Wisconsin Father Who Allegedly Faked Kayak Accident Was in Contact with Woman Overseas: Police

Mar. 15, 2025

Ryan Borgwardt.Photo:Facebook

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A Wisconsin father who policebelieve staged his own disappearancewas in contact with a woman from Uzbekistan and took out a life insurance policy before vanishing.

When authorities searched Green Lake, Podoll told reporters, a capsized kayak was found. The next day, searchers found Borgwardt’s fishing rod and tackle box in the lake. Inside the box was the missing man’s license.

Borgwardt, a married father of three, according toWBAY, was not located, leading to a 54-day search that involved search dogs and diving teams, Podoll said.

“That was something we didn’t expect,” Podoll said.

Podoll added that months before disappearing, Borgwardt had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy.

“Due to these discoveries of the new evidence, we were sure that Ryan was not in our lake,” Podoll said.

Podoll thanked everyone who assisted with the lake searches, which included a volunteer search-and-recovery organization called Bruce’s Legacy, which conducted its own nearly month-long search.

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“They thought that their dad was drowned,” Podoll said of Borgwardt’s children. “A day ago, they found out that he wasn’t.”

The sheriff also thanked Borgwardt’s wife, calling her “one strong lady."

“Ryan, if you are viewing this, I plead that you contact us or contact your family," the sheriff said. “We understand that things can happen, but there’s a family that wants their daddy back.”

source: people.com