Mr.Borgwardt was last seen in his kayak and is believed to have faked his own death by drowning
Credit:X:@mymixtapez
A local man from Wisconsin, USA, who was presumed dead after last being seen kayaking, may not have died at all and may have fled to Europe following passport tracking.
A local man who went missing this summer while kayaking, may not have gone missing at all. Instead, he may have staged his own death and fled to Europe. The 45-year-old father of three Ryan Borgwardt was last seen on August 12 at Green Lake, Wisconsin, US, while fishing alone. Finding his wallet, car, trailer and fishing rod at the park nearby, he was presumed dead with the last known moments being a phone call to his wife, late evening on August 11, saying he was returning to shore.
Ryan Borgwardt may be in Europe as passport used after disappearance
However, now it would seem that Mr. Borgwardt may not actually be at the bottom of Green Lake at all, as officials claim his passport has been used after his disappearance and he might actually pop up any time in Europe. Matthew Vande Kolk, Chief Deputy Sheriff for Green Lake County, told the BBC, ‘We believe that he is alive. We know that he’s not in our lake.’
His distraught family had called for law enforcement and a search-and-rescue team was deployed to hunt for the ‘missing man.’ What remains clear is that they had no idea that he might possibly have faked his own drowning death and headed to Europe. Especially when not only his belongings, but also his capsized kayak and life jacket were found on the lake.
No body was ever found of US man from Wisconsin, presumed dead
Strangely what never turned up was any sign of a body. Despite 54 days of extensive searching by divers, drones, sonar and cadaver dogs, there was never any evidence beneath or around Green Lake. Mr. Borgwardt had mysteriously disappeared and in the absence of further evidence, was presumed dead.
In a cruel twist of fate for his family, investigators discovered in October that border officials had checked Mr Borgwardt’s name in Canada on August 13 – a day after his disappearance. To add insult to injury, officials also learnt that the man had solicited a new passport just before his death, as his previous one had been reported ‘stolen’ or ‘lost’.
Mr.Borgwardt’s laptop: life insurance policy and bank transfers
The story thickens. When carrying out a digital forensic analysis of Mr Borgwardt’s laptop, it was discovered that as part of his semi-pseudocide mission, he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy, had made bank transfers, had taken photographs of his new passport and had even changed his email address in the run-up to his staged disappearance. As to be expected, he had replaced his laptop’s hard drive and cleared his browser data, but traces of his journey to Europe have still been detectable.
This is not an altogether unknown activity. Whilst not exactly pseudocide, faking one’s own death – and often by drowning – is something often practiced by those wishing to claim money through insurance for financial motives, to escape from abusive relationships or simply to engender a fresh start – often in the case of men.
How will Mr Borgwardt be sentenced if he is found alive in Europe?
The investigation continues but how to address the crime is debatable. Fradulence is clearly a key motive for a sentence. In the meantime, his family are cooperating with police while they attempt to track down Mr. Borgwardt who, at this point, is believed to be in Eastern Europe.
Time will tell whether, if found alive, he will ever be able to justify his actions to his wife and family for what appears to have been a very cruel hoax.
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