Man who faked his death in Green Lake charged with obstructing an officer

The kayaker who faked his death in Green Lake this summer returned to Wisconsin and has been charged with obstructing an officer.

Ryan Borgwardt of Watertown was booked in the Green Lake County Jail on Tuesday and made his initial court appearance on Wednesday. He faces a misdemeanor charge.

According to the criminal complaint, Borgwardt admitted his plan had been to make people believed he died in August.

“The whole idea was to sell the death,” he is alleged to have told authorities. “Everything hinged on me dying in the lake.”

On Wednesday, Borgwardt, 45, appeared in court in an orange jail jumpsuit, and represented himself. He is being released from custody on a signature bond.

“He has come back, apparently (from) halfway around the world. Voluntarily turned himself in — that shows to the court that he does not appear to be a flight risk,” said Green Lake County Circuit Court Judge Mark Slate.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said Borgwardt returned to the United States on his own.

“He’s cooperated with us, (and) came back to the United States,” Podoll said. 

Borgwardt went missing in August in Green Lake. Law enforcement recovered a capsized kayak in the lake along with other personal belongings. Initially believing Borgwardt had likely drowned, authorities searched the lake for 54 days.

Last month, the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office revealed they believed Borgwardt had faked his own death and fled the U.S.

The sheriff’s office made contact with Borgwardt on Nov. 11. Authorities asked Borgwardt a number of questions to confirm his identity. Borgwardt also provided a video of himself to law enforcement.

During those conversations, Borgwardt also detailed how he faked his death and fled the country, officials said last month.

He told the sheriff’s office he stashed an electric bicycle near the boat launch. He then paddled a kayak out onto the lake with an inflatable child-size boat. 

He overturned the kayak, dumped his phone in the lake and paddled the inflatable boat to shore, authorities said. Borgwardt rode the electric bicycle through the night to Madison, where he got on a bus to Detroit. From Detroit, he went to the Canadian border. In Canada, he continued on the bus to an airport and got on a plane.

A probable cause document filed with the court states that Borgwardt was living in the country of Georgia.

The criminal complaint says Borgwardt met an adult woman after landing and would use a VPN when reading American news articles so it appeared like he was “in Russia or somewhere else other than Georgia.”

When Borgwardt revealed how he did it in his conversations with the sheriff’s office, he admitted to trying to mislead law enforcement, the complaint said. 

Podoll said he does not believe anyone else will face charges for helping Borgwardt.

He did not provide details of what convinced Borgwardt to return to the U.S., but he said the man’s wife and children were a motivating factor.

“We brought a dad back on his own accord,” Podoll said.

The sheriff said authorities have spoken “briefly” with Borgwardt’s family, and that he can “only imagine how they feel.”

Podoll said his office would seek restitution in court to reimburse the county for its efforts. Last month he estimated those costs at $35,000 to $40,000.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Green Lake County District Attorney Gerise Laspisa asked that the court consider ordering law enforcement to stop making statements to the press. The judge said he did not feel that a gag order was necessary at this time, and said he would wait until Borgwardt had an attorney.