A Wisconsin man who faked his own death and left his family three months ago after communicating with a woman in Uzbekistan has been in regular contact with the authorities and sent them a video this month, saying he was “safe” and “secure.”
Mark A. Podoll, the Green Lake County sheriff, played the video of the man, Ryan Borgwardt, of Watertown, Wis., at a news conference on Thursday. In the 24-second clip, Mr. Borgwardt is seen recording himself in what looks like a spartan apartment with white walls and a gray door.
“Good evening, it’s Ryan Borgwardt,” he says in a quiet voice. “Today is Nov. 11. It’s approximately 10 a.m. by you guys. I’m in my apartment. I am safe, secure, no problem. I hope this works.”
Sheriff Podoll said the authorities did not know exactly where Mr. Borgwardt was, but knew it was someplace in Eastern Europe. He said that investigators were in near-daily contact with him and were urging him to come home to his family and to “clean up the mess that he has created.”
But Mr. Borgwardt, who left behind a wife and three children, has not committed to returning home, Sheriff Podoll said.
“We keep pulling at his heartstrings,” Sheriff Podoll said, adding: “We’re not going to give up. We’re going to continue because he needs to come home to his kids.”
In August, Mr. Borgwardt, 45, made it appear as though he had drowned while fishing in Green Lake, leaving behind a capsized kayak and his vehicle, Sheriff Podoll said. Investigators also found Mr. Borgwardt’s fishing rod and a tackle box with his keys, wallet and driver’s license inside.
The authorities spent weeks searching the lake for his body before a digital forensic analysis of a laptop his wife had given to investigators revealed that Mr. Borgwardt had moved money into a foreign bank account and had been communicating with a woman in Uzbekistan, Sheriff Podoll said.
Data on the laptop also showed that he had bought an airline gift card and had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy to benefit his family, Sheriff Podoll said.
Mr. Borgwardt had tried to cover his tracks by removing his hard drive, wiping his browser history and changing his email address, the sheriff said.
Sheriff Podoll said that Mr. Borgwardt, in his recent communication with investigators, had revealed more about how he had carried out the scheme.
Mr. Borgwardt told investigators that after he ditched his kayak in the lake and threw his phone into the water, he got on an e-bike that he had stashed near a boat launch and rode overnight to Madison, Wis. From there, he boarded a bus to Detroit and then to an airport in Canada. He then got on a plane to an unknown destination, Sheriff Podoll said.
Earlier this month, the authorities, using phone numbers and email addresses found on the laptop, managed to reach a Russian-speaking woman, who put them in touch with Mr. Borgwardt. Sheriff Podoll would not confirm if it was the same woman in Uzbekistan whom Mr. Borgwardt had been in touch with before he left Wisconsin.
Investigators, hoping to confirm that Mr. Borgwardt was safe, asked him to record the video, which was shown at the news conference on Thursday.
Sheriff Podoll would not describe in detail what had motivated Mr. Borgwardt to stage his death and leave his family.
“He just had personal matters going on, and he felt this was the right thing to do,” he said.
He said Mr. Borgwardt had expressed remorse for the ordeal he put his family through and for the time and money spent searching for his body in Green Lake. The search involved divers, boats with sonar scanners and a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding victims of drowning.
“He says, ‘You know, I got myself in a situation, and I just got to try to get myself out of it,’” Sheriff Podoll said.
If Mr. Borgwardt returns to Wisconsin, he could face an obstruction charge for having staged his own death, Sheriff Podoll said. Officials are also seeking restitution for about $40,000 that was spent on the search for Mr. Borgwardt’s body in Green Lake, Sheriff Podoll said.
But Sheriff Podoll said the authorities are focused first on urging Mr. Borgwardt to come home. The sheriff’s voice began to break with emotion as he made one final plea at the end of his news conference.
“Christmas is coming,” he said. “And what better gift” could Mr. Borgwardt give his children, the sheriff added, than “to be there for Christmas.”
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