"After disappearing during a solo fishing trip, Ryan Borgwardt has sent a video to police confirming his safety while they try to piece together his audacious escape plan."
"Fake Kayaking Death: US Man Resurfaces with Video from Abroad"
"Fake Kayaking Death: US Man Resurfaces with Video from Abroad"
"Ryan Borgwardt, who staged his own death, confirms his safety through a video, leaving his family and police searching for answers."
In an unexpected twist of events, Ryan Borgwardt, a 45-year-old man from Wisconsin, has surfaced after faking his own death during a solo kayaking trip. On November 11, he sent a 24-second video to local authorities affirming that he is alive and well, despite the initial fears he had drowned while fishing on Green Lake.
The Green Lake County Sheriff's Office had conducted an extensive search for 54 days after Borgwardt disappeared on August 12, initially believing he had succumbed to the waters. However, their investigation turned when digital evidence indicated that he may have fled to Eastern Europe.
Sheriff Mark Podell expressed relief that Borgwardt is safe, saying, “The great news is he's still alive and well.” The bad news, however, is that he remains untraceable, having not expressed any intention of returning to his family, which includes three children and a wife.
In the video, Borgwardt, sitting in a plain apartment, states, “I am safe, secure, no problem,” and appears calm, directly addressing his loved ones back home. His communication with authorities has taken place through an intermediary who speaks Russian, but specifics about who this person is remain undisclosed.
Authorities have uncovered alarming details surrounding Borgwardt’s disappearance. Just before vanishing, he took out a life insurance policy worth $375,000, transferred money to an overseas account, and meticulously executed a plan to disappear by sinking his kayak and cell phone. He then used a small boat to reach an E-bike he had hidden, bicycled overnight to Madison, and finally boarded a bus to Detroit before flying out of Canada without revealing his ultimate destination.
While there are no criminal charges filed against him at this moment, Borgwardt is said to owe law enforcement approximately $40,000 for the cost of the search efforts. Sheriff Podell voiced the emotional toll of the situation, highlighting the impact on Borgwardt’s young children as Christmas approaches: “What better a gift to give those kids than to be there for Christmas.”
As the investigation continues, locals and authorities alike are left questioning his motivations and future plans while hoping for a timely resolution to this baffling case.
