daniel chigunwe
WISCONSIN. – A Wisconsin husband who faked his own death before fleeing to Eastern Europe with his lover has been arrested.
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, was booked into the Green Lake County Jail on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Victim Information and Notification Everyday system, but no charges were listed.
Borgwardt allegedly flipped his kayak on Green Lake on August 11.
He then dumped his phone and belongings in the water before paddling to safety on an inflatable boat and e-biking more than 50miles to Madison overnight.
His disappearance devastated his wife and three children and sparked a massive one-month-long manhunt for his body, for which law enforcement wanted to send him a US$40,000 bill.
Police learned in October that Borgwardt had crossed the border into Canada a few days after his disappearance and had been communicating with a Uzbek woman who spoke Russian.
Chief Deputy Matthew Vande Kolk confirmed last month that the two ‘connected online’, but said he could not elaborate further at this stage.
Sheriff Mark Podoll then said Borgwardt began communicating with authorities on November 11 after disappearing for three months, but that he hadn’t committed to returning to Wisconsin.
Podoll said police were ‘pulling at his heartstrings’ to come home and suggested Borgwardt could be charged with obstructing the investigation into his disappearance.
Through Borgwardt’s mistress, the Sheriff’s Office was able to get in contact with the father-of-three and asked him to answer questions only he would know and to film a video of himself, which he did.
In the November video, Borgwardt – who has not contacted his family since his disappearance – showed off his apartment, telling officers: “I am safe, secure, no problems.”
But the same cannot be said for his heartbroken family, who are also being supported by the Sheriff’s Office.
“They are doing okay, that’s probably the best thing you could say,” Vande Kolk explained.
“I can’t compare their situation to anything I have ever experienced in law enforcement before, I don’t have any reference.”
Borgwardt told authorities last month that he faked his death because of ‘personal matters,’ the Podoll said. – Mailonline
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