Kayaker ‘killed in Wisconsin lake accident’ sends video from eastern Europe

The bizarre case began on Aug 11 when Mr Borgwardt sent his wife a text saying he was turning his kayak around on Green Lake to return to shore.

He was not heard from again and was reported missing the following day.

Mr Borgwardt’s kayak and life jacket were discovered and he was thought to have drowned, but no body was found following a thorough scour of the lake.

In October, authorities found Mr Borgwardt’s name had been checked by law enforcement in Canada on Aug 13, Mr Podoll said.

Officers also discovered the missing man had been in communication with a woman from Uzbekistan.

He had cleared his browsing data before he left, moved funds to foreign bank accounts and obtained a new passport.

He had also taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January, the sheriff said.

Canadian flight

Mr Podoll said Mr Borgwardt admitted to officers that he had faked his own death and had fled the country by paddling his kayak out into Green Lake, one of the deepest in the state, in a child-sized boat, before overturning the kayak and paddling back.

He proceeded to get on an e-bike and travelled to the Canadian border on buses via Detroit, before boarding a flight in Canada.

“We are continuing to verify this information,” Mr Podoll said.

“We do not know where Ryan exactly is,” Mr Podoll said. “He has not yet decided to return home.”

“We’ve had nearly daily communications with Ryan,” he said, adding that Mr Borgwardt had not spoken to his wife or children, did not think responders would spend more than two weeks looking for him and “feels bad about the amount of hours we’ve put in”.

Mr Podoll said he wanted Mr Borgwardt to return to Wisconsin to “clean up the mess that he has created” and “come home to his kids”.

He added: “Christmas is coming, and what better gift could your kids get than to be there for Christmas?”

He said the authorities were considering whether to file criminal charges against Mr Borgwardt.