I think it’s fair to say that most of us fantasize about running away from our lives and responsibilities every once in a while. But once you take a step back and evaluate all you would miss and the people who would miss you, you realize how unrealistic, how hurtful, and how devastating such a scheme would be for your loved ones. Of course, you don’t go through with it.
But one Wisconsin husband and father of three evidently didn’t consider all of this. Instead, he allegedly went through with his plan to start a new life.
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Ryan Borgwardt’s family reported him missing on August 12, 2024, after he had taken a trip to Green Lake in Wisconsin and never returned home. Authorities visited Dodge Memorial Park and found Borgwardt’s vehicle and trailer parked in a lot. They also found a capsized kayak in a part of the lake where the water is 220 feet deep, The Independent reported.
Fishermen also found his rod in the lake, along with his tackle box, wallet, keys, and license. His wife, who last spoke to him on August 11, assumed he had drowned.
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Now, authorities are convinced the man staged his own disappearance and then fled to Europe. After a 54-day search, which included search dogs and a diving team, and also involved a probe into Borgwardt’s electronic devices, they found that he had been communicating with a woman from Uzbekistan.
Borgwardt had opened a new bank account, obtained a new passport — leaving his original one at home — and then wiped his computer. They found the man had been checked by Canadian law enforcement the day after he was reported missing.
The alleged plan to abandon his family had been seven months in the making. The plan began with Borgwardt taking out a $375,000 life insurance policy. Authorities in the US have concluded their search efforts. But they did attempt to deliver a message to Borgwardt. “Ryan, if you are viewing this, I plead that you contact us or contact your family,” Green Lake County, Wisconsin, county Sheriff Podoll said. “We understand that things can happen, but there’s a family that wants their daddy back.”
“Due to these discoveries of the new evidence, we were sure that Ryan was not in our lake,” Podoll said, according to People.
As for Borgwardt’s children, “They thought that their dad was drowned,” Podoll said. “A day ago, they found out that he wasn’t.”
The sheriff also thanked Borgwardt’s wife. He called her “one strong lady.”
