A Wisconsin kayaker who allegedly faked his own drowning earlier this year and fled to Eastern Europe without his family was charged Wednesday with interfering with search.
Ryan Borgward turned himself in at the Green Lake County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges after he “returned” to the United States “under his own power” during a hearing Wednesday, Green Lake said. the county sheriff said.
He was released on $500 bail and told the judge he would represent himself.
According to , he was also ordered to surrender his passport. Fox 6.
Hannah Kobayashi's family says she was found after crossing the Mexican border after a month of disappearance
Ryan Borgward turned himself in at the Green Lake County, Wisconsin, Sheriff's Office on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges at a hearing Wednesday. (AP Photo/Molly Gash)
Borgwald, who was reported missing in August, told investigators that he had researched ways to fake his own death, including how deep a person would have to sink to not surface. He is said to have stated that he had done so.
After attending church with his family on the morning of Aug. 11, Borgwald drove to Green Lake, about 80 miles from his home, telling investigators he chose it because it is the deepest lake in Wisconsin. He is said to have made a statement. Authorities say the man then paddled his kayak into the middle of the lake, capsizing it.
California man found 25 years after missing, discovered to have been registered as a sex offender
He then returned to shore in a rubber boat he had brought with him and dropped his cell phone and identification documents into the lake.
Borgwald is said to have tried to wash away the muddy footprints before leaving on a bicycle he had hidden there.
After driving 110 miles, he boarded a bus from Madison, Wisconsin, to Toronto, Canada, and barely made it across the border because he didn't have a driver's license.
From there he boarded a plane to Paris, then to an obscure country in Asia and then to the Eastern European country of Georgia.
According to FOX 6, authorities searched Green Lake for more than a month and cost about $40,000.
Ryan Borgward's booking photo taken Tuesday in Green Lake, Wisconsin. (Green Lake County Sheriff's Office, via AP)
Investigators eventually found a photo of a woman he had met in an unnamed Asian country and other incriminating information on his laptop in his Wisconsin home.
It was also revealed that he took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January, saying he wanted to keep it for his family.
Borgwald admitted to leaving too much information on the laptop, but allegedly told investigators that he had to leave it behind to make the disappearance seem genuine.
According to FOX 6, investigators say he also cleared his browser history, changed his banking information and obtained a second passport on the day of his disappearance.
Ryan Borgward will appear in Green Lake County court in Green Lake, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Molly Gash)
Investigators were eventually able to contact Mr. Borgwart through a Russian-speaking woman, and the information was found on his laptop, which led Mr. Borgwart to tell U.S. authorities: “Good evening, this is Ryan Borgwart. Be safe.'' Don't worry, there's no problem,'' he sent a video message.
He told investigators he knew he would be found eventually.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Investigators have not revealed a motive for why the husband and father of three staged his own death.
Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podol said it would be up to him “at some point” if he wanted to reveal the reason for his resignation. “We're not going to release it. … We brought the father back on our own.”
