Officials believe missing kayaker faked his own death and fled to Europe

GREEN LAKE COUNTY, Wis. (TCN) -- Law enforcement officials announced that a man who disappeared while kayaking and was presumed dead actually faked his own death and fled to Europe.

According to Greek Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll, on Aug. 12 just after 5:30 p.m., Dodge County officials contacted Podoll's office and reported that Ryan Borgwardt went kayaking on Green Lake but never made it home. Green Lake County deputies immediately responded to the area and found Borgwardt's car and trailer. The sheriff's office deployed a boat and worked with the search and rescue team Bruce's Legacy to locate him. About an hour later, officials found Borgwardt's capsized kayak in an area of the lake that reached 220 feet deep.

Other civilian boaters on the lake called in a fishing rod and tackle box that both belonged to Borgwardt. Podoll said the box contained Borgwardt's keys, wallet, and license. The sheriff's office brought in cadaver dogs and divers, but they could not find Borgwardt's body. The search lasted 54 days in total.

Podoll said that Keith Cormican of Bruce's Legacy told him that if his divers were unable to locate a body, then there wasn't a body in the lake. Podoll and his team turned the investigation in a new direction and learned that Borgwardt's passport was used in Canada the day after he went missing.

Detectives performed a forensic analysis of Borgwardt's laptop and learned that he cleared his browser, replaced the hard drive, moved money to an overseas bank account, took out a $375,000 life insurance policy, and communicated with a woman in Uzbekistan all before he disappeared.

Podoll said at the press conference, "Due to these discoveries, we were sure that Ryan was not in our lake."

He shared, "It's very clear that he faked his death."

According to Podoll, officials do not know Borgwardt's current whereabouts or his motive. Podoll thanked Borgwardt's wife and children for their cooperation.

"They felt their dad was drowned. A day ago, they found out that he wasn't," Podoll said.

Podoll urged at the end of the press conference, "Ryan, if you're watching this, I'm pleading that you contact us or contact your family. We understand that things can happen, but there's a family that wants their daddy back."

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