A Kayaker from Wisconsin who allegedly faked his own drowning earlier this year before leaving his family and fleeing to Eastern Europe, was charged Wednesday with obstructing the search for him.
Ryan Borgwardt turned himself in to the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Wednesday. charged with a crime after he “returned” to the U.S. under his own power, the Green Lake County sheriff said.
He was released on $500 bail and told the judge he intended to represent himself.
He was also ordered to surrender his passport FOX 6.
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Ryan Borgwardt turned himself in to the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge during a hearing on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Borgwardt, which was reported went missing in Augustreportedly told investigators that he has done research on how to fake your own death, including how deep someone should sink so they don’t resurface.
After attending church with his family on the morning of August 11, Borgwardt allegedly told investigators that he drove to Green Lake, about 50 miles from his home, which he chose because it is the deepest lake in Wisconsin . He then paddled his kayak into the middle of the lake and overturned it, according to authorities.
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He then paddled back to shore in an inflatable raft he had brought with him and dropped his cell phone and ID into the lake.
After trying to wash away his muddy footprints, Borgwardt is then said to have ridden away on a bicycle he had hidden there.
After driving more than 70 miles, he said, he took a bus from Madison, Wisconsin to Toronto, Canada, barely crossing the border because he didn’t have his driver’s license.
From there he took a flight to Paris and then to an unnamed Asian country before moving to the Eastern European country of Georgia.
A search in Green Lake by authorities lasted more than a month and cost approximately $40,000, according to FOX 6.
Ryan Borgwardt’s booking photo in Green Lake, Wisconsin, Tuesday. (Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Investigators eventually found a photo of a woman he met in the unnamed Asian country on his laptop at his home in Wisconsin, along with other incriminating information.
They also discovered that he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January, which he said he wanted to leave for his family.
Borgwardt reportedly admitted to leaving too much information on the laptop, but told investigators he had to leave it behind to make his disappearance appear real.
He also cleared his browser history, changed his banking information on the day of his disappearance and obtained a second passport, investigators say, according to FOX 6.
Ryan Borgwardt will appear in a Green Lake County courtroom in Green Lake, Wisconsin on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Investigators were eventually able to contact Borgwardt through a Russian-speaking woman whose information they found on his laptop, and he sent U.S. authorities a video message saying, “Good evening, it’s Ryan Borgwardt. Safe, no problem.”
He told investigators he knew he would eventually be found.
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Investigators have not provided a motive as to why the husband and father of three allegedly staged his own death.
Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said it would be “up to him one day” if he wants to reveal why he left. “We’re not going to release that. … We brought back a father alone.”
