Green Lake County officials say Ryan Borgwardt completed an 89-day term tied to an August 2024 hoax that sparked a costly, weeks-long search.
GREEN LAKE, Wis. — A Watertown man who staged his own drowning on Green Lake to flee the country has been released from jail after serving an 89-day sentence, the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed this week.
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, pleaded no contest this year to obstructing an officer after investigators concluded he tipped a kayak, left gear adrift and allowed family, neighbors and multiple agencies to believe he had died. The deception triggered a resource-intensive search and later an international probe that traced his path from Wisconsin to Canada, Europe and the nation of Georgia. The case ended in a short jail term but left a larger bill and lingering questions about the strain on local responders who combed the lake for weeks before learning he was alive.
Authorities said the hoax began in early Aug. 2024, when an overturned kayak and life jacket were found on Green Lake and crews rushed to the water. Divers, sonar operators, drone pilots and cadaver K-9s swept the lake in daily shifts through late summer. As weeks passed without a recovery, investigators checked surveillance, financial activity and border records. They later learned Borgwardt had traveled through Toronto and Paris, then settled in Georgia while friends and relatives in Wisconsin held vigils. “I deeply regret the actions that I did that night and the pain I caused my family and friends,” Borgwardt told the judge at sentencing, according to a courtroom statement entered into the record.
Prosecutors said the search cost at least $50,000 and drew in the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and neighboring departments. Court records show Borgwardt had prepared to disappear, obtaining a passport, moving money and pursuing an online relationship with a woman abroad. The investigation broke open in fall 2024 when out-of-country law enforcement contacts and travel traces indicated he was alive. He returned to Wisconsin after investigators reached him, was arrested in December and later entered the plea that led to sentencing. Judge Mark Slate imposed 89 days in jail—matching the length of time authorities said they were misled—along with restitution.
The case resonated in lake communities where late-summer drownings are a recurring risk and searches can stretch for days. Records from hearings detailed steps Borgwardt took before the hoax, including planning that investigators said complicated the early timeline. The sheriff’s office has not released a full hour-by-hour incident log, but rescuers described repeated launches, grid sweeps and shoreline checks in the first days. Residents brought food to staging areas while crews cycled off the water at dusk and returned at dawn. As the search lagged, officials began to question why no remains, clothing or signals turned up despite steady sweeps and favorable sonar conditions.
Legal filings show the obstruction conviction carried the 89-day county jail term and $30,000 in restitution, which the court ordered paid to the sheriff’s office and the state natural resources agency. Prosecutors had recommended less time, but Slate said mirroring the length of the deception served as a deterrent. Jail records list Borgwardt as released Dec. 2. No additional charges are pending in Green Lake County as of this week. Officials declined to say whether any civil action will be pursued to recover the remaining response costs beyond the restitution ordered in criminal court.
On the shoreline in Green Lake, boaters put away docks for winter as the case closed. A bait shop owner said anglers asked all fall whether search boats were still out. “People followed every update because we thought a neighbor was lost,” he said. A volunteer diver who worked early shifts said the search taxed small departments. “You go out expecting a recovery for a family,” the diver said, “not a hoax.” Borgwardt’s former spouse, who sought a divorce after his return, has not commented publicly since sentencing. The sheriff’s office confirmed only that he served his time and left custody under standard procedures.
As of Wednesday, deputies say the criminal case is closed, restitution orders remain in effect and no new court dates are on the calendar. Officials said any future updates would concern payments or records requests, not additional hearings.
Author note: Last updated December 10, 2025.