GREEN LAKE, WI- A months-long search for a missing kayaker, Ryan Borgwardt, 45, of Watertown, WI, has pivoted away from searching Green Lake where he disappeared leaving his vehicle, trailer, and kayak behind in August. The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office now believes the man fled first to Canada and then to Europe.
According to WFRV-TV, with the search ongoing for 54 days to find Borgwardt, officials from multiple agencies decided to change track on Oct. 7. They discovered that the man’s name had been run through law enforcement databases by Canadian authorities the month he disappeared. Searching his laptop, provided to law enforcement by his wife, officials found that the man had reportedly planned his disappearance and attempted to conceal his efforts by replacing his hard drive and clearing his browser history.
Sheriff Mark Podoll addressed the man during a Friday press conference saying, “Ryan, if you are viewing this, I plead that you contact us or your family. We understand that things can happen but there is a family that wants their daddy back.”
Forensic data investigators were able to discover that the man took photos of his passports the day he disappeared, moved funds to a foreign bank account, and changed his email address while communicating with a woman in Uzbekistan. Borgwardt also signed a $375,000 life insurance policy and bought airline cards to facilitate his travel.
"Due to these discoveries of new evidence, we were sure that Ryan was not in our lake," said Podoll. "The expertise of Kieth Cormican of Bruce's Legacy cannot be overstated. His dedication and persistence in searching efforts was remarkable, and initially his confidence that he could not find a body in the western part of our lake drew us in a direction that we were not looking."
The outlet reported that officials believe he is alive and well and living in Eastern Europe.
"That was something we didn't expect," Podoll told reporters. Discussing how the family took the news he explained, "It's really hard, because one, they felt that the dad was drowned a day ago. They found out that he wasn't.”
According to CBS News, Borgwardt left behind a wife and three children, two in high school and one in seventh grade.
According to WFRV-TV, with the search ongoing for 54 days to find Borgwardt, officials from multiple agencies decided to change track on Oct. 7. They discovered that the man’s name had been run through law enforcement databases by Canadian authorities the month he disappeared. Searching his laptop, provided to law enforcement by his wife, officials found that the man had reportedly planned his disappearance and attempted to conceal his efforts by replacing his hard drive and clearing his browser history.
Sheriff Mark Podoll addressed the man during a Friday press conference saying, “Ryan, if you are viewing this, I plead that you contact us or your family. We understand that things can happen but there is a family that wants their daddy back.”
Forensic data investigators were able to discover that the man took photos of his passports the day he disappeared, moved funds to a foreign bank account, and changed his email address while communicating with a woman in Uzbekistan. Borgwardt also signed a $375,000 life insurance policy and bought airline cards to facilitate his travel.
"Due to these discoveries of new evidence, we were sure that Ryan was not in our lake," said Podoll. "The expertise of Kieth Cormican of Bruce's Legacy cannot be overstated. His dedication and persistence in searching efforts was remarkable, and initially his confidence that he could not find a body in the western part of our lake drew us in a direction that we were not looking."
The outlet reported that officials believe he is alive and well and living in Eastern Europe.
"That was something we didn't expect," Podoll told reporters. Discussing how the family took the news he explained, "It's really hard, because one, they felt that the dad was drowned a day ago. They found out that he wasn't.”
According to CBS News, Borgwardt left behind a wife and three children, two in high school and one in seventh grade.
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