A Wisconsin father-of-three who faked his own death before fleeing overseas to be with his mistress has revealed exactly how he nearly pulled off the unbelievable stunt.
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, who mysteriously vanished after he sent off on a solo fishing expedition back in August, has finally shared how he was able to execute the ridiculous plan.
The Watertown-native said he intentionally overturned his kayak and dumped his phone while ‘out fishing’ on Wisconsin’s Green Lake, he told Green Lake County Police in a video conference call earlier this month – the first time he had been heard from since his disappearance.
The 45-year-old, who appeared on screen wearing an orange shirt and face blank of emotion, said he then paddled an inflatable boat to shore and rode an electric bike through the night to Madison, a distance of about 70 miles, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said.
From there he took a bus to Detroit, then boarded a bus to Canada and got on a plane there, Podoll added.
Borgwardt also obtained a new passport and tried to cover his tracks by removing his laptop’s hard drive and wiping his search history clean.
He was also found to be chatting to a woman online from Uzbekistan – his alleged mistress.
Investigators also noted that the father-of-three changed all the email addresses linked to his bank accounts and had inquired about moving money to foreign bank accounts.
The elaborate planner had also taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January and purchased a gift card for an airline.
Police are still in the process of verifying his description of what happened.
After failing to return home from his solo fishing trip on August 11, his worried family alerted police, prompting an extensive search and rescue effort.
His kayak, life jacket, water bottle, tackle box and fishing pole were found in the water and his car was also discovered parked nearby.
Emergency services searched the lake and surroundings for 54 grueling days before ultimately deciding to abandon the ground search, suspecting foul play.
Police later learned, in October, that Borgwardt had crossed the border into Canada a few days after his disappearance, on August 13, and had been communicating with a Uzbek woman who spoke Russian.
Green County Chief Deputy, Vande Kolk, confirmed to DailyMail.com that the two ‘connected online’, but said he could not elaborate further at this stage.
Through her, the sheriff’s office was able to get in contact with Borgwardt and asked him to answer questions only he would know and to film a video of himself, which he did.
In the video, Borgwardt – who has not contacted his family since faking his own death – showed off his apartment, telling officers: ‘I am safe, secure, no problems.’
Meanwhile, his devastated wife Emily, and their three children, have been grieving their loss, believing for months he was likely dead.
Authorities still do not know exactly where the married man is, but they suspect he is in Eastern Europe.
‘We do not know where he is. We know that he is not in our lake,’ Podoll said.
Vande Kolk added that he has no idea when Borgwardt plans to come back, but has been encouraged by the communication that has been established.
‘We are making constant progress and the fact that he has stayed in contact is encouraging,’ Vande Kolk said.
The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office is now seeking $35,000 to $40,000 in restitution for the money used in the search.
Authorities used divers, drones, sonar and cadaver K-9s, and more to look for the missing father, according to ABC News.
Borgwardt could also face obstruction charges.
Authorities and his family remain hoping he will make the decision to return home.
‘He needs to come home to his kids,’ he said at the press conference, saying officers are trying to ‘pull at his heartstrings.’