A Wisconsin father who tried to fake his own death in a kayak accident before fleeing overseas told a court he is too poor to afford a lawyer following his dramatic return to the US.
Married Ryan Borgwardt, 45, is thought to have carried out the elaborate stunt to be with his mistress in Eastern Europe.
The father-of-three was led handcuffed into the Green Lake County Court sporting an orange prison jumpsuit on Wednesday, four months after he initially vanished.
He was charged with obstruction related to the massive $35,000 manhunt which was launched following his disappearance on August 11.
Borgwardt stood largely mute during the hearing, except to tell the court he would represent himself.
A judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf and set bond at $500 for the misdemeanor obstruction charge, which Borgwardt only has to pay if he violates the conditions of his release from jail.
Police learned in October the Wisconsin man had crossed the border into Canada a few days after his disappearance and had been communicating with a Uzbek woman who spoke Russian.
After establishing contact with him on a ‘near daily basis’, they were eventually able to persuade him to come home, saying he had voluntarily returned, ‘for his family’.
Married Wisconsin father Ryan Borgwardt who tried to fake his own death in a kayak accident before fleeing overseas shuffled into court in handcuffs following his dramatic return to the US
His return comes four months after he was initially thought to have drowned in Green Lake while out kayaking
He was charged with obstruction related to a massive manhunt which was launched following his disappearance on August 11 to which he pleaded not guilty
Police have not released details of where he was staying or who he was with while he was missing.
They confirmed he flew back into an international airport in the US of his own volition.
At a press conference this morning, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll would only state that Borgwardt faces, ‘a number of charges’, including ‘obstruction’.
However he stressed that Borgwardt came willingly by himself, flying into an international airport before turning himself into the local police station.
He refused to confirm whether Borgwardt has been in contact with his wife of 22 years since his return.
‘I could not be more proud of them and what they did for a family, we didn’t give up and we can stand here today feeling relieved,’ Podoll said of his officers.
Authorities spent 54 days looking for the Wisconsin man before announcing on November 8 that they didn’t believe he had drowned in the lake, but rather had faked his own death.
Wisconsin father Ryan Borgwardt, who tried to fake his own death in a kayak accident and fled overseas, decided to return to the US ‘for his family’ police said
Authorities learned in October that Borgwardt had crossed the border into Canada a few days after his disappearance and had been communicating with a Uzbek woman who spoke Russian, leaving behind his wife Emily (pictured) and kids
They revealed that he deliberately flipped his kayak and dumped his phone and belongings in the water before paddling to safety on an inflatable boat and e-biking more than 50miles to Madison overnight.
Borgwardt had been talking to a woman in Uzbekistan before he obtained a new passport and a $375,000 life insurance policy in January.
They managed to establish contact and in November, Borgwardt – who had not contacted his family since his disappearance – sent a video in which he showed off his apartment, telling officers: ‘I am safe, secure, no problems.’
But the same cannot be said for his heartbroken family, who are also being supported by the Sheriff’s Office.
‘They are doing okay, that’s probably the best thing you could say,’ Vande Kolk explained last month.
‘I can’t compare their situation to anything I have ever experienced in law enforcement before, I don’t have any reference.’
Borgwardt told authorities last month that he faked his death because of ‘personal matters,’ the Podoll said.
He also told them that he picked Green Lake for his master plan because it’s the deepest in Wisconsin.
He has since returned to the US of his own volition and is being held in Green Lake County Jail
Sheriff Mark Podoll refused to say where Borgwardt had been, but it is thought he fled to Eastern Europe
The scheme was elaborately planned. Borgwardt left his original passport at home when he vanished, and police said he tried to cover his tracks by removing his laptop’s hard drive and wiping his search history clean.
Before his disappearance, he changed all the email addresses linked to his bank accounts and moved money to a foreign bank account.
