Wisconsin kayaker charged with obstruction for pretending to die and running away from the country

A kayaker from Wisconsin, who is accused of staging his own drowning earlier this year and then abandoning his family to escape to Eastern Europe, has been officially charged with obstructing the search efforts for him. 

Ryan Borgwardt surrendered himself to the authorities at the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin on Tuesday and entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on Wednesday for the misdemeanor charge. The Green Lake County sheriff mentioned that Borgwardt returned to the U.S. voluntarily, claiming he “came back” on his own accord. 

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. 

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. 

He shared that he traveled 70 miles before boarding a bus from Madison, Wisconsin, to Toronto, Canada. His journey was almost hindered at the border due to the lack of 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. 

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.”