his wallet, keys, life jacket, fishing pole, and tackle box. Finally, he flipped the kayak so it would appear to have capsized, and then returned to shore in the inflatable.
The Escape
Borgwardt then decided to flee the country. For this, Borgwardt retrieved the e-bike and rode through the night, covering the 110km of backroads to Madison, Wisc. Having packed a spare battery, he was able to go all night without stopping. In Madison, he hid the bike, raft, and some personal belongings in a local park and boarded a Greyhound bus to Chicago, Detroit, and then continued to the Canadian border.
Borgwardt had his passport, but all other identification sat at the bottom of Green Lake. After some back and forth, Canadian officials let him through.
Once in Canada, he made his way to the Toronto airport and used a Western Union card to get a ticket to Paris. The long international flight gave him a chance to check for news of his own disappearance. He saw that there was, indeed, news of a missing kayaker. Feeling that his plan had worked, he got off that flight and hopped onto another bound for Georgia.
A former Soviet state, Georgia straddles Eastern Europe and Western Asia. There, Borgwardt met with a woman he’d been in communication with for months. The pair stayed together for several days in a hotel, though he eventually ended up in an apartment.
Putting the Pieces Together
Weeks passed, and Borgwardt kept checking the news, waiting for the local officials to give him up for dead and call off the search.
But officials were instead growing more suspicious. Everything pointed to drowning — but why had sonar, drones, and search dogs all failed to find any hint of a body?
Their suspicions were further roused when, in early October, they found out that Canadian officials had searched the missing man’s name only days after his apparent drowning. This led local police to reach out to federal authorities.
The story started to come together when investigators stopped searching the lake and started searching Borgwardt’s laptop. They discovered that he’d been talking to a woman from Uzbekistan and had been researching how to move money into foreign bank accounts. He’d even taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy less than a year before.
On Nov. 8, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll announced that Borgwardt had likely faked his death and fled to somewhere in Eastern Europe. Podoll urged the missing man to come home and return to his family. So, Borgwardt decided to prove to authorities that he was, in fact, alive and well. He sent a 25-second video of himself in an apartment.
But authorities did not stop urging him to return, holding several press conferences and revealing his personal address. In the most recent live stream on Dec. 11, Sheriff Podoll said that Borgwardt would finally be returning to Wisconsin.
In an emotional speech, he thanked the many groups involved in the search for Borgwardt, which included local divers, the nonprofit rescue group Bruce’s Legacy, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Homeland Security, and the FBI. But he reserved the biggest “thank you” for his own department: the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
“They’re the ones who kept us going,” he said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them, of what they did for a family. They didn’t give up. And I stand here today feeling relieved.”
Return to Wisconsin
Borgwardt eventually returned on his own accord. Now that he has done so, however, the authorities who asked him to return are seeking restitution.
The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office spent at least $35,000 on the search. Borgwardt, who could not afford a lawyer, may be compelled to repay part of this cost. The misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer also carries a maximum penalty of 9 months in jail and a $10,000 fine.
This story, which began as a wilderness search-and-rescue, may now end as a courtroom drama. Sheriff Podoll, however, said he’s optimistic.
“What better gift could he give his kids than to be there for Christmas?” Podoll said. “We brought a dad back.”
