How He Did It: Wisconsin Dad Who Faked His Death is Alive and Well in Europe

Just last week I wrote a story about a Wisconsin man who had possibly drowned back in August. However, after some investigating, officers started to believe that the man had actually faked his own death and ran off to Eastern Europe.

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Wisconsin Man Fakes His Own Death

If you aren't familiar with the story, here's what happened.

Ryan Borgwardt, a father of three from Wisconsin, went out on a solo kayaking trip at the beginning of August in Green Lake, northeast of Madison.

On the evening of August 11th, Ryan texted his wife that he was heading to shore. But sadly, the next morning, his kayak was found overturned and he was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone thought Ryan had tragically drowned and the search began for his body. Except nothing turned up during the 54-day search. But then, some interesting information started to pop up.

Back in January Ryan took out a $375,000 life insurance policy. In May, Ryan got a new passport claiming that his had been lost or stolen. However, according to The Associated Press, his family was able to find his original passport with no problem.

According to ABC, investigators also discovered that in early October Ryan's name "had been checked by law enforcement in Canada on Aug. 13". They also took a look at a laptop that revealed Ryan "had planned to head to Europe and tried to mislead investigators." He was also speaking with a woman from Uzbekistan.

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It appears that Ryan was trying to hide all of that, though because the "laptop’s hard drive had been replaced and the browsers had been cleared on the day [he] disappeared".

Wisconsin Man Who Faked His Own Death Contacts Investigators

Ryan has now communicated with investigators and even sent a video to prove he was safe.

NBC reports that when investigators spoke with Ryan, "he correctly answered questions about himself and his family that only he would have known".

Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll also shared a video from Ryan in which Ryan said, "'Good evening, it's Ryan Borgwardt. Today is Nov. 11. It's approximately 10 a.m. by you guys. I'm in my apartment. I am safe, secure, no problem.'"

But how did he manage to mislead investigators for so long?

How Did He Fake His Own Death

Ryan has now admitted that he faked his own death and according to WCCO, here's how he did it.

Ryan capsized his own kayak late at night and then used an inflatable child-sized boat to get to shore. From there, he took his e-bike and rode it all the way to Detroit where he hopped on a bus to Canada. Then from Canada, he flew to Europe.

Investigators still aren't sure if Ryan is in Uzbekistan but they're confident he's somewhere in Eastern Europe.

Will Ryan Come Home to His Family?

But now the question is, will Ryan come home to his family? Officers say they are urging him to come back to the US "and spend the holidays with his wife and three children."

Sheriff Podoll says from his communication with Ryan, "'he has not decided to return home.'"