A Wisconsin kayaker The man, who allegedly drowned earlier this year before abandoning his family and fleeing to Eastern Europe, was charged on Wednesday with obstructing the search for him.
Ryan Borgwardt turned himself in to the Green Lake County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty at a hearing Wednesday in Wisconsin. Misdemeanor charge After he “returned” to the United States “on his own,” the Green Lake County Sheriff said.
He was released on $500 bail and told the judge he planned to represent himself.
He was also ordered to surrender his passport, according to what he stated Fox 6.
Ryan Borgwardt turned himself in to the Green Lake County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty at a hearing Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge. (AP Photo/Maury Gash)
Burgwardt, who has been reported Missing in AugustHe allegedly told investigators that he was researching how to fake a person's death, including how deep a person needed to sink in order to not resurface.
After attending church with his family on the morning of August 11, Borgwardt allegedly told investigators that he drove to Green Lake, about 50 miles from his home, which he chose because it was the deepest lake in Wisconsin. He then paddled to the middle of the lake in his kayak and flipped it over, according to authorities.
He then returned to shore in an inflatable raft he had brought with him and dropped his mobile phone and ID into the lake.
After trying to remove his muddy footprints, Borgwardt allegedly rode a bike he had hidden there.
After riding 70 miles, he took a bus from Madison, Wisconsin, to Toronto, Canada, and barely crossed the border because he didn't have his driver's license, he said.
From there, he took a flight to Paris and then to an unnamed Asian country before moving to the Eastern European country of Georgia.
The search for Green Lake by authorities took more than a month and cost about $40,000, according to FOX 6.
Booking photo of Ryan Borgwardt in Green Lake, Wisconsin, Tuesday. (Green Lake County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Investigators eventually found a photo of a woman he met in the unnamed Asian country on his laptop at his home in Wisconsin, along with other incriminating information.
They also discovered that he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January, which he said he wanted to leave to his family.
Borgwardt allegedly admitted he left a lot of information on the laptop, but told investigators he had to leave it behind to make his disappearance appear real.
Investigators said he also cleared his browser history, changed his banking information on the day he disappeared and obtained a second passport, according to FOX 6.
Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom on Wednesday in Green Lake, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Maury Gash)
Investigators were eventually able to contact Borgwardt through a Russian-speaking woman who found her information on his laptop, and she sent US authorities a video message saying: “Good evening, this is Ryan Borgwardt. Safe, safe, no problem.”
He told investigators he knew he would eventually be found.
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Investigators did not provide a motive behind the husband and father of three children killing him.
Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said it “will be up to him one day” if he wants to reveal why he left. “We're not going to publish that. We brought back a single father.”
