Green Lake missing kayaker Ryan Borgwardt in custody: sheriff

GREEN LAKE, Wis. – The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday confirmed Ryan Borgwardt, the kayaker initially thought to have gone missing this summer but later determined to have faked his own death and fled the country, is now in custody.

Sheriff Mark Podoll said Borgwardt decided to return to the U.S. “on his own” on Tuesday Dec. 10; he turned himself in to the authorities in Green Lake that day. 

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The sheriff said Borgwardt is cooperating with the investigation, and it is unclear at this point where he had fled. It is also unknown if he has spoken to his family.

The district attorney’s office is reviewing charges, including obstruction.

Ryan Borgwardt contacted

The 45-year-old man from Watertown was reported missing on Aug. 12. After searches of Green Lake, which lasted more than a month, the sheriff’s office later suspected Borgrwardt had faked his own death – spurring a new investigation. 

On Nov. 8, the sheriff said investigators began to use various data points – such as phone numbers and email addresses – in an effort to get in contact with Borgwardt. 

Investigators contacted a woman who spoke Russian and on Nov. 11, through her, they contacted Borgwardt. In an effort to verify if he was safe, they asked him a number of personal questions and asked him to provide a video of himself – which he did.

“Good evening, it’s Ryan Borgwardt,” he says in the video, which the sheriff’s office shared. “Safe, secure, no problem.”

Disappearance plan

In November, Podoll said Borgwardt told investigators his plan. As of Nov. 21, the sheriff’s office said it was still working to verify Borgwardt’s statements.

Borgwardt claimed he stashed an e-bike near the Green Lake boat launch and paddled his kayak and a child-sized inflatable boat onto the lake. He overturned the kayak, dumped his phone in the water and paddled the inflatable boat to shore. He then got on the e-bike and rode through the night to Madison, where he got on a bus to Detroit and then the Canadian border. He rode the bus to an airport, where he got on a plane. 

Further, the sheriff said Borgwardt told investigators he picked Green Lake because it is the deepest lake in Wisconsin.

Investigators previously learned Borgwardt obtained a second passport, cleared his hard drives and browser history and changed his banking information on the day of his disappearance. He also took out a $375,000 life insurance policy and purchased an airline gift card.

As to why Borgwardt tried to stage his death, the sheriff would only say he had a personal matter going on and that this was the “right thing” to do.