Green Lake kayaker faked death; wife files legal separation petition
Ryan Borgwardt (Courtesy: GLCSO)
GREEN LAKE, Wis. - The wife of Ryan Borgwardt, the Wisconsin kayaker initially thought to have gone missing this summer but later determined to have faked his own death and fled the country, filed a legal separation petition on Thursday.
Borgwardt decided to return to the U.S. "on his own" on Tuesday; he turned himself in to the authorities in Green Lake later that day. He was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor obstructing an officer.
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What We Know
Court filings state Borgwardt intended to mislead investigators by "intentionally" leaving items at Green Lake to make it seem as though he had drowned.
At his initial court appearance on Wednesday, Borgwardt was issued a $500 signature bond. A judge also ordered him to surrender his passport to the clerk's office.
The sheriff said Borgwardt is cooperating with the investigation but would not say where Borgwardt reentered the U.S., whether he has spoken to his family or what changed his mind.
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The Backstory
The 45-year-old man from Watertown was reported missing on Aug. 12. Searches of Green Lake lasted more than a month and cost roughly $40,000.
The sheriff's office later suspected Borgrwardt had faked his own death – spurring a new investigation. On Nov. 8, the sheriff said investigators began to use various data points, such as phone numbers and email addresses, in an effort to get in contact with Borgwardt.
Investigators contacted a woman who spoke Russian and on Nov. 11, through her, they contacted Borgwardt. In an effort to verify if he was safe, they asked him a number of personal questions and asked him to provide a video of himself – which he did.
Green Lake missing kayaker Ryan Borgwardt contacted: sheriff
The Green Lake County Sheriff's Office on Thursday announced it has made contact with Ryan Borgwardt, the kayaker believed to have faked his own death.
"Good evening, it's Ryan Borgwardt," he says in the video, which the sheriff's office shared. "Safe, secure, no problem."
In November, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said Borgwardt told investigators his plan.
Borgwardt claimed he stashed an e-bike near the Green Lake boat launch and paddled his kayak and a child-sized inflatable boat onto the lake. He overturned the kayak, dumped his phone in the water and paddled the inflatable boat to shore. He then got on the e-bike and rode through the night to Madison, where he got on a bus to Detroit and then the Canadian border. He rode the bus to an airport, where he got on a plane.
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Further, the sheriff said Borgwardt told investigators he picked Green Lake because it is the deepest lake in Wisconsin.
Investigators previously learned Borgwardt obtained a second passport, cleared his hard drives and browser history and changed his banking information on the day of his disappearance. He also took out a $375,000 life insurance policy and purchased an airline gift card.
As to why Borgwardt tried to stage his death, the sheriff would only say he had a personal matter going on and that this was the "right thing" to do.