US kayaker who faked own death thought to have fled to Europe

An American kayaker who faked his ain decease and near his woman and 3 children has shared a video with investigators to beryllium that helium is safe.

Wisconsin antheral Ryan Borgwardt has been located successful Eastern Europe aft helium faked his drowning this summertime but helium has told authorities helium volition not beryllium returning home.

Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said connected Thursday that Mr Borgwardt began communicating with authorities connected November 11, aft they tracked him down.

The sheriff showed a video that Mr Borgwardt sent police that time from an undisclosed location.

The sheriff said nary transgression charges person been filed and helium does not judge they volition beryllium indispensable portion authorities "keep pulling astatine his heartstrings" to travel home.

Mr Borgwardt, who is successful his mid-40s, lived with his woman and children successful Watertown, a metropolis of astir 23,000 radical northwest of Milwaukee.

The sheriff said his section was told connected August 12 that Mr Borgwardt had not been heard from since the erstwhile day, erstwhile helium travelled astir 50 miles from location to Green Lake to spell kayaking.

His woman said helium texted her astatine 10.49pm to accidental helium was heading to shore.

Deputies recovered Borgwardt's conveyance and trailer adjacent Green Lake.

His kayak was discovered connected the lake, overturned and with a beingness overgarment attached to it, successful an country wherever the h2o is astir 60 metres deep.

An angler aboriginal recovered Mr Borgwardt's sportfishing rod. The hunt for his assemblage continued for much than 50 days, with divers scouring the water connected respective occasions.

Clues — including that helium reported his passport mislaid oregon stolen and obtained a caller 1 a fewer months earlier helium disappeared — led investigators to speculate that helium made it look that helium had drowned to spell conscionable a pistillate helium had been communicating with successful Uzbekistan.

Mr Podoll declined to remark erstwhile asked what helium knew astir the woman, but helium said instrumentality enforcement contacted Mr Borgwardt "through a pistillate that spoke Russian."

His individuality was confirmed by asking him questions that the sheriff said lone Mr Borgwardt would cognize and by a video helium made and sent them connected November 11.

He has spoken with idiosyncratic from the sheriff's section astir regular since. However, Mr Podoll said Mr Borgwardt's nonstop determination successful Eastern Europe was not known.

Wearing an orangish T-shirt, Mr Borgwardt, unsmiling, looks straight astatine the camera, seemingly filmed connected a cellphone. Mr Borgwardt says helium is successful his flat and concisely pans the camera, but mostly shows a doorway and bare walls. "I'm harmless and secure, nary problem," helium says.

Mr Borgwardt told authorities helium overturned his kayak connected the lake, dumped his telephone successful it and paddled an inflatable vessel to shore.

He told authorities helium chose Green Lake due to the fact that it is Wisconsin's deepest astatine implicit 72 meters.

He past rode an electrical motorcycle stashed by a vessel motorboat astir 70 miles done the nighttime to Madison, the sheriff said.

From there, helium travelled by autobus to Detroit and past to Canada, wherever helium boarded a plane. Police are inactive verifying Mr Borgwardt's statement of what happened, Mr Podoll said.

Mr Borgwardt faked his decease and fled due to the fact that of "personal matters," reasoning it was the close happening to do, the sheriff said.

Investigators recovered that helium took retired a $375,000 beingness security argumentation successful January for his family.

"He was conscionable going to effort and marque things amended successful his mind, and this was the mode it was going to be," Mr Podoll said.

Mr Borgwardt has not yet decided to instrumentality home, and if helium does it volition beryllium of his ain escaped will, according to Mr Podoll.

Deputies are stressing to him the value of returning location and cleaning up the messiness helium made.

The sheriff suggested that Mr Borgwardt could beryllium charged with obstructing the probe into his disappearance, but truthful acold nary counts person been filed.

The hunt for Mr Borgwardt, which lasted much than a month, is said to person outgo astatine slightest $35,000.

Mr Borgwardt told authorities that helium did not expect the hunt to past much than 2 weeks, Mr Podoll said, and his biggest interest is however the assemblage volition respond to him if helium returns.