In a shocking development that feels right out of a cheap thriller, Wisconsin kayaker Ryan Borgwardt, previously assumed to have drowned, has been confirmed alive, according to Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll. Police made contact with him on Nov. 11, 2024.
Police made contact with Borgwardt on Nov. 11, 2024 and confirmed his safety by asking him to record a video of himself and answer questions only he would know. The footage, seemingly taken in an apartment, shows him alive and well. He refused to share his location with authorities, but officials believe he is somewhere in Eastern Europe.
The Sheriff said Borgwardt revealed the crazy manner in which he fled the country, saying, “He stashed an e-bike near the boat launch. He paddled his kayak in a child-sized floating boat out into the lake. He overturned the kayak and dumped his phone in the lake.” He then paddled the inflatable boat to shore, got on the bike, and rode through the night to Madison, Wisconsin.
“In Madison, he boarded a bus and went to Detroit, and then the Canadian border. He continued on the bus to an airport and got on a plane,” Podoll added. “We are continuing to verify this information.”
The husband and father of three went missing on the night of Aug. 11, 2023. He texted his wife, saying he had been kayaking on Green Lake but would return to shore soon. Borgwardt was reported missing the next day, but when responders found his overturned kayak and life jacket on the lake, they believed he had drowned.
Divers, drones, and sonar equipment scoured the lake for weeks before investigators discovered Borgwardt’s name was checked by Canadian law enforcement on Aug. 13, two days after he disappeared. Green Lake Country’s Sheriff’s Office then decided to check the missing father’s laptop — something was clearly amiss.
Police found communications between Borgwardt and a woman in Uzbekistan on the hard drive. They also discovered evidence he had taken out a new life insurance policy, looked into transferring money to foreign bank accounts, and applied for a new passport months before the staged kayaking accident. Investigators came up with a new theory: he had run away to Eastern Europe, possibly to meet the woman he had been secretly contacting.
New insights from police reveal Borgwardt chose Green Lake because of its depth, and that he thought searches would cease after two weeks. “He feels bad about the amount of hours we’ve put in,” Podoll said. The father of three seems to have more remorse about wasting police resources than reinforcing the old “I’m just stepping out to get milk,” trope.
Despite his theatrics, his family and Podoll want him to return to clean up his mess. They’ll keep “pulling at his heartstrings” because “he needs to come home to his kids,” Podoll said. “Christmas is coming, and what better gift he could give his kids is to be there for Christmas with them?”
One thing keeping Borgwardt away could be a potential obstruction of justice charge. The county could seek around $35,000 to $40,000 in restitution for the man hours, specialist equipment, and effort put into searching for him. But at the time of writing, he’s gone with the wind in an unknown country.