The missing Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own death and fled to Europe was charged with obstruction Wednesday, a day after police said he returned home of his own accord and turned himself in to law enforcement.
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, of Watertown, returned to U.S. soil Tuesday and was booked into the Green Lake County Jail Tuesday night. Borgwardt was released on a signature bond after his initial court appearance Wednesday on the misdemeanor charge in Green Lake Circuit Court.
In court, Borgwardt said he would defend himself because he can’t afford an attorney, according to online court records. A court-appointed attorney is possible.
Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom Wednesday. Authorities say the 45-year-old Watertown man faked his own death in Green Lake before riding an e-bike to Madison, where he boarded a bus for Detroit and then Canada, where he boarded a plane bound for Europe.
It’s not known what prompted Borgwardt to return to the state where he left a wife and three children after moving money to a foreign bank, taking out a life insurance policy worth $375,000, changing his email and communicating with a woman in Uzbekistan.
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In court Wednesday, Borgwardt said he had been living in the country of Georgia.
At a news conference earlier Wednesday, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll was more tight-lipped than he was at some of his previous appearances in November, in which he walked through the weekslong search for Borgwardt and detailed how he had dumped all of his belongings in and around Green Lake before leaving the country.
Podoll also wouldn’t say why Borgwardt decided to return when he did or provide any details about where he reentered the country, citing the ongoing investigation.
But Podoll said he was relieved to have Borgwardt back.
“That’s going to be up to him someday (to share), but we’re not going to release that,” Podoll said. “But it was one thing that that worked in our favor: We brought a dad back on his own accord.”
Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll confirms that missing kayaker Ryan Borgwardt has been taken into custody.
The sheriff declined to answer a number of other questions from reporters, including whether Borgwardt had spoken to his wife and children since returning, what conversations police and Borgwardt have had since they located him weeks ago and the identity of the woman police said eventually helped them find him.
Borgwardt was reported missing just after 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 12 after not returning home from a kayaking trip to Green Lake, just hours after texting his wife to say he was heading back to shore.
Early searches of Green Lake resulted in the discovery of several of Borgwardt’s belongings spread throughout the area: His kayak was capsized and a fishing pole was sunk in the lake; his truck and boat trailer were found parked at Dodge Memorial Park. Days later, a tackle box with his keys and license were found.
Borgwardt had faked his own death over “personal matters,” Podoll said, and noted the life insurance policy he had taken out was intended for his family.
Green Lake County sheriff’s deputies made contact with Borgwardt a few days after a press conference in mid-November, where Podoll said he believed Borgwardt to be alive and living in Eastern Europe. Police made contact through an associate who speaks Russian, Podoll said.
Borgwardt chose Green Lake to stage his death after researching the deepest lake in Wisconsin, Podoll said. On the day of his disappearance, Borgwardt hid an e-bike near the boat launch before taking a child-size inflatable boat to drag his kayak into the middle of the lake, overturning it and dropping his phone in the water. After paddling back to shore, Borgwardt rode his e-bike through the night to Madison, where he boarded a bus to Detroit and then to Canada, where he boarded a plane.
In addition to criminal charges, Podoll said last month that Borgwardt would likely be expected to pay between $35,000 and $40,000 in restitution to the county for costs incurred in the search, including $7,000 in equipment fees. That doesn’t include the costs incurred by Bruce’s Legacy, the nonprofit that searched the lake for his body for weeks.
The bulk of those costs was for labor, with the county paying between $28,000 and $33,000 for the 832 total hours of work put into looking for Borgwardt, Chief Deputy Matt Van de Kolk said. An additional $7,000 or so went toward material costs such as fuel and equipment. Bruce’s Legacy volunteers spent a total of 23 days on the water, according to founder Keith Cormican, and some of its travel costs were covered by the county.
State Journal reporter Anna Hansen and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
