Found Alive WI - Ryan Borgwardt, 45, Green Lake, 11 Aug 2024 *evidence that he faked his death and is alive in Eastern Europe*

[Seattle1]

Wisconsin kayaker who faked death to start new life in Europe is sentenced to 89 days

Ryan Borgwardt, 45, was sentenced to the amount of time he misled authorities into believing he had drowned, the judge said.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Seattle1]

Green Lake kayaker who faked death, fled country sentenced to jail

Ryan Borgwardt's disappearance prompted weeks of searches on Green Lake last year.

www.fox6now.com

 

[Seattle1]

8/26/25

Green Lake kayaker faked death, fled country; Ryan Borgwardt sentenced to jail | FOX6 News Milwaukee​

 

[Megnut]

So he pleaded no contest?

Sigh.

 

[caradana]

So he pleaded no contest?

Sigh.

I gotta imagine that is a tough case to plead innocence on. Sounds like he has reasonably high quality legal counsel here.

 

[Seattle1]

So he plead no contest?

Sigh.

Plea agreement was for 45 days in jail, and the judge wasn't having it! He said Ryan deceived them for 89 days, and that was the number of days he should spend in jail. He has 60 days to report to jail. He already repaid the $30K that will be split between the Sheriff's dept and DNR. Also, faking your death is not a crime in WI.

 

[Megnut]

He reversed his vasectomy, no less.

Part and parcel, what an utter betrayal to his wife and children.

JMO

 

[Trino]

8/26/25

Green Lake kayaker faked death, fled country; Ryan Borgwardt sentenced to jail | FOX6 News Milwaukee​

Plus $30,000 restitution, which he has paid. Wasn't a cheap meet-up. Besides this cost and the cost to fly to meet his "connection" he also lost his family, and will be paying child support. And now he has a jail record.

 

[sunspun]

I guess I think that's reasonable. And I'm glad the judge emphasized that the real damage done was to his poor family.

But what was that about reversing his vasectomy in an above post (@Megnut)? Was that a joke that went over my head or did he really??

 

[Megnut]

I guess I think that's reasonable. And I'm glad the judge emphasized that the real damage done was to his poor family.

But what was that about reversing his vasectomy in an above post (@Megnut)? Was that a joke that went over my head or did he really??

State read the evidence against him. Months of planning. And yes, she listed that.

JMO

 

[Nieves]

Whas he doing some tourism?

 

[Nieves]

At least sometimes justice finds some people alive.

 

[Nieves]

wanted to be a teenager again?

 

[sunspun]

State read the evidence against him. Months of planning. And yes, she listed that.

JMO

Well, he had to get it reversed so he could start a new family, since he threw his old family away. Wow. So cold. I wish his kids never had to know about all this.

 

[Megnut]

Well, he had to get it reversed so he could start a new family, since he threw his old family away. Wow. So cold. I wish his kids never had to know about all this.

That's just it. If he had divorced his wife, he could have traveled by pogo stick to wherever the hell he wanted to go, to be with whomever he wanted to be with. It might still have been pathetic but it wouldn't have been crushing to his family (like a faked death and the publicity that followed) and LE wouldn't have cared a bit. Not a crime to disappear oneself, so long as you don't have any encumbrances.

Staging your death, lying to LE, wasting tax payer money on a futile search, abandoning your family in such a cruel way -- awful.

I'm give him this, he did sound remorseful. Which is more than I can say for most of the defendants we encounter on these pages.

JMO

 

[x_files]

Well, he had to get it reversed so he could start a new family, since he threw his old family away. Wow. So cold. I wish his kids never had to know about all this.

Pretty cruel.

 

[x_files]

So he did this to hook up with someone he NEVER met? That's INSANE! I wouldn't trust him to have unsupervised visitation with his children. What prevents him from attempting another scheme?

Prosecutors Reveal the Moment Runaway Wis. Dad Ryan Borgwardt Allegedly 'Knew That He Made a Mistake'

Borgwardt saw the picture of the woman he went to meet overseas 'and knew that he made a mistake, the one mistake that he couldn't make,' according to the criminal complaint.

people.com

 

[vls12345]

So he did this to hook up with someone he NEVER met? That's INSANE! I wouldn't trust him to have unsupervised visitation with his children. What prevents him from attempting another scheme?

Prosecutors Reveal the Moment Runaway Wis. Dad Ryan Borgwardt Allegedly 'Knew That He Made a Mistake'

Borgwardt saw the picture of the woman he went to meet overseas 'and knew that he made a mistake, the one mistake that he couldn't make,' according to the criminal complaint.

people.com

When did he first see her photo? From the People article linked in your post:

“Borgwardt also stated he saw the picture of [the adult female that he went to meet] and knew that he made a mistake, the one mistake that he couldn't make,” the complaint says.

I don't understand that quote. Maybe I am just tired, but that sentence makes no sense to me, especially considering he went forward with his harebrained scheme.

MOO.

 

[Seattle1]

When did he first see her photo? From the People article linked in your post:


I don't understand that quote. Maybe I am just tired, but that sentence makes no sense to me, especially considering he went forward with his harebrained scheme.

MOO.

RB left a photo behind of the foreign woman he was corresponding with, and when he received an email from LE with that photo, he realized he'd been caught. "He made a mistake, the one mistake that he couldn't make,” the complaint says."

 

[cujenn81]

RB left a photo behind of the foreign woman he was corresponding with, and when he received an email from LE with that photo, he realized he'd been caught. "He made a mistake, the one mistake that he couldn't make,” the complaint says."

Thank God for idiots!!