Man Gets 89 Days in Jail for Faking Death to Flee Wife

A Wisconsin man who staged his own death and fled abroad has been sentenced to 89 days in jail for obstructing law enforcement.

Ryan Borgwardt, 45, was reported missing on Aug. 12, 2024, after a kayaking trip on Green Lake. His overturned kayak, fishing gear, and cellphone were found in the water, leading authorities and his wife of 22 years to believe he had drowned, The Washington Post reported. Volunteers, sonar teams and cadaver dogs spent weeks searching, while his wife and three children were left to grieve.

In reality, Borgwardt had staged the disappearance. Investigators later discovered he had planned his escape for months: applying for a new passport, transferring money overseas, taking out a large life insurance policy, and communicating with a woman he had met online. He even reversed a vasectomy in anticipation of starting a new life, prosecutors said.

Green Lake County District Attorney Gerise LaSpisa told the court the elaborate plan was designed to let Borgwardt "disappear from his everyday life of being a husband and father in Wisconsin."

Doubts about his death surfaced after 58 days, when investigators learned Canadian authorities had run his name. A review of his laptop revealed conversations with a woman in Uzbekistan and searches on "how to disappear." Sheriff Mark Podoll said Borgwardt had even swapped his computer's hard drive before leaving.

Court records show Borgwardt dumped his phone in the lake, paddled a small inflatable boat to shore, and rode an e-bike overnight to Madison. From there, he took a bus to Detroit, crossed into Canada, and flew to Europe before eventually settling in the country of Georgia, where he lived with the woman and found work.

Authorities contacted him by email on Nov. 8, 2024 — 121 days after he vanished — and he voluntarily returned to face charges. His wife filed for divorce soon after.

On Tuesday, Borgwardt pleaded no contest to obstructing an officer. Judge Mark T. Slate handed down an 89-day jail term, matching the number of days Borgwardt misled investigators.

"If you persist in your deception, the longer you obstruct, the longer the penalty should be," Slate said, nearly doubling the 45-day sentence prosecutors requested.

Before sentencing, Borgwardt told the court, "I deeply regret the actions that I did that night and all the pain that I caused my family and friends."

His attorney, Erik C. Johnson, said his client showed remorse by returning voluntarily despite the misdemeanor being non-extraditable.

Borgwardt agreed to pay $30,000 in restitution to law enforcement, cover court costs, and submit a DNA sample.

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