Ryan Borgwardt, 45, faked his own death and ran away from his family in Wisconsin. Photo / via Green Lake County Sheriff's Office
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, faked his own death and ran away from his family in Wisconsin. Photo / via Green Lake County Sheriff's Office
A kayaker who faked his own death to get away from his wife and children has voluntarily returned to the United States from Eastern Europe.
Ryan Borgwardt “came back on his own” because of his family, said Mark Podoll, the sheriff of Green Lake County in Wisconsin.
Borgwardt, a marriedfather-of-three, landed yesterday NZT and was being held in jail.
Today he was charged with obstructing an intense lake search by staging a fake tragedy.
A judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf and set bond at US$500 ($864) for the obstruction charge, a misdemeanour, though Borgwardt only has to pay if he violates the conditions of his release from jail.
The 45-year-old said he would represent himself, but a court-appointed lawyer is available.
His return has ended a months-long mystery that began after he allegedly flipped his kayak over on Green Lake on August 11 to make it look like he had drowned.
According to police, he dumped his phone and personal effects in the water and paddled to safety on an inflatable boat on the lake, which is 105km south of Green Bay.
After the massive lake search, Canadian authorities revealed that Borgwardt had crossed the border the day after he was reported missing.
It was later discovered he had been talking to an Uzbek woman who spoke Russian he had met online, and that he had moved money into a foreign bank account.
During a press conference, Podoll said “we can stand here feeling relieved” as Borgwardt was finally home.
He said that police had been “pulling at the heartstrings” of Borgwardt to get him home, with the missing man at one point sending the police a proof of life video.
Asked about how Borgwardt’s family, who thought he was dead, are doing, he said: “I can only imagine how they feel”.
Ryan Borgwardt is being held in jail following his return home. Photo / Green Lake County Sheriff Office
The sheriff was not able to say what country Borgwardt had been in and did not comment on the Uzbek woman.
Podoll had previously said that Borgwardt began talking to the authorities on November 11, after he had been missing for three months.
Borgwardt told authorities last month that he faked his death because of personal matters, the sheriff said.
Police said that Borgwardt told them that in mid-August he travelled about 80km from his home in Watertown to Green Lake. He said he picked that lake because it is the deepest in Wisconsin.
After leaving the lake, he rode an electric bike about 112km through the night to Madison, the sheriff said. From there, he said he took a bus to Detroit, then boarded a bus to Canada and got on a plane.
