A Wisconsin husband, who faked his own death to run away from his family and debt, and then was quickly found, has finally given answers to all the people who were curious about his story, after his interview with investigators back in Dec. 2024 was finally made public.
Ryan Borgwardt caught national attention when he went missing after a trip to a local lake in Green Lake County, Wisconsin. Borgwardt is a father of three and a husband. Before long, the entire local community joined the search. But it didn’t take long before Borgwardt himself strangely released a video informing the search party that he was actually fine, though he refused to reveal his current location.
Eventually, he turned himself in to the police and he was sentenced to 89 days in prison. Additionally, he was ordered to refund $30,000 to the authorities for wasting their time and resources on a useless search. Borgwardt also issued an apology for his actions. The story seemed to end there, but some in the larger public who had grown worried and then intrigued by the case never found closure. There simply wasn’t enough explanation. Now, ABC has obtained records of Borgwardt’s interview with investigators that reveal more about his motives and remorse after being caught.
Investigators reportedly sat with Borgwardt for a three-hour interview before officially booking him for his term. He told them that he felt like a “loser” when he made his desperate attempt to fake his death. At the time, he had $75,000 in credit card debt and an additional $130,000 in business debt. He also believed that his family no longer wanted anything to do with him.
His family problems eventually led him closer to a Ukrainian woman, Katya. On the day he planned his disappearance, Borgwardt revealed that he went kayaking equipped with a child’s inflatable raft. His plan was to flip over the kayak and paddle back to shore in the raft. It apparently took him about two hours to return because of winds and waves, but he was by and large successful. He then took a chain of buses to Canada, where he planned to fly to Georgia and start a new life with Kolk.
The sheriff’s office Chief Deputy, Matthew Vande Kolk, later found records of Borgwardt’s Ukrainian partner in the European nation of Georgia. They reportedly reached her and, together, were eventually able to convince Borgwardt to return home. When he started considering returning, he reportedly emailed Kolk: “I realize I created this mess, and now everyone is trying to put the pieces together.” In one of his final messages to Kolk, Borgwardt told her: “No one will truly ever forget what I did, even if they somehow forgive me. I can possibly come back to try and clean up as much as possible.”
When people intentionally go missing and make “clean” escapes such as this, answers about how and why don’t always come easily. For that, Borgwardt’s family can at least be grateful they were able to get answers — even if they were not exactly rosy.
In the interview, Borgwardt shared that after his release he still wants to go back to Georgia, where “the cost of living is cheaper.” Hopefully, this time he keeps all his plans above board.
