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GREEN LAKE – A kayaker who was reported missing for three months may very well be alive — just not in the country.
In a shocking turn of events, Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Nov. 8 it believes 44-year-old Ryan Borgwardt staged his disappearance and has likely fled to Europe.
Sheriff Mark Podoll broke the news during a press conference after an investigation revealed Borgwardt had a second passport, replaced his laptop’s hard drive, inquired about moving funds to foreign banks and took out a life insurance policy worth $375,000 earlier this year.
“Due to the discovery of this new evidence, we are confident that Ryan is not located in Green Lake and we have ended all search efforts associated with Green Lake,” Podoll said.
“At this time, we believe that Ryan is alive and likely in Eastern Europe.”
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The news comes as a stunning development in a story that initially unfolded as a case of a missing kayaker on Aug. 12 when Borgwardt failed to return from kayaking on Green Lake.
Sheriff’s deputies located his kayak overturned with a lifejacket that same day before Borgwardt’s wife told authorities she received a text message from him at 10:49 p.m. Aug. 11 saying he was heading to shore.
An extensive search involving underwater drones, towable submersible sonar, divers and three K-9 cadaver teams did not turn up Borgwardt’s body after 54 days.
But a new investigation started Oct. 7 showed Borgwardt’s name had been checked by Canadian law enforcement Aug. 13 and revealed he had a second passport after reporting his original passport lost.
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According to Podoll, Borgwardt’s family easily located that first passport.
With help from Customs and Border Patrol, Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations, authorities were able to uncover the following:
- The replacement of the hard drive on his laptop.
- The clearing of browsers on the day of his disappearance.
- Syncing the laptop with iCloud Aug. 11.
- Photos of passports.
- Inquiries about moving funds to foreign banks.
- Changed email addresses associated with financial accounts on the day of his disappearance.
- Communication with a woman from Uzbekistan.
- A new $375000 life insurance policy taken out in January.
- A purchased airline gift card.
“Our investigation has many more steps to take to put this puzzle together,” Podoll said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 920-294-4134, ext. 1162.
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com.
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