Wisconsin authorities say a man who went missing after kayaking on a lake this summer is alive and well, faked his death and traveled to Europe after taking out life insurance and contacting a woman in Uzbekistan. I think it’s possible that it did.
Ryan Borgward, a married father of two, went missing on Aug. 12 and was last known to be in Green Lake, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podol said at a news conference Friday. said.
Police found an overturned kayak in the lake and Borgwart’s car and trailer parked at Dodge Memorial County Park, Podol said.
They also found a fishing rod that Borgwald’s wife identified as belonging to him, as well as a tackle box containing his wallet, driver’s license and keys, Podol said. Volunteer search and recovery group Bruce Legacy helped search the lake for Borgwald’s body, but it was never found.
Three cadaver dogs and a dive team arrived on August 24 to assist in the search. Podol said nothing was found during an extensive search that lasted about eight weeks.
Mr Podor said the focus of the investigation shifted across the Atlantic when Mr Borgwart’s passport was discovered to be “missing” on August 13, the day after his disappearance.
That day, Canadian law enforcement officials released Borgwald’s name, Green Lake County officials said. Detectives discovered the records check on Oct. 7, Chief Deputy Matthew L. Vande Kolk said in an email.
A Canadian name check led authorities in Wisconsin to learn that Borgwald had obtained a new passport. “We learned that he reported his original passport as lost or stolen and obtained a new passport,” the chief of staff said.
Borgwald’s previous passport was “easily found” through his wife, he said. “We expect he traveled on a ‘new’ passport,” Vande Kolk said.
Meanwhile, the discovery that Canadian authorities had control of his passport led investigators to conduct a digital forensic analysis of Borgwald’s laptop.
“After searching, we found that he was somewhere in Europe,” Podol said, claiming that he had replaced the hard drive and wiped the browser on his laptop the day Borgwald disappeared.
Podol said Borgwald also allegedly took passport photos, transferred funds to foreign banks and changed email addresses, and is believed to have been communicating with a woman from Uzbekistan. . In January, he took out a $375,000 life insurance policy.
“With the discovery of this new evidence, we are confident that Ryan is not in our lake,” Podol said.
Podol said there are still many unknowns in the investigation, including his motive and where he is currently located.
“Our goal is to identify any crimes committed by those who participated in this crime,” Podol said, adding that the sheriff’s office will seek compensation for the taxpayer-funded search efforts. .
Podol said it was too early to specify what charges Borgwald might face.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are assisting in the investigation.
Podol asked anyone with information about Borgwald to call the sheriff’s office. Tips can be left anonymously.
“Ryan, if you’re seeing this, please contact us or contact your family,” Podol said. “We understand that situations can arise, but there are families who want their father back.”
Valeriya Antonshchuk and Dennis Romero contributed.
