On August 12, 2024, 45-year old Ryan Borgwardt left to go fishing and never came home. Search teams found his capsized kayak and life jacket floating in Green Lake. Borgwardt’s van and trailer were found parked by a boat launch. In addition, his fishing rod, tackle box, keys, and wallet were also recovered.
Green Lake is the second largest inland lake in Wisconsin by volume with a maximum depth of more than 200 ft.
The mysterious case of the missing Green Lake kayak angler
The case was immediately considered a likely drowning and search and recovery efforts began, while Borgwardt’s wife and three children mourned the loss of their husband and father.
The Department of Natural Resources, Bruce’s Legacy, a nonprofit dedicated to the search and recovery of drowning victims, and the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Department began the search. According to a statement by Sheriff Mark Podoll, they soured the lake every day for several weeks until August 24, at which point they brought in three cadaver dogs and an experienced dive time.
By the end of September, there was still no trace of Borgwardt.
On October 4, Keith Cormican, founder of Bruce’s Legacy, went to Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll.
“Sir, I’ve done a lot of searches and I can’t find him,” Cormican said. Still, Cormican didn’t give up. Instead he requested additional sonar technology to aid in his search of the lake.
From missing kayak angler, to open investigation
On October 7, Sheriff Podoll gathered his crew to reconfigure and consider other possibilities.
Police then conducted a digital forensic analysis on Borgwardt’s laptop and found his search history to contain questions about moving funds to foreign banks, a $370,000 life insurance policy purchased in January, and communications with a woman from Uzbekistan. In addition, they found that Borgwardt’s passport was ran August 13, just a day after his disappearance, by Canadian authorities.
The search turned into an investigation; the FBI is now involved and the case is an open investigation. Goals are to identify any crimes committed, pursue for expenses in searches funded by taxpayers.
Overall 54 days were put into the search for Borgwardt, and 28 days put in by Cormican alone.
“Twenty-eight of them days on that lake searching for Ryan. When he wasn’t searching, he was looking over data. Looking over data, trying to figure out if he missed something,” said Sheriff Podoll of the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office in a press conference.
Sheriff Podoll asks that anyone with information contact the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office.