Overview

• Newly released case files and interrogation video detail the staged disappearance, including his final messages about watching the northern lights before he went missing.
• After capsizing his kayak on Green Lake, he paddled a small inflatable to shore, rode an e‑bike roughly 66–70 miles to Madison, then traveled by bus and plane via Canada to Tbilisi.
• Emails and Telegram messages traced from a laptop he left behind enabled Green Lake County officials, including Chief Deputy Matthew Vande Kolk, to reach him overseas in late 2024.
• Borgwardt told detectives he felt like a failure, cited about $75,000 in credit‑card debt plus $130,000 in business debt, and called the plan a “crazy, emotional dream.”
• He pleaded no contest in August to obstructing an officer, was sentenced to 89 days in jail, and was ordered to pay $30,000 to reimburse the weeks‑long search.