A Wisconsin father and husband who faked his own death during a kayaking trip to escape with a European woman left a trail of text messages with his wife before vanishing. The details, released by the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office, reveal the disastrous marriage between Ryan Borgwardt, 54, and his wife of 22 years, Emily.
On the night of August 11, 2024, Borgwardt texted Emily that he had “snuck out” to watch the Northern Lights. He assured her of his love while secretly preparing to abandon his family. “I love you…. goodnight… I’ll be heading back to shore soon,” was his last message around 10:49 p.m. Emily responded with affection, urging him to be safe. She went to bed, with no idea of what was about to happen.
When she woke the next morning and found her husband still missing, Emily panicked. At 5:12 a.m., she sent frantic texts: “Where are you????” and “Babe?” There was no reply. By later that day, she reported his disappearance, believing he may have drowned during his kayaking trip at Green Lake, about 100 miles from Milwaukee.
Search teams quickly got to work. They found Borgwardt’s overturned kayak and his lifejacket, deepening fears of a tragic accident. For Emily and their three children, the signs pointed to disaster.
“So many nights I have no idea where you are when it’s late,” she had earlier told her husband in frustration, saying she was used to his absences. The case soon gripped the community, drawing volunteers and officials into an extensive operation that stretched over eight weeks. Costs exceeded $50,000, and countless hours were spent scanning the waters for his body.
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But the truth was very different. Authorities eventually learned that Borgwardt had been communicating with an Uzbekistani woman online. His disappearance was not a tragedy at all, but a calculated plan to start over abroad.
Canadian authorities flagged his name almost immediately after he was reported missing. Investigators later found that he had prepared his escape carefully. He opened a new bank account, attempted to move money abroad, cleared his computer, and even took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in the months before leaving.
After faking the accident, Borgwardt rode an electric bike 70 miles overnight to Madison. From there, he boarded a bus to Detroit, crossed into Canada, and later caught a flight from Toronto to Paris. His journey ended in Georgia, where he met the woman he had been speaking to online.
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The deception, however, lasted only 54 days. In November 2024, investigators tracked his movements and located him overseas. He eventually agreed to come back to the U.S., where he surrendered to authorities in December.
During questioning, Borgwardt confessed that he had felt like a failure and distant from his family. “Hoping to be remembered for the better things, not all the mistakes that you have,” he explained.
He admitted the marriage had communication problems, saying, “I think just the inability to feel like you can talk to your wife about some of this stuff and maybe that complete hopelessness that you have in the situation that you’re in.”
NEW: Married father sentenced after faking his own drowning and fleeing the U.S to live with his mistress
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, is believed to have staged his disappearance last summer to be with his mistress in the country of Georgia
He pleaded no contest to obstruction
Judge… pic.twitter.com/E8W7LdxDtO
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) August 27, 2025
Borgwardt also spoke of feeling cut off from his children. “I love my kids, but I feel hurt and distant because they show little interest in sharing activities or hobbies together,” he told detectives.
Meeting someone online seemed like an escape. “You just end up becoming friends, and then the friend thing ends up turning you into more, but you didn’t really play that and it wasn’t your intention,” he said.
For Emily, there was no way of going back to her marriage. Four months after his return, she filed for divorce, telling the court their marriage was “irretrievably broken.”
The married dad-of-3 who faked his own death to be with a woman.
Ryan Borgwardt pretended to drown in a lake.
Had cops searching for him day & night. #RyanBorgwardt was missing 89 days.He was just sentenced to 89 days in jail for his horrible hoax. https://t.co/Ynf6V9KvBB pic.twitter.com/cOhzqt8w2r
— Paula Neal Mooney (@PAULANEALMOONEY) September 9, 2025
In August 2025, Borgwardt faced his fate in court. He pleaded no contest to obstructing an officer, a charge tied directly to the search for his body. A judge sentenced him to 89 days in jail, the same number of days authorities spent searching. He was also ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution.
Addressing the court, Borgwardt spoke of shame and sorrow. “I deeply regret my actions and the pain I caused my family and friends,” he said.
