Wisconsin Kayaker Fakes His Own Death Before Fleeing to Europe

In August, a man was reported missing after he failed to return home from his kayaking trip. Investigators now believe he faked his own death and fled to Europe.

Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin / Unsplash

Wisconsin resident, Ryan Borgwardt, went on a Green Lake solo kayaking trip in August. At 10:49 p.m. on August 11, Borgwardt sent a text message to his wife stating that he was heading back to shore. However, alarm was raised when he did not return home to his wife and children.

Upon searching for Borgwardt, search teams found his overturned kayak and life jacket without a body attached. All of his belongings, including his car, wallet, and fishing rod, were left behind at the park. For over 50 days, search teams worked tirelessly to try to locate Borgwardt's body in the 200-foot-deep water with no success.

In October, details of the case became more peculiar. On August 13, shortly after he was reported missing, Canadian border officials ran Borgwardt's name. According to officials, he reported his passport as missing and was able to receive a new one before he disappeared.

Officials on the case investigated his laptop, which led them to find a $375,000 life insurance policy he took out and transferred to a foreign bank account.

"Searching that... we have found that he was in some place in Europe," said Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll." Additionally, officials discovered that Borgwardt changed his email address and was in communication with a woman from Uzbekistan.

"Due to these discoveries on the new evidence, we were sure that Ryan was not in our lake," Podoll stated. "Our goal is to identify any crimes that have been committed by any individuals who assisted with this crime."

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are heavily involved in the case. They are asking members of the public to contact officials with any additional information they may have.

"Ryan, if you're viewing this, I plead that you contact us or contact your family," Podoll said in a message to Borgwardt. "We understand that things can happen, but there's a family that wants their daddy back."