GREEN LAKE (NBC 26) — Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said the search for a missing kayaker who may have faked his own death is far from over, even as the investigation goes international.
Sheriff Podoll said law enforcement has received a few tips since they first announced their findings Friday, and with the help of other law enforcement, they're confident they'll find Ryan Borgwardt.
"Do you think he may have faked his own death?" I asked Sheriff Podoll.
"That's what we believe has happened," Podoll said. "We started searching on the on the lake, and we searched until we finally come up to the conclusion that he's not there. Then, through our partnerships, we went in a different direction."
Five days after their announcement that 44-year-old Ryan Borgwardt of Watertown is likely alive and possibly overseas, Sheriff Podoll said he is still shocked.
I asked Sheriff Podoll if he's ever seen anything similar in his law enforcement career.
"No, I haven't... this tops the list," Podoll said. "We go out there to do a job, and our job was to search for him. And little did we know it was going to turn out to be this that he faked his death."
Borgwardt was first reported missing in August, never returning from a kayaking trip to Green Lake.
After exhaustive efforts on and beneath the water, the sheriff's office said they turned to his laptop.
With help from federal authorities, they discovered a string of clues: a new $375,000 life insurance policy, photos of passports, inquiries about moving money to foreign banks, and communication with a woman from Uzbekistan.
Sheriff Podoll said they're working with federal authorities like the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
"Where it's gone over the borders and into a different country, that's where we got to get the experts involved," Podoll said.
Sheriff Podoll said they discovered a passport check for Borgwardt in Canada after he disappeared.
They're now pursuing restitution for search expenses and deciding how he could be charged.
"Well, we're in that area right now where we're putting all that together," Sheriff Podoll said.
Sheriff Podoll said they expect to find Borgwardt.
"I'm really confident," Podoll said. "We're not giving up. We're doing it because they need closure. They do. We want to find Ryan. We want to make sure that he is safe. Right now, we don't know that."
The sheriff's office said they're working with the district attorney's office, and ask anyone with information to contact them or Crimestoppers.
