Wisconsin
Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own death has told investigators how he did it, sheriff says
GREEN LAKE, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning this summer so he could abandon his wife and three children has been communicating with authorities daily from Eastern Europe, even telling them how he did it, but has not committed to returning home, a sheriff said Thursday.
Ryan Borgwardt has been talking with authorities since Nov. 11, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said at a news conference. The sheriff showed a video that Borgwardt sent the sheriff’s office that day. His investigators don’t know exactly where he is, Podoll said, but it was somewhere in Eastern Europe.
Borgwardt, wearing an orange T-shirt and not smiling, looked directly into the camera in the video, which appears to have been taken on his phone. Borgwardt said he was in his apartment and briefly panned the camera to show the inside, but mostly showed just a door and bare walls.
“I’m safe and secure, no problem,” Borgwardt said. “I hope this works.”
Borgwardt has supplied authorities with details about how he faked his death and fled, Podoll said. He traveled about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from his home in Watertown to Green Lake, where he overturned his kayak, dumped his phone in the lake and then paddled an inflatable boat to shore. He told authorities he picked that lake because it’s the deepest in Wisconsin at 237 feet (over 72 meters).
After leaving the lake, he rode an electric bike about 70 miles (110 kilometers) through the night to Madison, the sheriff said. From there, he took a bus to Detroit, then boarded a bus to Canada and got on a plane there, the sheriff said.
Police were still verifying Borgwardt’s description of what happened, Podoll said.
“The great news is we know that he is alive and well,” Podoll said. “The bad news is we don’t know where Ryan exactly is, and he has not yet decided to return home.”
Podoll suggested Borgwardt could be charged with obstructing the investigation into his disappearance, but so far no counts have been filed. The sheriff said authorities “keep pulling at his heartstrings” to return home.
“Christmas is coming,” Podoll said. “And what better gift could your kids get than to be there for Christmas?”
But whether Podoll returns, the sheriff said, is “on his own free will.”
Borgwardt’s disappearance was first investigated as a possible drowning after he went kayaking on Green Lake, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. But subsequent clues — including that he obtained a new passport three months before he disappeared — led investigators to speculate that he faked his death to meet up with a woman he had been communicating with in Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.
The sheriff declined to comment when asked what he knew about the woman, but he said police contacted Borgwardt “through a female that spoke Russian.”
Prior to the sheriff’s office speaking with Borgwardt last week, he had not been heard from in three months. On the night of Aug. 11, Borgwardt texted his wife in Watertown shortly before 11 p.m., saying he was headed to shore after kayaking.
Deputies located his vehicle and trailer near the lake. They also found his overturned kayak with a life jacket attached to it in an area where the lake’s waters run more than 200 feet (60 meters) deep. An angler later discovered Borgwardt’s fishing rod.
Investigators initially speculated that Borgwardt’s kayak capsized and he didn’t have a life jacket. The search for his body went on for more than 50 days, with divers on several occasions exploring the lake.
In early October, the sheriff’s department learned that Canadian law enforcement authorities had run Borgwardt’s name through their databases the day after he was reported missing. Further investigation revealed that he had reported his passport lost or stolen and had obtained a new one in May.
The sheriff’s office said the analysis of a laptop revealed a digital trail that showed Borgwardt planned to head to Europe and tried to mislead investigators.
The laptop’s hard drive had been replaced and the browsers had been cleared the day Borgwardt disappeared, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators found passport photos, inquiries about moving money to foreign banks, and communication with a woman from Uzbekistan.
They also discovered that he took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January, although the policy was for his family and not him, the sheriff said.
Authorities tried every phone number and email address on the laptop in “a blitz fashion,” Podoll said. They eventually reached a Russian-speaking woman who connected them with Borgwardt. It’s unclear whether she is the woman in Uzbekistan.
Podoll said he wasn’t sure how he was supporting himself but speculated he has a job: “He’s a smart guy.”
After landing three-star edge rusher/defensive lineman Yahzeen Zion on Saturday, the Wisconsin Badgers got another key commitment at the position on Sunday, as three-star Darin Graham committed to the program.
Graham, a native of Illinois, stands 6’5, 220 pounds, and hails from Mount Carmel, which is where the Badgers got running back Darrion Dupree from in the 2024 class.
The three-star edge rusher was a part of Wisconsin’s first group of official visitors last weekend, but left campus without announcing his commitment.
The two other top suitors here were Ole Miss, which was expected to get an official visit this weekend, and Purdue, but Graham elected to shut down his commitment this weekend and committed to the Badgers on Sunday.
He caps off quite the weekend for outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell, who now has a loaded room with Graham and Zion (if he sticks at edge) joining three-star in-state recruit Isaac Miller.
Wisconsin also had three-star Texas Tech edge rusher Brody Pfannenstiel on campus this weekend, being a top contender there as well. But, it’s unclear if the Badgers will take another edge rusher after their success this weekend.
Graham becomes commit No. 20 in the class for Wisconsin, and the Badgers still have more to come.
Luke Fickell just landed a massive 2027 commitment that should have Wisconsin stoked for. Yahzeen Zion, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive lineman from Arizona, pledged to the Badgers, and the punch line isn’t just his size. It’s who Wisconsin beat to get him.
Zion’s offer list immediately separated this from a routine early-cycle win. He held offers from LSU, Oklahoma, Penn State, Miami and USC, with Georgia interest floating around as well. Wisconsin has lived for decades on developing three-star linemen into NFL players, but that model gets harder when opponents stockpile blue-chip disruptors up front. Pulling a national-recruitment defensive lineman out of Arizona signaled Wisconsin’s recruiting footprint has expanded under Fickell in a real way.
On the field, Zion fits the modern profile Wisconsin has needed more of on the defensive front. He arrived at football as a converted basketball player, and that background showed up in the movement skills on his film. Zion shows versatility at multiple spots on the defensive line, winning both on the edge and inside with speed-to-power and an active motor that didn’t shut off snap to snap. Wisconsin has leaned on scheme and development to generate pressure, but Big Ten games usually swing when a defender can win one-on-one without help.
Zion projects as that kind of disruptor.
The bigger point for Wisconsin is what this kind of pledge can do inside a class. Recruiting builds on itself, and momentum is real right now for Wisconsin. Next up, watch whether Wisconsin can stack more out-of-state wins off Zion’s momentum and turn a splashy 2027 start into a true foundation class.
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LA CROSSE — Several athletes from Central Wisconsin left La Crosse as state champions, and several more snatched podium finishes after a dominant two days at the WIAA state track and field championships at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6.
From state champions to repeat champions, here is a look at every local track athlete who either won a state medal or notched a top-6 podium finish, separated each day and each of the three divisions.
Day 2, Saturday, June 6
Division 1:
Stevens Point’s Zachariah Zillman took home the silver medal in the long jump event and Salyssa Kellerman took sixth-place in the triple jump event. SPASH’s team of Tessa Bruckhart, Lorena Hill, Emersyn Wavrunek and Taylor Cejka notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the 4×800 meter relay race.
SPASH’s relay team of Seubert, Hill, Mueller and Wavrunek captured a gold medal in the 4×400 relay.
Wausau West’s Maci Heise took the silver medal in the 300-meter hurdles. Warriors teammate Cullin Quance took home the bronze medal in the long jump.
Marshfield’s team of Adeline Lonsdale, Hailey Klumb, Leann Ledtke and Natalie Scharenbroch took fifth place in the 4×800 relay.
Wausau East’s Mckaea Taylor took fourth place in the pole vault and teammate Elsa Oestreich was right behind, placing fifth.
Marshfield’s Derek Ongna took the silver medal in the boys high jump event.
Division 2:
Colby’s Daelyn Rieck won a gold medal in the discus throw.
Division 3:
Marathon’s Garrett Bracewell brought home a gold medal in the boys 300-meter hurdles and a silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles. Teammates Fred Tylinski, Luke Hoenish, Brady Annis and Bracewell also snagged a gold medal in the 4×200 race. Marathon’s Emma Schult took third place in the discus throw.
Marathon’s Chris Marcell broke the shot put meet record, snagging his second consecutive gold medal. While Berta Bota Palma added to Marathon’s dominance, snagging a sixth-place finish in the triple jump.
Pacelli’s Luke Eiden notched two podium finishes, taking home a bronze medal in the 1600-meter and a sixth place in the 3200-meter.
Assumption’s Michael Dolan brought home a gold medal in the boys 3200-meter and a silver medal in the 1,600-meter. Teammate Bella Thomas took home a gold medal in the 400-meter and a silver in the girls 100-meter and a fourth place finish in the 200-meter. Teammate Reed Hartjes notched a sixth-place finish in the boys 1600-meter.
The Royals relay team of Cullen Thomas, Aiden Daliege, Calen Ott and Trey France finished in fifth place in the 4×400 relay race.
Rosholt’s Alex Wierzba took home the gold medal in the boys 100-meter and a silver medal in the 200-meter while the Hornets team of Isabelle Trzebiatowski, Evelyn Bablitch, Kaitlyn Dombrowski and Liliana Losinski notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the 4×800. Teammate Evelyn Bablitch notched a sixth-place finish in the 3,200.
Stratford’s Zander Zawislan snagged the gold medal in the boys 200-meter and 400-meter aces while teammate Brianna Sherden notched a sixth-place finish in both the 100 and 200-meter races. Teammate Connor Kreft took home a bronze medal in the triple jump.
Nekoosa’s team of Austin Czappa, Darion Boswell, Finlei Krcmar and Jarrett Wilcox took the silver medal in the 4×100.
Athens Ava Ford finished fifth in the pole vault.
Spencer’s Breckin Miller finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles.
Trevor Trowbridge of Auburndale notched a podium finish, taking sixth place in the 110-meter hurdles. Teammates Logan Nagel finished in fourth in the shot put while Gracie Hasenohrl took sixth in the pole vault. The Eagles team of Marti Anderson, Alivia Wolf, Rose Hasenohrl and Iris Galetto placed fifth in the 4×400.
Tomahawk’s Elise Gibeault claimed the bronze medal in the 400.
Adams-Friendship’s Molly Johnson took fourth place in the 400.
Edgar’s team of Mav Butt, Graham Streit, Landon Lukasko and Dawson Bornheimer took fourth place in the 4×100 relay race. Then Edgar’s team of Lukasko, Tucker Streit, Streit and Isaiah Kraft notched a silver medal in the 4×400.
Day 1, Friday, June 5
Division 1:
Xavier Edwards of D.C. Everest returned to state but this time walked away with a silver medal, taking second place in Division 1’s triple jump. His teammate, Ethan Whitmore finished tied with Wisconsin Lutheran’s John Gehl for sixth place in the boys pole vault.
Stevens Point relay team of Dash Kvatek, John Jazdzewski, Ben Hopp and Cooper Erickson snatched fourth place in the boys 4×800. On the girls side for SPASH, Lorena Hill, Alivia Koback, Riley Mueller and Jada Seubert placed fifth in the first round of the 4×200. While the team of Hill, Seubert, Mueller and Wavrunek placed first in the first round of the 4×400.
Wausau East’s Parker Schmitt finished in third place in the first round of the boys 400-meter.
Crosstown-rival Wausau West’s Heise walked away with second place in the first round of the Division 1 girls 300 hurdles.
Division 2:
Colby’s Rieck finished first in the first round of the Division 3 shot put.
Division 3
Marathons’ Marcell went back-to-back taking gold in the shot put event. Teammates Bracewell took first place in the first round of Division 3’s boys 110 meter hurdles. Teammates, Tylinski, Hoenish, Annis and Bracewell finished second place in the second round of the boys 4 xv200 Division 3 race.
Spencer’s Breckin Miller took a gold medal in the pole vault and sixth place in the 110 meter hurdles
Athens’ Sy’Rih Hartwig brought home a gold medal in the shot put.
Edgars 4×800 relay team of Dillon Sondeleski, Emitt VanOrnum, Dom Contreras and Kraft took home a silver medal in Division 3’s race with Marathon’s team of Etan Huesbsch, Logan Peters, John Kahon and Annis finishing in fourth place. Kraft earned a bronze medal in the 800-meter race.
Assumption’s Lucy Dolan took home a silver medal in Division 3’s 1600 meter.
Thomas of Assumption finished first in the first round of the 400-meter race and third place in the first round of the girls Division 3 100-meter race. Teammate Lucy Dolan snagged a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter race.
Auburndale’s Trowbridge finished fourth in the first round of the boys 110-meter hurdles.
Abbotsford’s Carter Cihlar notched a podium finish, taking fourth place in the pole vault.
Wierzba of Rosholt finished in second place in the boys 100-meter race.
Stratford’s team of Wynn Schoenherr, Brye Shaw, Samantha Frick and Sherden finished in fifth place in the first round of the girls 4×200. Then the Tiger group of Carter Foster, Austin Niehaus, Mason Miller, Austin Foster took sixth place in the first round of the boys 4×100. Teammate Zawislan took second place in the first round of the boys 400-meter. Sherden also finished sixth in the first round of the girls 100-meter dash.
Nekoosa’s Czappa, Boswell, Krcmar, and Wilcox took fourth place in the first round of the 4×100.
Adams-Friendship’s Molly Johnson took third place in the Division 3 girls 400-meter race, followed by Gibeault of Tomahawk in fourth.
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@usatoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
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