Wisconsin kayaker who faked death and was found alive may face charges
Authorities in Wisconsin say a kayaker who went missing in Green Lake County and staged his death has been found alive and may now face charges.
Ryan Borgwardt, the kayaker who faked his death and fled the country, is in police custody in Wisconsin.
Online records Tuesday night showed Borgwardt, 45, is being held at the Green Lake County Jail in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Borgwardt was initially reported missing on August 11 after he failed to return from kayaking on Green Lake, before the Green Lake County Sheriff's Office announced that he had staged his disappearance and fled the country.
Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said in a Nov. 21 news conference that authorities had been in daily contact with Borgwardt since Nov. 11 and initially reached him through a “woman who spoke Russian.”
At the time, law enforcement shared a video from Borgwardt that showed the Watertown man alive and well, but said they could not persuade him to return home.
“We couldn’t find anything”: How Bordwardt’s plan was discovered
Police launched an extensive search for Borgwardt's body, involving underwater drones, towable diving sonars, divers and three K-9 cadaver teams. The search lasted 54 days and, according to Podoll, “we couldn’t find anything.”
At the November 21 press conference, Podoll revealed that Borgwardt's plan included:
- Storing an e-bike near the boat dock.
- Paddle out onto the lake in a kayak and a child-sized inflatable boat.
- Overturning the kayak and throwing his cell phone into the lake.
- Paddle the dinghy to the shore and then ride the e-bike through the night to Madison.
- Board a bus in Madison, head to Detroit, and then continue to the Canadian border.
- Continue by bus to the airport and board a plane.
A digital forensic analysis of Borgwardt's laptop revealed that on the day of his disappearance, he had deleted his browsers, replaced the hard drive, inquired about transferring funds to foreign banks, and was in constant communication with a woman from Uzbekistan.
Gabe Hauari is a nationally featured news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].
