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Missing Wisconsin dad fakes his death to begin new life with Uzbekistan woman he met online

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Ryan Borgwardt missing Watertown, Wisconsin husband and father of 3 kids fakes his death and disappearance to start new life.
Ryan Borgwardt missing Watertown, Wisconsin husband and father of 3 kids fakes his death to begin new life with Uzbekistan woman he met online. Thought to now be somewhere in Europe.
Ryan Borgwardt missing Watertown, Wisconsin husband and father of 3 kids fakes his death and disappearance to start new life.
Ryan Borgwardt missing Watertown, Wisconsin husband and father of 3 kids fakes his death to begin new life with Uzbekistan woman he met online. Thought to now be somewhere in Europe.

Ryan Borgwardt Wisconsin dad’s perfect plan to get out of marriage and three kids after planning escape to Europe to be with Uzbekistan woman he met online. Missing husband & father of 3 had been thought to die from a kayaking accident. But then the an internet search revealed otherwise…

A missing Wisconsin father who was presumed dead following what was presumed to be a ‘kayaking accident’ is now believed to have fled to Europe to begin a new life with a woman from Uzbekistan he met online.

Ryan Borgwardt, 45, of Watertown, vanished on Green Lake, Wisconsin, on August 11 after he went out for a solo fishing trip.

His kayak, life jacket, water bottle, tackle box and fishing pole were found in the water, and his car was still parked nearby. Emergency services searched the lake and surrounds for 54 days before ultimately abandoning the search after the missing man’s body failed to turn up. 

Missing Wisconsin dad who faked death & fled family explains how he did it in video

Elaborate plan hatched to start new life

But not all was what it seemed.

After resorting to a computer search in early October, investigators discovered Borgwardt had obtained a new passport months prior along with an internet search revealing the missing married father of three chatting online to a woman from Uzbekistan. 

Borgwardt’s laptop had the most evidence, leaving a lengthy digital trail for authorities to follow.

Internet searches revealed Borgwardt had changed all the email addresses linked to his bank accounts and had inquired about moving money to foreign bank accounts. 

Burgwardt had also started a $375,000 life insurance policy and purchased a gift card for an airline.

Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said in a press conference: ‘We do not know where he is. We know that he is not in our lake.’

Officers suspect Borgwardt is likely in Europe.

The plot was elaborately planned. Borgwardt left his original passport at home when he left, and the life insurance policy was taken out in January. 

Ryan Borgwardt missing Watertown, Wisconsin husband and father of 3 kids fakes his death and disappearance to start new life.
Ryan Borgwardt missing Watertown, Wisconsin husband and father of 3 kids fakes his death and disappearance to start new life.

Missing Wisconsin husband and father yet to reach out

He’d also completely wiped his computer, but authorities were able to recover his web searches. 

Of note, the missing Wisconsin man’s new passport was run by law enforcement in nearby Canada on August 13, the day after Borgwardt was reported missing. 

Meanwhile, Borgwardt’s wife Emily, and their three children, have been grieving their loss, believing for months that he was likely dead.

Emily is now being urged to join support groups for women with ‘runaway husbands’ as her friends and community rally around her.

‘They thought that their dad was drowned. A day ago, they found out that he wasn’t,’ Podoll said.

She and Borgwardt celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary in July 2024.

Podoll described Emily as ‘one strong lady’ in his press conference, adding that she ‘always responded and gave everything she could’ during the investigation.

‘I cannot imagine what she is going through, and they’re going through.’ 

Officials have urged Borgwardt to come home for the sake of his family. But will he? 

‘Ryan, if you are viewing this, I plead that you contact us or contact your family. We understand that things can happen, but there’s a family that wants their daddy back,’ Sheriff Mark Podoll said in an emotional plea during the press conference.

If the runaway husband/father were to return to the United States, he would likely be hit with a bill to pay restitution for the hundreds of hours poured into searching for him. 

Ryan Borgwardt’s wife and three children have yet to have hear from their father. 

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