Wisconsin kayaker who faked his death and fled the country is charged after returning to US

GREEN LAKE, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning and left his wife and three children for Eastern Europe willingly returned to the U.S. after four months and was charged Wednesday with obstructing an intense lake search for his body.

The criminal complaint charging Ryan Borgwardt with misdemeanor obstruction offers a detailed account of how the 45-year-old pulled off his disappearance, including how he struggled to emerge from the water, almost didn’t make it through customs on his way overseas and was living in the country of Georgia when he realized he had left too many clues behind.

Police said Borgwardt turned himself in to authorities at the Green Lake County sheriff’s office in Wisconsin on Tuesday. A judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf during a brief court hearing on Wednesday afternoon. He was released on $500 bail, although he would only have to pay that amount if he misses a future court date.

Borgwardt told Judge Mark Slate that he would represent himself going forward since he has only $20 in his wallet. The judge advised he could get a court-appointed lawyer but didn’t name one for him.

It’s unclear what Borgwardt plans to do now. His parents were in court, but he was led out by bailiffs after the proceeding ended without speaking to them. Bailiffs escorted the couple out through a rear door to avoid waiting reporters.

Borgwardt was reported missing on Aug. 12. According to a criminal complaint, Borgwardt told investigators that he had been researching how to disappear, studying lake deaths and how deep a body has to sink so it won't resurface.

He attended church with his family on the morning of Aug. 11 and then put his plan into motion that night, driving 50 miles (80 kilometers) from his home in Watertown to Green Lake. Sheriff Mark Podoll said Borgwardt told investigators he picked Green Lake because it's the deepest lake in Wisconsin.

He paddled his kayak to the middle of the lake, inflated a raft he brought with him, overturned the kayak and paddled back to shore in the raft, dumping his cell phone and a tackle box with other identification in the lake on the way, according to the complaint.

Borgwardt said “he had to make this believable so that everyone, including law enforcement, would think he drowned in the lake,” the complaint said.

He told investigators he struggled to get out of the lake, sinking into waist-deep muck. Worried that police would find his muddy footprints, he tried to wash them off the road before retrieving an electric bike he had stashed nearby. He traveled 70 miles (112 kilometers) through the night to Madison, where he caught a bus to the Toronto airport.

He said he barely got through Canadian customs because he didn't have his driver's license, which he had thrown in the lake. He eventually boarded a flight to Paris and then to an unspecified country in Asia.

After landing in that country, a woman picked him up. They spent a couple days in a hotel, and he later took up residency in the country of Georgia, according to the complaint and a probable cause statement.

Investigators contacted Borgwardt through information they found on a laptop he left behind, including a photo of the woman he traveled to meet. He told investigators he had to leave the laptop behind to make his death believable but left too much information on it, according to the complaint.

Podoll said in November that investigators found passport photos, inquiries about moving funds to foreign banks and communication with a woman from Uzbekistan. They also discovered that Borgwardt took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January. Podoll has said the policy was for his family.

The sheriff’s office has said the search for Borgwardt’s body lasted more than a month and cost at least $35,000. Borgwardt told investigators he often checked the news for updates on his disappearance and thought the search would last only a few weeks, according to the complaint.

Borgwardt told investigators that he knew police would find him but he wanted to delay their efforts for as long as he could, according to the complaint.

Podoll announced in November that investigators had made contact with Borgwardt and were “pulling at his heartstrings” to come home.

The sheriff told reporters during a news conference Wednesday morning that Borgwardt returned to the U.S. willingly and turned himself at the sheriff's office in the Green Lake County Government Center on Tuesday afternoon. He declined to detail Borgwardt's return trip, saying only that “he got on an airplane.” He also declined to elaborate on what drove Borgwardt to return.

“That’s going to be up to him someday," the sheriff said. “We’re not going to release that. ... We brought a dad back on his own.”

This story has been updated to correct the name of the center where Ryan Borgwardt turned himself in. It is the Green Lake County Government Center, not the Green Lake County Justice Center.

Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Green Lake. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Green Lake. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Green Lake. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll address reporters during a news conference Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Green Lake, Wis., announcing that Ryan Borgwardt has been taken into custody. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)

This photo released on Dec. 11, 2024 by the Green Lake County Sheriff's Office shows Ryan Borgwardt's booking photo after being taken into custody in Green Lake, Wis. (Green Lake County Sheriff Office via AP)

The large mysterious drones reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.

In a post on the social media platform X, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia described the drones as up to 6 feet in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights switched off. The Morris County Republican was among several state and local lawmakers who met with state police and Homeland Security officials to discuss the spate of sightings that range from the New York City area through New Jersey and westward into parts of Pennsylvania, including over Philadelphia.

The devices do not appear to be The dronees wereffffflown by hobbyists, Fantasia wrote.

Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month and have raised growing concern among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility; and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but they are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.

Most, but not all, of the drones spotted in New Jersey were larger than those typically used by hobbyists.

The number of sightings has increased in recent days, though officials say many of the objects seen may have been planes rather than drones. It’s also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once.

Gov. Phil Murphy and law enforcement officials have stressed that the drones don’t appear to threaten public safety. The FBI has been investigating and has asked residents to share any videos, photos or other information they may have.

Two Republican Jersey Shore-area congressmen, U.S. Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, have called on the military to shoot down the drones.

Smith said a Coast Guard commanding officer briefed him on an incident over the weekend in which a dozen drones followed a motorized Coast Guard lifeboat “in close pursuit” near Barnegat Light and Island Beach State Park in Ocean County.

Coast Guard Lt. Luke Pinneo told The Associated Press Wednesday “that multiple low-altitude aircraft were observed in vicinity of one of our vessels near Island Beach State Park.”

The aircraft weren't perceived as an immediate threat and didn't disrupt operations, Pinneo said. The Coast Guard is assisting the FBI and state agencies in investigating.

In a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Smith called for military help dealing with the drones, noting that Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst has the capability "to identify and take down unauthorized unmanned aerial systems.”

However, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Wednesday that “our initial assessment here is that these are not drones or activities coming from a foreign entity or adversary.”

Many municipal lawmakers have called for more restrictions on who is entitled to fly the unmanned devices. At least one state lawmaker proposed a temporary ban on drone flights in the state.

“This is something we’re taking deadly seriously. I don’t blame people for being frustrated," Murphy said earlier this week. A spokesman for the Democratic governor said he did not attend Wednesday's meeting.

Republican Assemblyman Erik Peterson, whose district includes parts of the state where the drones have been reported, said he also attended Wednesday's meeting at a state police facility in West Trenton. The session lasted for about 90 minutes.

Peterson said DHS officials were generous with their time, but appeared dismissive of some concerns, saying not all the sightings reported have been confirmed to involve drones.

So who or what is behind the flying objects? Where are they coming from? What are they doing? “My understanding is they have no clue,” Peterson said.

A message seeking comment was left with the Department of Homeland Security.

Most of the drones have been spotted along coastal areas and some were recently reported flying over a large reservoir in Clinton. Sightings also have been reported in neighboring states.

James Edwards, of Succasunna, New Jersey, said he has seen a few drones flying over his neighborhood since last month.

“It raises concern mainly because there's so much that's unknown,” Edwards said Wednesday. “There are lots of people spouting off about various conspiracies that they believe are in play here, but that only adds fuel to the fire unnecessarily. We need to wait and see what is really happening here, not let fear of the unknown overtake us."

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AP reporters Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania; and Wayne Parry in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

In this image taken from video, what appears to be drones flying over Randolph, N.J., Dec. 4, 2024. (MartyA45_ /TMX via AP)

Multiple drones are seen over Bernardsville, N.J., Dec. 5, 2024 (Brian Glenn/TMX via AP)

FILE - In this April 29, 2018, file photo, a drone operator helps to retrieve a drone after photographing over Hart Island in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)