Wisconsin kayaker who faked death to start new life in Europe is sentenced to 89 days

Ryan Borgwardt, accused of plotting an elaborate scheme to fake his death in a kayaking accident and flee the country, pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction.

A Wisconsin man accused of plotting an elaborate scheme to fake his death in a kayaking accident and flee the country pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction.

Ryan Borgwardt, 45, was sentenced to 89 days in jail — the amount of time that he spent misleading authorities, Green Lake County Circuit Court Judge Mark Slate said before he announced the jail term.

Borgwardt, who appeared in a white checkered button-up shirt and gray pants, was also ordered to pay $30,000 in costs associated with a search effort that lasted nearly two months.

In a brief statement to the court that Borgwardt, a father of three, said he deeply regretted his actions and the pain he caused his family and friends.

Green Lake County District Attorney Gerise LaSpisa told the court that Borgwardt spent months researching the scheme in an effort to disappear from his life in Wisconsin and create a new one in the country of Georgia, formerly part of the Soviet Union.