Dad of 3 thought to have drowned on lake likely faked his death, Wisconsin cops say
A missing kayaker and father of three likely faked his death and fled the country, Wisconsin authorities announced after weeks of searching.
Deputies started looking for Ryan Borgwardt, of Watertown, after he failed to return home from a trip to Green Lake on Aug. 12, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said during a Nov. 8 news briefing streamed by WLUK.
All signs pointed to Borgwardt being in genuine danger, according to Podoll. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found his vehicle parked at the lake and soon located his kayak capsized on the lake’s western side — where the water is about 220 feet deep, Podoll said.
Podoll reached out to other agencies and groups for help, and they scoured the lake and surrounding area for weeks, calling in cadaver dogs on Aug. 24 on the belief that Borgwardt was dead.
On the second day of searching, a pair of fishermen reeled in a fishing rod that Borgwardt’s wife identified as his, the sheriff said. Then Borgwardt’s tacklebox was found, with his car keys and wallet inside. But the search quickly dried up, until investigators began looking elsewhere for clues.
On Oct. 7, the sheriff’s office discovered Borgwardt’s passport had been run by law enforcement in Canada on Aug. 13, the day after his disappearance, WBAY reported.
Investigators examined his laptop, unveiling a trove of evidence suggesting that Borgwardt was likely alive and staged his death in order to flee the country, leaving his family and old life behind, Podoll said.
“We were sure Ryan (Borgwardt) was not in our lake,” he said.
The 45-year-old has a wife and three children, two in high school and one in grade school, the Watertown Daily Times reported.
Investigators learned Borgwardt recently replaced the hard drive on his laptop and cleared his search history the day he went missing, Podoll said. He took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January, moved money into a foreign bank account and had been emailing a woman in Uzbekistan.
Podoll said, based on the investigation, he’s confident Borgwardt is living in another country, most likely in Europe.
The new evidence shocked Borgwardt’s family, his children and wife.
“They thought that their dad was drowned. A day ago, they found out that he wasn’t,” Podoll said at the briefing.
“I want to thank the family, I want to thank his wife. That is one strong lady,” he said. “Whenever we called on her, she always responded and she gave everything she could for us. I cannot imagine what she’s going through, and they’re going through.”
Anyone with information on Borgwardt’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 920-294-4134.
Podoll had a message for Borgwardt as well.
“Ryan, if you are viewing this, I plead that you contact us or contact your family,” he said. “We understand that things can happen, but there’s a family that wants their daddy back.”
Green Lake is a roughly 100-mile drive northwest from Milwaukee.
This story was originally published November 10, 2024 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Dad of 3 thought to have drowned on lake likely faked his death, Wisconsin cops say."