Green Lake, Wisconsin – officials are requesting Wisconsin man accused of faking his own death and fleeing to Europe To come home and spend the holidays with his wife and three children.
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, went missing Aug. 12 while kayaking in Green Lake, about 50 miles northeast of Wisconsin Dells. The team spent 54 days searching the lake, which is more than 200 feet deep at some points, but to no avail.
According to Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podol, the entire search effort cost approximately $40,000.
“Very good news, we know he is alive and well,” Podol said at a news conference Thursday. “And, well, the bad news is that we don't know exactly where Ryan is, and he hasn't decided to return home.”
Podol says investigators have been in email contact with Borgwardt since earlier this month and played a cellphone video he sent on Nov. 11.
“I'm in my apartment. I'm safe,” Borgwardt said in the video.
Podol says Borgwardt has since capsized his kayak, headed back to shore in a child-sized inflatable boat, ridden to a bus station on his e-bike, driven by bus from Detroit to Canada, and then back to Europe. He has admitted to conspiring to cause his disappearance by taking a flight.
Green Lake Co. Sheriff's Office
Podol says his investigators learned in early October that Borgwardt had entered Canada the day after his disappearance. He synced his laptop to the cloud a few days ago, replaced his hard drive, and cleared his search history.
They also determined that he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy for his family in January, transferred the funds to a foreign bank, set up a new email address and purchased airline cards. Podol says Borgwardt was in contact with a woman living in Uzbekistan, and they were eventually able to contact her through a Russian-speaking woman.
Poudel became emotional during Thursday's press conference and said Borgwardt's family wants him to return home. He urged Borgward to “clean up the mess it has created”.
“Christmas is coming and what better gift can he give his kids than being with them for Christmas,” Podell said.
The sheriff says no criminal charges have been filed yet, but Borgwardt could be charged with obstruction of justice.
Borgwardt is from Watertown, located about 50 miles northwest of Milwaukee.