Missing kayaker Ryan Borgwardt made contact with authorities, but location still unknown

Missing Wisconsin kayaker Ryan Borgwardt has been found alive and well by authorities, but officials still don’t exactly know where he is.

In a Thursday press conference by the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office, officials said they have been in contact with Borgwardt since Nov. 11, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Officials said the missing kayaker who staged his death has no intention of returning home or giving up his whereabouts. They made contact with the man through a woman “speaking Russian” before receiving a video from Borgwardt via email confirming he is alive.

In the video, Borgwardt is heard saying the date "November 11" before showing himself inside what he called "his apartment."

Here's what to know.

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What was the missing kayaker's plan?

Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll told reporters that Borgwardt said he faked his death while confirming the 44-year-old appears to have no threat to his safety.

Officials shared Borgwardt's plan, which included:

• Stashing an eBike near the boat launch

• Paddling a kayak and a child-size inflatable boat out into the lake

• Overturning the kayak and dumping his phone in the lake

• Paddling the inflatable boat to shore and then riding the eBike through the night to Madison

• Boarding a bus in Madison, going to Detroit and then heading to the Canadian border

• Continuing on the bus to the airport and getting on a plane

According to Podoll, Borgwardt has not been in contact with his family, but he felt his decision to stage his death was in their best interest. Borgwardt took out a $375,000 life insurance policy, with his immediate family as the beneficiaries.

"He had personal matters going on and felt this was the right thing to do," said Podoll of Borgwardt's plan.

Referring to Borgwardt as a “smart guy,” Podoll revealed that Borgwardt chose Green Lake because it was the deepest lake in Wisconsin and didn’t expect authorities to spend more than two weeks in the search.

"I hate to tell you, he picked the wrong sheriff and the wrong department," said Podoll.

Borgwardt could face obstruction charges, and authorities would likely be seeking restitution between $35,000 and $40,000 for their efforts. That number didn’t include the costs incurred by the nonprofit Bruce’s Legacy and a dive team that searched for him.

Where could Ryan Borgwardt be?

A digital forensic analysis of his laptop revealed Borgwardt was in communication with a woman from Uzbekistan, replaced his laptop’s hard drive, inquired about moving funds to foreign banks and took out a life insurance policy worth $375,000 earlier this year.

Although it is unknown where Borgwardt is, the sheriff noted the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Uzbekistan.

The sheriff said authorities are “pulling on his heartstrings” in a continual attempt to get Borgwardt to return but the Watertown resident expressed concerns with how he would be received.

What happened to Ryan Borgwardt?

Borgwardt, who is married and has three children, was initially reported missing Aug. 12 when he failed to return from kayaking on Green Lake a day earlier.

An extensive search involving underwater drones, towable submersible sonar, divers and three K-9 cadaver teams did not turn up Borgwardt’s body after 54 days.

But a shift in the investigation, starting Oct. 7, showed Borgwardt’s name had been checked by Canadian law enforcement Aug. 13 and revealed he had a second passport after reporting his first passport as lost.

With help from Customs and Border Patrol, Homeland Security, the FBI and the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations, authorities conducted a digital forensic analysis of his laptop and were able to uncover the following:

• The replacement of the hard drive on his laptop

• The clearing of browsers on the day of his disappearance

• Syncing the laptop with iCloud Aug. 11

• Photos of passports

• Inquiries about moving funds to foreign banks

• Changed email addresses associated with financial accounts on the day of his disappearance

• Communication with a woman from Uzbekistan

• A new $375,000 life insurance policy taken out in January

• A purchased airline gift card

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

Contact Justin Marville at [email protected].This article was updated to add a new video.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where is Ryan Borgwardt? Missing kayaker made contact with authorities