After faking his own death in a staged kayaking accident, a Wisconsin man is still alive and well and most likely in Uzbekistan. Officials are currently in negotiations to bring him back to his family, they announced Thursday.
Ryan Borgwardt, a 45-year-old married father of two who was reported missing in August, has been contacted by deputies from the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Officials stated they were unable to determine his precise whereabouts, but he currently looks to be in Eastern Europe or Uzbekistan.
According to officials, a woman who spoke Russian assisted investigators in contacting the missing man. He provided accurate answers to questions about himself and his family that only he would have known when investigators arrived.
“Knowing he’s alive and well was great news,” Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll told reporters. Unfortunately, we don’t know Ryan’s precise whereabouts and he hasn’t made up his mind to go back home yet.
A video discussion between the department and Borgwardt, who was wearing an orange t-shirt and reassured everyone that he was fine, was played by the sheriff.
As he said to the camera, “Good evening, it’s Ryan Borgwardt,” “Today is November 11; it is roughly 10 a.m. for you all. My apartment is where I am. I have no issues and am safe and secure.
According to Podoll, Borgwardt went out onto Green Lake, threw his phone into the lake, and returned to shore using a “child-sized” inflatable boat.
According to Podoll, Borgwardt left an electric bike on beach and rode it to Madison before getting on a bus to Detroit, traveling across Canada, and finally boarding a plane.
According to the sheriff, his department is attempting to persuade Borgwardt to come back to the United States. Investigators stated that Borgwardt was not being kept against his will, although they did not elaborate on the reasons behind his trip overseas.
“Our concern has been that he safely gets back to U.S. soil,” said Podoll. “He must go back to his kids at home. He is free to decide whether or not to come back, and I believe the message is pretty clear.”
The sheriff did not elaborate on the problems Borgwardt may have been having in the United States that led to this odd action.
“In our communications, we are expressing the importance of his decision to return home and clean up the mess he has created,” said Podoll.
Investigators discovered a capsized kayak, the man’s car, and his trailer parked in Dodge Memorial County Park after Borgwardt vanished on August 12.
No remnants or other evidence of Borgwardt’s fate were found despite a thorough air and marine search of the area. However, a global electronic trail quickly surfaced, suggesting he was still alive and across the Atlantic.
According to earlier reports, investigators discovered that he had opened a foreign bank account, altered his email address, spoken with an Uzbek woman, and had Canadian law enforcement run his passport on August 13.
Podoll stated on Thursday that “his biggest concern is how the community is going to react to him” if he returns home. “I see that. He staged his death, and regrettably, he did indicate that he didn’t think we would be looking for him for more than two weeks. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong department and the wrong sheriff.
According to an official, he probably picked Green Lake, Wisconsin’s deepest inland lake, as the setting for his staged death.
“He did the research, he did, and he thought his plan was gonna pan out,” said Podoll. However, things didn’t work out the way he had hoped. We are now attempting to present him with an alternative plan.
Podoll could not rule out the possibility that Borgwardt could escape criminal charges if he simply returned home, even if a lot of manpower was used to search for him.
“We have been continuing to contact the family members regarding our communication with Ryan,” he stated. “Warrants have not yet been issued. We think that if Ryan cooperates and chooses to go home soon, warrants won’t be required.”
Officials are hoping that the impending Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays would encourage Borgwardt to return home.
“We keep pulling at his heartstrings,” Podoll remarked. “We will not surrender. He needs to get home to his children, so we want to go on.”
According to officials, the errant Wisconsin man took out a life insurance policy that would provide for his American loved ones, demonstrating that he wasn’t planning to abandon them completely.
“It wasn’t for him, it was for his family,” Podoll said. “He was just going to try to make things better, in his mind.”
The sheriff begged Borgwardt to get back together with his family, his voice choking with passion.
According to Podoll, “I got one more thing to say,” “Christmas is coming, and what better gift he could give his kids is to be there for Christmas.”
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