Man who staged lake drowning while kayaking sentenced to jail time

By Mariana La Roche, Kendall Keys

Click here for updates on this story

    GREEN LAKE, Wisconsin (WISN) — A man who staged his drowning death and fled to Eastern Europe appeared in Green Lake County court Tuesday for a plea and sentencing hearing on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer.

Ryan Borgwardt pleaded no contest to the charge.

When asked if he had anything to say Tuesday in court, Borgwardt said, “I deeply regret the actions that I did that night and the pain I caused my family and friends.”

Judge Mark Slate sentenced Borgwardt, 45, of Watertown, to 89 days in jail. That is the same amount of time he misled law enforcement last year.

“The court finds the appropriate time for the defendant to spend in the county jail is the length of time he allowed his deception to continue,” Slate said.

Borgwardt had also been ordered to pay $30,000 in costs that will go to the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

“Certainly, any criminal charge, conviction and sentence that this court today hands down will not be able to come close to undoing the incredible damage this defendant, by his premeditated, selfish actions, has done, not only to his family, but our community,” Green Lake County District Attorney Gerise LaSpisa said.

The father of three plotted to fake his death while kayaking last August to leave his family and meet another woman in Eastern Europe, authorities said.

“He regularly communicated with the woman, professing his love and desire to create a new life with her. He reversed his vasectomy, he applied for a replacement passport, claiming that his original one, which his wife found in the family safe in its normal place, was lost or stolen,” LaSpisa said.

According to investigators, Borgwardt traveled about 50 miles from his home to Green Lake, where he overturned his kayak, dumped his phone and paddled an inflatable boat to shore.

He then rode an electric bike approximately 70 miles through the night to Madison, where he took a bus to Detroit before traveling to Canada and boarding a plane.

The search for Borgwardt’s body, which lasted more than a month, cost at least $50,000, according to the district attorney.

Borgwardt told authorities he faked his death because of “personal matters” and said he didn’t expect authorities to search for him for so long. He returned to the United States in December and was taken into custody before posting bond.

Two days after returning to Wisconsin, Borgwardt’s wife filed for divorce. Their divorce was finalized earlier this year.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.