Ryan Borgwardt was initially reported missing on August 12th, 2024. The Wisconsin father and kayaker never returned home after going on a fishing trip around an hour away from his hometown. Believing he had suffered an accident while kayaking, an extensive search was held for Borgwardt that lasted several months. By the end of the search, Borgwardt was believed to have drowned in Green Lake. But recently, authorities received confirmation that Borgwardt is alive and well– but has no intention of coming home.
Borgwardt is in his mid-40s, and previously lived with his wife and three children. He was a resident of Watertown, Wisconsin, which is roughly 52 miles away from where he disappeared. He chose to go on a kayaking trip by himself on August 11th, which led his wife to start worrying when he hadn’t come home by the next day. She contacted the police on the 12th, reporting that her husband had last texted her at around 11 p.m the night before but had been MIA ever since. Within the next few days, the labor-intensive search for Borgwardt began.
Authorities first discovered Borgwardt’s car parked and abandoned near the lake. Next, they found his kayak capsized on the water with a lifejacket attached to it, and soon enough they were able to locate his fishing rod. This evidence was found in a part of the lake where the water was 200 feet deep, leading to the belief that he had drowned in Green Lake somewhere. Divers were released to search the entirety of the lake, and eventually more clues were found such as a tackle box that held his car keys, wallet, and driver’s license. But regardless of all of these discoveries, law enforcement was unable to find his body. By October, things were beginning to seem hopeless.
Mark Podoll, the Green Lake County Sheriff, began to sense that something was strange about this missing person’s case. “We know he’s not in our lake,” Podoll reported to Today after the extensive search. Authorities then started looking into the details of the situation further, and found that Borgwardt had transferred some of his money to a foreign bank, obtained a new passport, altered his email, and had even taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January. Additionally, he had been in contact with a woman from Uzbekistan. Investigators believed that Borgwardt had faked his drowning in order to flee to another country in secret, but they had no confirmation until November 11th, 2024.
After contacting a woman who speaks Russian, police were able to make contact with Borgwardt himself. He sent authorities a 24-second video of him in an apartment room, reporting that, “I am safe, secure, no problem. I hope this works.” Since receiving the video, authorities have been in contact with Borgwardt every day and have also notified his family about the new developments.
Borgwardt explained to the police how he managed to arrange the events of August 12th. After kayaking out to the middle of the lake along with his personal belongings and a child-sized inflatable boat, Borgwardt sank his kayak and his phone and made his way back to shore. He had previously left an electric bike nearby Green Lake, and utilized this bike to travel around 70 miles to Madison, Wisconsin to take a bus to Detroit. Later, he boarded an unknown plane in Canada that was headed out of the country. Throughout his travels, Borgwardt made no contact with his family and was not initially planning on contacting the police. He reported that he had expected the police to stop searching for him after two weeks, but was forced to explain himself once the intensive search revealed that he was alive and well.
Police have been attempting to convince Borgwardt to return home, but he has rejected every attempt. Podoll reported to CNN, “He expressed concerns that if he does come back, it’s going to be hard to live (and that) nobody will accept him.” After having their lives turned upside down by first the grief of losing their loved one and then the discovery that their loved one may have purposely left them, Borgwardt’s family is reportedly “very emotional” about the situation. Although they are significantly shaken up, his family still pleaded for Borgwardt to come home. Podoll also affirmed, “the community has stated before that they’re willing to forgive”
Authorities still have countless questions about where Borgwardt is located and whether or not he is working alone. Although his safety has been confirmed, he clearly has no intentions of returning home to his family. Borgwardt has apologized sincerely for his actions, and revealed that he took out his life insurance policy to support his family. Still, authorities have stated that they intend to press obstruction charges for the resources they used on the search. Podoll concludes, “He needs to return home to his children. If he chooses not to return, it’s on his own free will.”
