In August 2024, American Emily Borgward went to the police in a panic: her 45-year-old husband Ryan went fishing in Lake Green, Wisconsin, and did not return. The Broguards had been married for 22 years and raised three children together - Ryan's disappearance was a terrible blow to his wife.
The police immediately began a search operation: they soon found the American's car and trailer near Lake Green, and in the water - an overturned kayak. Everything pointed to an accident. After several months of fruitless attempts to find the remains of the father of many children, however, the police realized that they should not look for Ryan Borgward at the bottom of the lake. And indeed, both the body and the spirit of Borgward ended up in Georgia, writes. Lenta.ru.
Ryan Borgward disappeared on August 12. After eight weeks of active search, an overturned kayak and a life jacket, probably belonging to the father of many children, were found on the lake. Later, an unknown fisherman pulled Borgward's fishing rod, wallet, keys and driver's license from Lake Green.
The police began to "dig" deeper and found that in May Borgward had reported a lost passport and received a new document. Before his disappearance, he transferred funds to an overseas bank, changed his email address, took out an insurance policy for $ 375 thousand and communicated for a long time with a woman from Uzbekistan.
On the day of his trip to Lake Green, he cleared his computer hard drive and browser history. Finally, he underwent a reverse vasectomy, restoring his ability to have a child.
After receiving all this evidence, the police said that there was no point in looking for Borgwardt's remains at the bottom of the lake. According to their assumptions, he planned his disappearance and fled to another state. The sheriff in charge of Borgwardt's case asked the man to contact his wife and children.
Three months after his disappearance, Borgwardt reappeared - he sent a video to the police. In it, he said that he was alive and well, was in Eastern Europe and did not plan to return. He cited a "personal matter" as the reason for his escape.
Borgwardt said he walked about 50 miles from his home to Lake Green, flipped his kayak over there, threw his phone into the water, and then paddled an inflatable boat to the other side. The man explained that he chose Lake Green because it is the deepest lake in Wisconsin.
After reaching land, he got on an electric bike and rode 70 miles (110 km) overnight to the city of Madison. From there, he took a bus to Detroit, where he bought a ticket for another bus. Borgwardt used it to get to the border and into Canada.
There, he boarded a plane to Paris, where he had a layover. The final destination was Tbilisi, Georgia. There, as it turned out later, the same woman from Uzbekistan was waiting for him.
Despite the fugitive's statements, the sheriff tried to convince him to return to his family.
“Christmas is coming. And what better gift for your children than your presence on Christmas?“, he asked Borgwardt.
According to Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podol, shortly after this conversation the man voluntarily returned to the United States. He arrived by plane and was immediately detained.
The main reason for his return to the country has not been specified.
Brogwardt's return led to his arrest and his divorce from his wife.
Prosecutor Jerris La Spisa described Borgwardt's actions as "carefully planned betrayal".
His entire plan to fake his own death to break the hearts of his family, serving only his own selfish desires, was based on the fact that he would die in the lake and the world would believe he was dead, prosecutor Jerris La Spisa said.
For the defense, Borgwardt's attorney, Eric Johnson, tried to soften the situation, stating that his client "deeply regrets" for what he did and returned to the country “to get even“. As evidence of his words, Johnson told the court that Borgward had fully reimbursed the police for the search and rescue operation. The amount was $20,000.
"I deeply regret my actions that night and all the pain I caused my family and friends," Ryan Borgward told the court.
Despite the confession and financial compensation, Borgward did not escape punishment. The prosecutor, recognizing the defendant's cooperation with the investigation and his sincere remorse, asked Judge Mark Slate of Green Lake County to sentence him to only 45 days in prison.
However, Judge Slate believes that such a sentence does not reflect the seriousness of the crime.