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WI kayaker alive in Europe, authorities confirm
Authorities say a kayaker faked his own death, and today they announced that he is alive and in eastern Europe after he abandoned his wife and children.
(FOX 9) - A Wisconsin man who authorities believe faked his own kayaking death, then fled to eastern Europe, has been sentenced to jail time for the search that had multiple agencies looking for him.
Wisconsin kayaker sentenced
What we know:
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, was convicted on Tuesday for obstructing an officer, and sentenced to 89 days in jail.
The length of the sentence is nearly twice as long as what was recommended under a plea deal reached with prosecutors, and the same amount of time he lied to searching authorities about where he was, the AP reports.
Under the plea agreement, he will pay $30,000 in restitution to law enforcement to cover what was spent during the search, the AP says.
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WI sheriff: Kayaker who faked death is alive [RAW]
The Green Lake County Sheriff's Office held a news conference on a kayaker suspected of faking own death.
Wisconsin Kayaker fake death
The backstory:
When Borgwardt didn't return home from a fishing trip on Green Lake in Wisconsin in early August 2024, local authorities believed he had drowned.
However, they came to learn it was all a ruse.
Authorities say that Borgwardt overturned his kayak and dropped his phone into the lake.
He then paddled a flotation device to shore and rode an E-bike that was stashed nearby.
Investigators believe he then caught a bus to Detroit, and crossed the border into Canada, where he boarded a plane.
Investigators discovered Borgwardt had recently transferred money to a foreign bank account, replaced the hard drive on his computer and communicated with a woman in Uzbekistan. He had also taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy earlier in the year.
He had also gotten a new passport, which was checked by Canadian authorities the day after he was reported missing.
The Source: Information provided by the Associated Press, Green County Sheriff's Office and past FOX 9 reporting.