A man who was married and enjoyed kayaking admitted to fabricating his own demise in order to begin a new relationship with another woman, referring to his scheme as an “emotional dream.” Ryan Borgwardt, aged 46, messaged his wife Emily expressing his love for her before claiming he was heading to a lake to witness the Northern Lights, only to capsize his kayak and vanish in the water. The father of three harbored a desire to establish a fresh life with a woman in Georgia, prompting him to cycle through the night to catch a bus for the initial step of his intricate getaway.
Following his eventual apprehension, facilitated by police tracking his digital footprint, Borgwardt acknowledged his failed attempt and labeled his aspiration to flee to the Eurasian country as a “crazy, emotional dream.” These candid remarks, shared by the man during his arrest in Green Lake, Wisconsin, shed light on the strained nature of his marriage. Subsequently, his wife filed for divorce in May after the scheme came to light.
Borgwardt received an 89-day jail sentence last month for obstruction. The legal documentation now exposes Borgwardt’s convoluted determination to stage his own demise, a plan he meticulously executed after departing from his family residence in Watertown, Wisconsin.
After deliberately overturning his kayak near Big Green Lake, Borgwardt paddled back to the shore on an inflatable raft. Subsequently, the cabinetmaker retrieved an electric bicycle concealed nearby and embarked on a 70-mile nighttime journey to Madison, Wisconsin, where he caught a bus to the airport in Toronto.
While authorities searched for his body for 50 days following the discovery of the capsized kayak in August of the prior year, Borgwardt managed to reach Tbilisi, where he met a woman named Katya whom he had connected with on a dating platform approximately eight months earlier.
By April 2024, Borgwardt had initiated research on simulating his own demise after fostering a relationship with Katya online. Investigators eventually reached out to him via email using details from a laptop he had abandoned, persuading him to return to Wisconsin by emphasizing the importance of his familial responsibilities.
Prior to his incarceration, during a three-hour interrogation, investigators questioned Borgwardt on his motives. He cited feelings of inadequacy, disclosing substantial financial debts amounting to around $75,000 (£55,000) in credit card liabilities and $130,000 (£96,000) in business obligations. Borgwardt expressed dissatisfaction with his marital relationship and estrangement from his children.
In his defense, Borgwardt stated, “I think just the inability to feel like you could talk to your wife about some of this stuff, and maybe the complete hopelessness that you have in the situation that you’re in.”