On August 12, Wisconsin resident and married father of three Ryan Borgwardt vanished upon failing to return home from a kayaking trip at Green Lake, leaving his family and the community devastated.
For a three month period, no trace of the missing man was found. At the scene of the disappearance was a capsized kayak as well as all of Borgwardt’s personal belongings, including his car, wallet, driver’s license, and keys.
Investigators presumed Borgwardt to be dead by drowning, however an exhaustive investigation involving cadaver canines, divers, and federal law enforcement revealed no physical remains of a body.
The unusual circumstances, lack of DNA, and overall lack of evidence alluding to the man’s death led investigators to grow suspicious that Borgwardt had faked the entire scene.
After the approximate two month mark of the investigation, a press conference led by Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll revealed that authorities had suspicion that Borgwardt was, in fact, alive, and had allegedly faked his death and fled to somewhere in the country of Europe.
Podoll said the investigation discovered that Borgwardt’s passport had been run on August 13, the day after his disappearance.
To further understand where Borgwardt had run off to, investigators secured his personal laptop to conduct a digital forensic analysis. On the laptop, Podoll alleged a replaced hard drive as well as an effort to clear the browser history prior to Borgwardt going missing.
“We found out that he moved funds to a foreign bank, changing his email and communication with a woman from Uzbekistan,” said Podoll. Borgwardt had also taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy, further escalating proof of his elaborate act.
Investigators were able to confirm their theories after contacting him through a Russian-speaking woman. Through this exchange, Borgwardt revealed his motives behind his deceit. He had staged his disappearance to meet with an Uzbek woman in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan.
Regarding being in contact with Borgwardt, Podoll said, “He staged his death and unfortunately one of the things that he did say was 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.”
Proof of life was officially confirmed in a video recorded by Borgwardt shared on November 21. In the video, Borgwardt greets the viewers by addressing the situation, saying, “Good evening, it’s Ryan Borgwardt. Today is November 11, it’s approximately 10 a.m. by you guys. I’m in my apartment. I am safe, secure, no problem.”
The case of the missing man gained media traction due to a video uploaded to TikTok documenting a casual public interview between one of the app’s content creators and an unnamed man on a bike.
In the video, the cyclist sought out the creator’s advice on whether or not he should travel to Uzbekistan to pursue a woman. TikTok users sparked a debate about this video and its relation to Borgwardt’s case, wondering if the man in the video could be identified as Borgwardt himself.
Since the investigation has unfolded, the Green Lake County Sheriff has debunked this theory, stating that although the situations are strikingly similar and coincidental, the man shown in the viral video is not Borgwardt.
Following the three month investigation and various confrontations with Borgwardt, Podoll helped the public to grasp a better understanding of the situation in another press conference. Podoll said, “His biggest concern is how the community is going to react to him” coming home.
On December 11, Borgwardt made his willing return back to the United States after much convincing. He was taken into custody and has been charged with obstructing the search of the lake by staging a tragedy.
Borgwardt has refused a court-appointed lawyer and instead has insisted on representing himself in the matter.