(Watertown) The search for a missing kayaker on Green Lake takes a twist with the revelation that the Watertown man faked his own death. Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll talked about the investigation into Ryan Borgwardt’s disappearance during a press conference Friday.
He says the search of the western end of Green Lake for 54 days was thorough. The search pivoted to an investigation on October 7th. They learned the 44-year-old’s name had been run by law enforcement in Canada, a day after he had been reported missing.
They also learned he had obtained a new passport in May. State and federal law enforcement were brought in to assist and other clues started falling into place. A digital forensic analysis of his laptop led to discoveries that Ryan made inquiries about moving funds to foreign banks and changed email addresses for his financial accounts on the day of his disappearance.
He had also communicated with a woman from Uzbekistan, and in January took out a new $375,000 life insurance policy. Sheriff Podoll says the investigation has a long way to go.
“Our investigation has many steps to take. It is a puzzle that we are putting together. We got many pieces, but we have a lot more pieces to find.”
He says they will hold anyone who committed crimes associated with Ryan’s disappearance accountable. Sheriff Podoll says they believe Ryan is alive and likely in Eastern Europe. He also appealed to Ryan to turn himself in.
“There is one last thing I want to do, and this is to Ryan. Ryan if you are viewing this I plead that you contact us or contact your family. We understand that things can happen, but there is a family that wants their Daddy back”
The Sheriff also thanked all of those who assisted in the search of the lake, their law enforcement partners, and especially Ryan’s wife and family for their patience.
