GREEN LAKE, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who staged his own drowning to leave his wife and three children has been in daily contact with authorities from Eastern Europe, detailing his actions but showing no intention of returning home, a sheriff reported Thursday.
Sheriff Mark Podoll of Green Lake County announced at a press conference that Ryan Borgwardt has been communicating with officials since November 11th, following a three-month disappearance. The sheriff subsequently displayed a video Borgwardt sent to the sheriff’s office on that date.
“The positive news is we know he’s alive and well,” Podoll stated. “The negative news is his precise location is unknown, and he hasn’t committed to returning home.”
In the video, apparently recorded on his phone, Borgwardt, wearing an orange shirt and with a serious expression, addressed the camera directly. The video mostly showed a door and plain walls, with only a brief apartment panorama.
“I’m safe and secure, no problem,” Borgwardt said. “I hope this works.”
The sheriff indicated Borgwardt cited “personal matters” as his reason for fleeing, declining further explanation.
“He aimed to improve things, in his view, and this was his chosen method,” Podoll explained.
Borgwardt informed authorities he traveled approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) from his Watertown residence to Green Lake, capsized his kayak, discarded his phone in the lake, and then paddled an inflatable boat to shore. He selected this lake, he said, because of its significant depth (237 feet or over 72 meters), Wisconsin’s deepest lake.
Following this, the sheriff stated that he rode an electric bike around 70 miles (110 kilometers) overnight to Madison. From there, he took a bus to Detroit, then another bus to Canada, before boarding a plane, according to the sheriff.
Podoll mentioned that police are still verifying Borgwardt’s account of events.
The sheriff suggested potential charges of obstructing the investigation into his disappearance, though no charges have yet been filed. The more than one-month search for Borgwardt’s body cost at least $35,000, the sheriff’s office reported. Podoll said Borgwardt had not anticipated the search to exceed two weeks.
Borgwardt’s return, Podoll said, depends entirely on his “free will.” The sheriff noted that Borgwardt’s primary concern about returning is public reaction.
“His plan didn’t unfold as envisioned,” the sheriff commented. “So now we’re offering him an alternative plan to return.”
Authorities are continuously urging his return, the sheriff added.
“Christmas is approaching,” Podoll remarked. “And what better present could his children receive than his presence at Christmas?”
Borgwardt’s disappearance was initially investigated as a potential drowning after his kayaking trip on Green Lake in August, roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. However, subsequent evidence—including the acquisition of a new passport three months prior—led investigators to suspect a staged death, potentially to meet a woman he’d been communicating with in Uzbekistan.
The sheriff declined to comment on specifics about this woman but confirmed that police contacted Borgwardt “through a Russian-speaking woman.”
Prior to last week’s contact, Borgwardt hadn’t been heard from since the night of August 11th, when he texted his wife shortly before 11 p.m., stating he was heading to shore after kayaking.
Deputies located his vehicle and trailer near the lake. They also discovered his overturned kayak with a life jacket, in an area where the lake’s depth exceeds 200 feet (60 meters). The search for his body lasted over 50 days, involving repeated lake explorations by divers.
In early October, the sheriff’s department learned that Canadian law enforcement checked Borgwardt’s details the day after his disappearance. Further investigation revealed a report of his passport being lost or stolen, and the acquisition of a new one in May.
The sheriff’s office stated that laptop analysis revealed a digital trail indicating Borgwardt’s plan to go to Europe and attempts to mislead investigators.
The laptop’s hard drive had been replaced and browsers cleared the day he disappeared, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators found passport photos, inquiries about transferring money to foreign banks, and communications with a woman from Uzbekistan.
They also uncovered a $375,000 life insurance policy he obtained in January, intended for his family, not himself, the sheriff noted.
Authorities contacted every phone number and email address from the laptop, eventually reaching the Russian-speaking woman, who then connected them with Borgwardt. It remains unclear if she is the woman from Uzbekistan.
Podoll expressed uncertainty about Borgwardt’s current financial situation but speculated he’s employed: “He’s intelligent.”
—Associated Press writer Scott Bauer in Madison contributed to this report.
