Missing kayaker in Green Lake believed to have faked his death and fled the country

A kayaker who went missing in Green Lake this summer is believed by authorities to have faked his death and fled the country.

Ryan Borgwardt, 45, was reported missing on Aug. 12, after his wife reported that he did not return home from the lake. Deputies found Borgwardt’s vehicle and a trailer parked near a local park, and discovered a capsized kayak in the western part of the lake.

At a press conference Friday, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said state and local officials, as well as a nonprofit search and recovery organization, searched the lake “extensively” for 54 days. During their search, deputies recovered a tackle box that contained Borgwardt’s wallet, keys and driver’s license.

When a body was not found by early October, Podoll said detectives knew they needed to move the investigation in “a different direction.” The sheriff’s office worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the state Department of Criminal Investigations.

An analysis of a laptop provided by Borgwardt’s wife showed that Borgwardt had replaced the laptop’s hard drive, cleared the browser history on the day of his disappearance and synched the laptop to the iCloud the day he disappeared, Podoll said.

Borgwardt also obtained a second passport, moved funds to a foreign bank, changed his email and was in communication with a woman in Uzbekistan. He also took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January and purchased airline gift cards, the sheriff said.

“Due to these discoveries of the new evidence, we were sure that Ryan was not in our lake,” said Podoll. “Our investigation has many steps to take. It’s a puzzle that we’re putting together. We’ve got many pieces, but we’ve got a lot more pieces to find.”

Podoll said law enforcement isn’t sure where Borgwardt is, but the evidence indicates that he is no longer in the country. He said law enforcement’s goal is to identify any crimes that may have been committed by people who assisted Borgwardt.

The sheriff also said Borgwardt’s disappearance has been a burden for his wife, as well as his elementary and high school-age children.

“I cannot imagine what she’s going through and their (children) are going through,” Podoll said Friday. “It’s really hard because they felt that their dad was drowned. A day ago, they found out that he wasn’t.”

Podoll also urged anyone with information to contact the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and said they could do so anonymously. He also asked Borgwardt to come forward.

“Ryan, if you’re viewing this, I plea that you contact us or contact your family. We understand that things can happen, but there’s a family that wants their daddy back,” Podoll said.