Bombshell update in search for missing dad who vanished on fishing trip

Police have revealed a bombshell update in the search for a missing father-of-three who vanished on a fishing trip in the US.

A missing kayaker who sparked a 54-day search is now believed to have faked his own death and possibly fled to Europe.

Ryan Borgwardt disappeared on a fishing trip in August at Green Lake in the US state of Wisconsin.

The 45-year-old’s car was there, along with a capsized kayak. Fishing gear was also found with a wallet, keys and Mr Borgwardt’s licence.

An extensive search, which involved sonar equipment, divers and cadaver dogs, continued for weeks but no body was found.

Then last week, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll provided a bombshell update.

Ryan Borgwardt was reported missing on August 12. A 54-day search followed.

After keeping “tight-lipped” on what was really going on with the investigation, Mr Podoll finally revealed that in October his team had discovered Canadian authorities had ran Mr Borgwardt’s passport the day after he went missing.

Through forensic analysis of a laptop provided to police by Mr Borgwardt’s wife, investigators also found he had replaced his hard drive on the laptop and cleared the browser on the day of his disappearance.

“We found out that he moved funds to a foreign bank, changing [of] his email, and communication with a woman in Uzbekistan,” Mr Podoll said.

“He took out a $US375,000 [about $580,500] life insurance policy in January and he purchased airline [gift] cards.

“Due to these discoveries of the new evidence, we were sure that Ryan was not in our lake.”

Police now believe Ryan Borgwardt is alive and staged his own death.

Mr Podoll said the investigation was like a puzzle and while they had “many” pieces, there was still “a lot more pieces to find”.

He said they were now looking into whether any crimes had been committed and wanted to pursue restitution for search expenses that were funded by the taxpayer.

The sheriff said he could not imagine what Mr Borgwardt’s family is going through.

He pleaded for the father-of-three to contact police or his family.

“That is one strong lady,” Mr Podoll said of Mr Borgwardt’s wife.

“Whenever we called on her, she always responded and she gave everything that she could.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office.