Wisconsin kayaker who faked death returns to US

A Wisconsin man who is accused of faking his own death and fleeing the country, leaving behind his wife and three children, turned himself into police on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanour charge of obstruction.

Ryan Borgwardt "returned on his own", roughly four months after his disappearance, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll told reporters at a news conference.

Mr Borgwardt, 45, vanished while on a solo fishing trip to Green Lake in August, abandoning his kayak and mobile phone in the lake, and leaving authorities who thought he had drowned searching for his body.

On Wednesday, he appeared in court in Green Lake to enter a not-guilty plea.

He was allowed to leave after paying a bond of $500 (£390) and promising to appear for a future court date.

After the court appearance, his wife reportedly filed for divorce. Court documents quoted in local media said she believed the pair's 22-year marriage was "irretrievably broken". She is seeking sole custody of their children.

Three months after going missing, Sheriff Podoll said Mr Borgwardt began communicating with police. He said that officers were "pulling at his heartstrings" in an attempt to bring him home for Christmas.

The sheriff's office spent more than a month looking for Mr Borgwardt's body after he went missing, costing the city at least $35,000 (£27,500), the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.

During Wednesday's court hearing, Mr Borgwardt told the judge that he wanted to act as his own lawyer because he was unable to afford one. The judge told him that a public defender will be appointed to represent him at his next court date on 13 January.

In his news conference, Sheriff Podoll suggested that Mr Borgwardt may be required to pay the city back and said that reimbursement "is part of the restitution we presented to the court".

Sheriff Podoll also said that prior to Mr Borgwardt's disappearance, he had transferred money into a foreign bank account and had been communicating with a woman in Uzbekistan.

The sheriff's office did not comment on where Mr Borgwardt had been, saying only that on 10 December Mr Borgwardt "arrived on US soil".

Officials had previously found evidence that Mr Borgwardt used his passport after his disappearance and may have travelled to Eastern Europe.

Court documents on Wednesday revealed that he had been living in Georgia.

When police first noticed Mr Borgwardt missing on 12 August, they believed that he had drowned and searched the lake for 54 days.

They first came into contact with Mr Borgwardt in November, after contacting a Russian-speaking woman who helped connect him to police, Sheriff Podoll said.

Mr Borgwardt then sent authorities a 24-second video shot selfie-style that showed him in an apartment with white walls.

"I'm safe, secure, no problem," he said in the video.

During their near-daily exchanges, Mr Borgwardt allegedly revealed to police how he orchestrated his getaway.

Police say that after sinking his kayak and mobile phone in the lake, he paddled a small child-sized boat to shore where he had stashed an e-bike. They say he cycled overnight to Madison, Wisconsin, boarded a bus to Detroit, Michigan, and got on a plane to Canada, where he travelled to an unknown location.

Sheriff Podoll said that Mr Borgwardt said he had faked his death because of "personal matters".

The sheriff was audibly emotional as he shared the update with reporters on Wednesday, saying: "We brought a dad back."

Mr Borgwardt has not had any contact with his family since he left in August.

"We just briefly spoke to them," Sheriff Podoll said on Wednesday. "I can only imagine how they feel."