Missing Wisconsin kayaker Ryan Borgwardt has been found alive and well, but officials still don’t exactly know where he is. Green Lake County Sheriff’s officials said they have been in touch with Borgwardt since Nov. 11, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Officials said the missing kayaker who staged his death has no intention of returning home or disclosing his whereabouts. They made contact with hi through a woman “speaking Russian” before receiving a video from Borgwardt via email confirming he is alive. In the video, Borgwardt is heard saying the date "November 11" before showing himself inside "his apartment." Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said Borgwardt, 44, faked his death. Officials shared his plan: Stashing an eBike near a boat launch, paddling a kayak and a child-size inflatable boat out into the lake, overturning the kayak and dumping his phone in the lake, paddling the inflatable boat to shore, riding the eBike through the night to Madison, boarding a bus for Detroit and heading to the Canadian border.
According to Podoll, Borgwardt has not been in contact with his family, but he believed his decision to stage his death was in their best interest. Borgwardt took out a $375,000 life insurance policy, with his immediate family as the beneficiaries. "He had personal matters going on and felt this was the right thing to do," said Podoll. Calling Borgwardt a “smart guy,” Podoll revealed that Borgwardt chose Green Lake because it was the deepest lake in Wisconsin and didn’t expect authorities to spend more than two weeks in the search. "I hate to tell you, he picked the wrong sheriff and the wrong department," said Podoll. Borgwardt could face obstruction charges, and authorities could seek up to $40,000 in restitution for their efforts. That number didn’t include the costs incurred by the nonprofit Bruce’s Legacy and a dive team that searched for him. A digital forensic analysis of his laptop revealed Borgwardt was in communication with a woman from Uzbekistan, replaced his laptop’s hard drive and, inquired about moving funds to foreign banks Although it is unknown where Borgwardt is, the sheriff noted the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Uzbekistan.
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