Father Who Says Fake Disappearance to Police Contacts Woman in Uzbekistan

A Wisconsin father who works as a police officer Believe staged his own disappearance It was learned that he was in contact with a woman from Uzbekistan and had taken out life insurance before he disappeared.

Ryan Borgwardt has not been seen by family or authorities since August, when deputies responded to a missing persons call and found his vehicle and trailer in Green Lake County, Wisc., County Sheriff Mark Podoll said in the broadcast news conference. WFRV.

Podoll told reporters that when authorities searched Green Lake, a capsized canoe was found. The next day, searchers found Borgwardt’s fishing rod and tackle box in the lake. Inside the box was the missing man’s driver’s license.

Borgwardt is married and has three children. WBAYPodoll said a 54-day search was ongoing, including search dogs and diving teams.

But on Oct. 7, the search took another direction after Podoll said police learned Borgwardt’s name had been checked by Canadian authorities a day after she was reported missing.

“This was something we didn’t expect,” Podoll said.

A search of Borgwardt’s laptop discovered that authorities had replaced his hard drive and deleted his internet browser history the day he disappeared, the sheriff said. Authorities later determined that Borgwardt had taken photos of his passport, transferred the money to a foreign bank account, changed his email and contacted a woman in Uzbekistan.

Podoll added that Borgwardt took out a $375,000 life insurance policy months before she disappeared.

“We were confident that Ryan was not in our lake due to the discovery of new evidence,” Podoll said.

Authorities now believe the missing father is “somewhere in Europe.”

Podoll thanked everyone who helped search the lake, including a volunteer search and rescue organization called Bruce’s Legacy, which conducted its own nearly month-long search.

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“They thought their father had drowned,” Podoll said of Borgwardt’s children. “They found out the day before that it wasn’t.”

The sheriff also thanked Borgwardt’s wife, calling her a “strong woman.”

“Ryan, if you see this, I’m asking you to contact us or your family,” the sheriff said. “We know things can happen, but there is a family that wants their father back.”