A Wisconsin man, Ryan Borgwardt, who allegedly staged his own drowning and fled to Eastern Europe, is now facing charges for obstructing the massive search effort that followed his disappearance.

Borgwardt’s elaborate escape plan not only abandoned his wife and three children but also left local authorities and taxpayers footing a $40,000 bill for the fruitless search, as reported by Fox News.

A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning and abandoned his wife and three children to flee to Eastern Europe is now in police custody.

Ryan Borgwardt, a Watertown, Wisconsin, husband and father, was booked into the Green Lake County jail overnight. pic.twitter.com/XCSQLT8Zdp

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On Tuesday, Borgwardt turned himself into the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office. During a Wednesday court appearance, he entered a plea of not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction.

Despite the gravity of his alleged actions, Borgwardt was released on a mere $500 bail and informed the judge he would represent himself in court. He was also ordered to surrender his passport to prevent further attempts to flee the country.

The bizarre saga began in August when Borgwardt was reported missing after supposedly drowning in Green Lake, the deepest lake in Wisconsin.

Authorities now allege Borgwardt meticulously planned his disappearance, even researching online how to fake one’s death and ensure a body doesn’t resurface. After attending church with his family on August 11, he reportedly drove to the lake, overturned his kayak, and set his plan into motion.

The Wisconsin man who police say faked his own drowning in August is now charged with misdemeanor obstruction.

Investigators say Ryan Borgwardt turned himself in, four months after staging an empty kayak and flying to the country of Georgia to see a woman he met online. pic.twitter.com/vMQNA3BONd

— Janel Klein (@JanelKlein) December 11, 2024

Borgwardt paddled back to shore using an inflatable raft he had hidden, left his phone and ID in the lake, and rode off on a concealed bike. From there, he biked 70 miles to Madison, Wisconsin, where he caught a bus to Toronto, Canada.

He barely managed to cross the border without proper identification, according to investigators.

Once in Toronto, Borgwardt boarded a flight to Paris before traveling to an unnamed Asian country. Eventually, he settled in Georgia, an Eastern European nation, where he attempted to start a new life.

Back in Wisconsin, search efforts lasted over a month as authorities combed Green Lake for Borgwardt’s body. The search costs ballooned to $40,000, with no trace of the alleged drowning victim.

Investigators later uncovered damning evidence on Borgwardt’s laptop, including a photo of a woman he met during his travels and details about his movements.

Borgwardt’s digital trail revealed he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy earlier in the year, supposedly to provide for his family. He also cleared his browser history, changed banking details on the day of his disappearance, and obtained a second passport to facilitate his escape.

Despite his precautions, investigators tracked him down through a Russian-speaking woman linked to his laptop files. Borgwardt eventually sent authorities a video message from abroad, claiming, “Safe, secure, no problem.”

While Borgwardt admitted to authorities that he expected to be found eventually, his motive for the staged disappearance remains unclear. Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll remarked that it was “up to him someday,” if he wanted to reveal why he left.

Podoll noted that the priority was bringing Borgwardt back to face the consequences of his actions.

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