Missing Wisconsin kayaker probably faked his own death, fled to Europe; charges are possible: Sheriff

A husband and father of three who disappeared at a Wisconsin lake this summer may have faked his own death and fled to Eastern Europe, authorities said, and the sheriff is now appealing for the missing man to come forward.

“Our most important thing to us is knowing that you are safe,” Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said in his message to Ryan Borgwardt. “We can talk through all of this and we can figure things out.”

The case began the morning of Aug. 12 when authorities learned Borgwardt, 45, had not returned home and was last known to be in Green Lake, according to the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Borgwardt last texted his wife the night of Aug. 11, saying he was turning his kayak around and heading for shore soon, Podoll said.

Officials discovered Borgwardt’s overturned kayak and life jacket in the lake, authorities said, and they later recovered his fishing pole and tackle box.

Responders believed the missing father drowned and searched the lake using divers, drones, sonar and cadaver K-9s, officials said.

“The search continued for about 54 days with no sign of Ryan,” the sheriff said during a news conference Friday. “Almost daily drone searches were completed. And Bruce’s Legacy (a volunteer search organization) methodically searched approximately 1,500 acres. … Keith Cormican, (who leads) Bruce’s Legacy, sifted through hours of sonar data and imagery.”

“Keith’s expertise and equipment led us to believe that either something very strange happened and Ryan was outside of the area that had been searched, or something else had happened,” the sheriff said.

The case took a turn in October when investigators discovered Borgwardt’s name had been checked by law enforcement in Canada on Aug. 13, the sheriff said.

Authorities also learned Borgwardt had been communicating with a woman from Uzbekistan, the sheriff said.

Other behavior included clearing his browsers the day he disappeared, requests to move money to foreign banks, get new life insurance, get a new passport and replace his laptop hard drive, the sheriff said.

“I was totally shocked,” Podoll told ABC News on Monday. “It was just unbelievable that we would have a case like this where some party actually staged his death.”

The authorities have stopped searching the lake.

“As far as we know, he’s somewhere in Eastern Europe,” the sheriff told ABC News.

Investigators are “looking into what charges may be filed,” Podoll said, adding, “it’s a work in progress.”

Authorities hope to seek reimbursement for the costs of the search, the sheriff’s office said.

“He wasted a lot of my time and it cost me a lot of money,” said Cormican of Bruce’s Legacy.

Podoll said it’s not clear if Borgwardt got help, and he urged anyone with information to come forward.

Podoll praised Borgwardt’s wife, who he said was not involved, calling her “a very, very strong lady.”

“I was there when the sheriff told the whole family the news. And it was beautiful, pretty heartbreaking to watch,” Cormican told ABC News. “I feel terrible for the family. They are the ones who are really going to struggle.”

ABC News’ Karolina Rivas contributed to this report.