Wisconsin kayaker accused of faking his own death, fleeing country charged with obstruction

A Wisconsin kayaker who allegedly faked his own drowning earlier this year before leaving his family and fleeing to Eastern Europe was charged Wednesday with obstructing the search for him. 

Ryan Borgwardt turned himself in to the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin Tuesday and pleaded not guilty in a hearing Wednesday on the misdemeanor charge after he “came back” to the U.S. “on his own,” the Green Lake County sheriff said. 

He was released on $500 bail and told the judge he plans to represent himself. 

He was also ordered to surrender his passport, according to FOX 6. 

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Borgwardt, who was reported missing in August, allegedly told investigators he had been researching how to fake one’s own death, including how deep a person needs to sink so they won’t resurface. 

After attending church with his family on the morning of Aug. 11, Borgwardt allegedly told investigators he drove to Green Lake, about 50 miles from his home, which he picked because it’s the deepest lake in Wisconsin. He then paddled to the middle of the lake in his kayak and overturned it, according to authorities.

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He then paddled back to shore in an inflatable raft he brought with him and dropped his cellphone and ID in the lake. 

After attempting to wash away his muddy footprints, Borgwardt then allegedly rode off on a bike he had hidden there. 

After riding for 70 miles, he said, he caught a bus from Madison, Wisconsin, to Toronto, Canada, and barely got across the border because he didn’t have his driver’s license. 

From there, he caught a flight to Paris and then an unnamed Asian country before he moved to the Eastern European country of Georgia. 

A search of Green Lake by authorities lasted for more than a month and cost around $40,000, according to FOX 6. 

Ryan Borgwardt’s booking photo in Green Lake, Wis., Tuesday. (Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Investigators eventually found a picture of a woman he met up with in the unnamed Asian country on his laptop at his home in Wisconsin, along with other incriminating information.

They also discovered he took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January that he said he wanted to leave for his family. 

Borgwardt allegedly admitted he left too much information on the laptop but told investigators he had to leave it behind to make his disappearance seem real. 

He had also cleared his browser history, changed his banking information on the day of his disappearance and obtained a second passport, investigators said, according to FOX 6. 

Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom Wednesday in Green Lake, Wis.  (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Investigators were eventually able to contact Borgwardt through a woman who spoke Russian and whose information they found on his laptop, and he sent U.S. authorities a video message saying, “Good evening, it’s Ryan Borgwardt. Safe, secure, no problem.” 

He told investigators he knew he would eventually be found. 

Investigators have not given a motive for why the husband and father of three allegedly staged his own death. 

Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said that would be “up to him someday,” if he wants to reveal why he left. “We’re not going to release that. … We brought a dad back on his own.”