GREEN LAKE, Wis. – Beseeched by his family and authorities to come home, a Watertown man who faked his own drowning in Green Lake has returned. Ryan Borgwardt, 45, had been in eastern Europe 4-1/2 months, in the country of Georgia. Now back in the States he was charged with a misdemeanor – obstructing police — as a legal half-step pending further charges. In Borgwardt’s first court appearance the judge released him without bail and told him to report back to court in a couple days — after authorities have figured out what charges are in order. Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll says $40,000 was spent searching for Bordwardt. The lake search lasted 54 days and included underwater drones, towable submersible sonar, divers and three K-9 cadaver teams.
Disappearance scheme
Borgwardt. In orange jail jumpsuit being ushered into his first court appearance. His parents were in the courtroom. His wife and three children were not.
A probable cause document filed with the Green County court confirmed much of what has been reported already about Borgwardt’s disappearance. Still, much isn’t about why he did it. The court document alleges that he paddled an inflatable child’s play raft to shore after staging his disappearance, then bicycled 70 miles at night to Madison. From there he took a Greyhound bus to Toronto in Canada. He then flew to Paris and made his way to Georgia – a 9,100-mile trip. The first tip in Green Lake that Borgwardt was on the run was a belated report that his passport had been checked at a Canadian port-of-entry en route to Toronto. He was waved through because he said he was catching a flight to Europe. Eventually the authorities in Green Lake traced information on his whereabouts from a laptop Borgwardt thought he had scrubbed. He was online in Georgia checking on news back in the States. Sheriff Podoll telephoned the address in Georgia. A woman answered and passed the phone to Borgwardt. The sheriff said family and friends wanted him back. He agreed to return. He was intercepted by U.S. authorities changing planes in Paris on Tuesday and taken into custody without resistance when he landed on U.S. soil.
First Green Lake court hearing
In court Wednesday in Green Lake. Borgwardt sat alone at the defense table. He told the judge did not have enough money to pay an attorney. He said he had only $20 in his wallet. “I will defend myself,” he said. Judge Mark Slate entered a plea of not guilty on Borgwardt’s behalf and set bail at $500 but said it wouldn’t be collected unless Borgwardt skipped out. The judge ordered Borgwardt’s passport confiscated. Sheriff Podoll said Borgwardt has been cooperating with investigators.