Missing father of 3 did 'research' to stage his own death and flee the country: sheriff

Wisconsin authorities on Thursday said they successfully contacted a missing father of three who "staged his death" in August and apparently fled the country, though his exact whereabouts is still unknown.

Ryan Borgwardt's family reported him missing on Aug. 12 when he did not come home, and Wisconsin authorities and volunteers searched for the 45-year-old for months after locating his capsized kayak in Green Lake that same Monday.

On Nov. 8, nearly three months after he vanished, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll announced that a digital forensic analysis of Borgwardt's computer led officials to determine that the missing father and husband was likely alive "someplace in Europe."

Now, Podoll is sharing new information about exactly how Borgwardt staged his disappearance and where his missing persons case currently stands.

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"He staged his death, and unfortunately, one of the things that he did say is he didn't expect us to go more than two weeks in searching for him. Well, I hate to tell you he picked the wrong sheriff and the wrong department."

The sheriff announced during a Thursday press conference that earlier this month, officials with the sheriff's department got in touch with a woman who speaks Russian and was able to connect them with Borgwardt. Podoll added later that the missing father and the Russian-speaking woman apparently met on the internet.

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"That was a big turning point," Podoll said of their contact with the woman.

After getting in touch with Borgwardt through the woman, the sheriff's office asked him to send a video of himself to prove that he was safe, as their biggest concern up to that point was that Borgwardt was well and not in danger. 

Borgwardt complied, and Podoll played his video aloud during the Thursday press conference. In the video, Ryan can be heard quietly saying his name, the date, the time and that he is "safe."

The sheriff's office has since had "nearly daily communications with Ryan," Podoll said. 

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Borgwardt has since explained to police that on Aug. 12, the day he disappeared, he parked an e-bike near Green Lake — one of the deepest lakes in Wisconsin — and paddled out onto the lake in a kayak with his fishing rod, phone and a child-sized, inflatable boat. He dumped his phone and fishing rod into the lake, got in the inflatable boat, overturned the kayak and paddled to shore, where he then rode the e-bike to a bus station in Detroit. From Detroit, he traveled to the Canadian border.

Earlier this month, the sheriff expressed that Borgwardt may have gone to a country in Europe, though he clarified on Thursday that the 45-year-old's exact location remains unknown.

Fishermen on Green Lake "came up with a fishing rod" that officials collected as evidence, and Borgwardt's wife identified the fishing rod as her husband's, Podoll said during the Nov. 8 press conference recorded by FOX 11.

"We are continuing to verify this information, trying to put the dots together," the sheriff explained on Thursday. "We feel that this was Ryan's way that he could tell the entire country how he did it. There are communications we are expressing the importance of his decision to return home, clean up the mess that he has created."

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Authorities determined through digital forensic analysis that prior to his disappearance, Borgwardt replaced the hard drive of his laptop, cleared his browser history the day he went missing, took photos of his passport, moved money to a foreign bank, changed his email address and had been in "communication with a woman from Uzbekistan," Podoll said on Nov. 8, according to FOX 11.

Authorities had not issued any warrant for Borgwardt's arrest as of Thursday, and Podoll expressed that they will not have to serve any warrants if Borgwardt decides to "cooperate."

The sheriff's office also has not filed any criminal charges against Borgwardt, but local officials are currently working with federal partners to determine how to move forward with potential charges if they are warranted. The FBI is also working on overseas communication.

"He needs to return home to his children. If he chooses not to return, it's on his own free will, and I think the message is very clear," Podoll said.

Green Lake County will seek restitution between $35,000 and $40,000 in connection with the resources needed for ongoing efforts to locate Borgwardt.