After a 54-day search for his body, a Wisconsin father of three who was presumed to have drowned in a lake now appears to have faked his death to cover up his leaving the country, officials said on Nov. 8.
Ryan Borgwardt was reported missing on Aug. 12 after failing to return home from kayaking on Green Lake in Wisconsin.
Deputies were dispatched and soon found Borgwardt’s vehicle and trailer parked in Dodge Memorial Park on the southwestern shore of the 7,340 acres lake, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said in a news conference.
An hour later, police found a capsized kayak adrift in an area of the lake with a depth of about 220 feet. He was presumed to have drowned and the search for his body began.
The following day, two fishermen found a fishing rod in their nets, later identified by Borgwardt’s wife as her husband’s. Borgwardt’s tackle box was also discovered in the area. Inside were his keys, wallet, and license.
Borgwardt called his wife one last time Sunday evening Aug. 11, at 10:45 p.m., saying he was turning around towards the shore to head back home. However, he would never return home.
Green Lake County Sheriff’s office reached out to other agencies for help, as well as volunteer search and recovery non-profit Bruce’s Legacy, which has helped the department in the past, Podoll said. Boats, sonars, and drones were used to scan the lake.
On Aug. 24 two divers were called in to scour the bottom of the lake, while three cadaver dogs were used to comb the surrounding area to no avail.
On Oct. 7, Podoll gathered his team of investigators and suggested the Sheriff’s Department take the search in a different direction. A check on Borgwardt’s passport revealed that he left the country on Aug. 13.
“That was something we didn’t expect,” Podoll said.
At that point, Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security, and the FBI became involved in the case.
Further investigation revealed that Borgwardt had replaced his laptop hard drive, synced the device with cloud service, changed the email address he used for financial transactions, and cleared his browser history—all on the day of his disappearance.
He had previously made inquiries about moving funds to foreign banks, Podoll said, and he had communications with a woman from Uzbekistan, in Central Asia.
He also took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January.
“Due to these discoveries of the new evidence, we were sure that [Borgwardt] was not in our lake,” Podoll said, and the search was called off.
Podoll thanked everyone who had helped in the search and expressed his pride over the Green Lake community, who brought the rescue teams food.
The sheriff also praised Keith Cormican of Bruce’s Legacy. “His dedication and persistence in the search efforts was unmatched, and finally his confidence that there was not a body located in the West end of Big Green Lake was vital in changing the course of this case,” Podoll said.
No official charges have been brought against Borgwardt yet, although the county intends to seek restitution for the expenses of the 54-day search, according to Podoll.
The sheriff also urged Borgwardt to return home, and those with knowledge of his whereabouts to contact law enforcement.
Podoll also asked the media to respect the family’s peace and privacy in this difficult time, adding that Borgwardt’s children are of high school and grade school age.
“They thought that their dad was drowned. A day ago, they found out that he wasn’t.”