A Wisconsin father of three accused of staging his own death in a kayaking accident is in police custody, according to multiple reports.
As reported earlier this month that Ryan Borgwardt, 45 — who was previously presumed to have drowned after going kayaking in Green Lake in August — had resurfaced in Eastern Europe and had sent a 24-second-long “proof of life video” to authorities on Nov. 11.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, Dec. 10, Borgwardt was then booked into the Green Lake County Jail, outlets including the Associated Press, CNN and ABC News reported, citing the Victim Information and Notification Everyday system. No charges were listed, according to the publications.
A press conference set to provide updates on Borgwardt has been scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. local time, the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Facebook.
Ryan Borgwardt.
Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office
The update comes after Podoll said at a press conference on Nov. 21 that his office had managed to make contact with Borgwardt through a Russian-speaking woman on Nov. 11.
Borgwardt sent a video to deputies from his apartment, in which he stated it was “November 11” and that he was “safe, secure, no problem.”
Podoll initially held a news conference regarding the Borgwardt case on Nov. 8 following a 54-day search for the man. The sheriff explained how Borgwardt’s vehicle and trailer had been found parked in the area of Dodge Memorial Park on Aug. 12, with his last known location at the time being Green Lake.
Around an hour after the alarm was first raised shortly after 5:30 p.m. local time that day, authorities found a capsized kayak in the western part of the lake in an area where the water is around 220 feet deep, the sheriff previously told reporters.
The following day, fishermen found Borgwardt’s fishing rod in the same lake, before his tackle box was also discovered. Inside, the box contained a wallet, keys and a license belonging to Borgwardt; who last made contact with his wife Emily via text at 10:45 p.m. on Aug. 11. The pair, who have been married for 22 years, share three teenage children — Jeremiah, Levi and Norah.
When the huge search and rescue operation failed to locate the missing man, he was presumed dead, leaving his wife and children grieving.
However, a shocking twist came after Podoll and his team learned that Canadian law enforcement had checked Borgwardt’s passport on Aug. 13 — the day after he was reported missing. “That was something we didn’t expect,” Podoll previously said at the Nov. 8 conference.
Podoll said that on Aug. 11, Borgwardt had taken photos of his passport, changed his email and moved money to a foreign bank account — and that he had been communicating with a woman from Uzbekistan.
Ryan Borgwardt.
Authorities believe Borgwardt began plotting his disappearance as far back as January, when he took out a $375,000 insurance policy — possibly to take care of his family in his absence — and bought airline gift cards.
Following his disappearance, Borgwardt told the sheriff’s office how he pulled off his plan, revealing that he’d stashed an e-bike near the boat lodge before paddling his kayak and a child-sized inflatable boat out into the lake, as previously reported.
After overturning the kayak, he paddled the inflatable boat to shore before getting on his e-bike and riding through the night to Madison, Wis. There, he boarded a bus to Detroit before heading to the Canadian border.
Podoll explained that Borgwardt continued on the bus to “an airport and got on a plane.”
As for why Borgwardt chose to disappear so mysteriously, the sheriff said, “He just had personal matters going on, and he felt this was the right thing [to] do.”
Podoll previously noted that Borgwardt could face criminal charges and pay restitution of at least $40,000 restitution if he returned to the U.S.
