Sentencing Tuesday for Wisconsin man accused of faking death, fleeing U.S.

45-year-old Ryan Borgwardt is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday afternoon on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer, according to online court records. The hearing is set for the Green Lake County Courthouse. Borgwardt’s ex-wife reported him missing on Aug. 12, 2024, after he did not return home from a fishing trip on Green Lake, about an hour north of Watertown, his hometown. Investigators contacted Borgwardt on Nov. 11, 2024. He allegedly told them he overturned his kayak, threw his phone into the lake and traveled 80 miles to Madison. From there, he boarded a bus to Detroit, crossed into Canada and flew to Europe, where he spent several days in a hotel room with a woman who was not his wife. He later reportedly lived in the country of Georgia. Online court records show his ex-wife filed for divorce in December 2024. They have three children together. He returned to the U.S. voluntarily in December 2024. The obstructing an officer charge carries a maximum penalty of up to nine months in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both.