Dad, who allegedly organized the kayak accident, confirms he is alive, but does not want to reveal the location

Ryan BorgwardtA Wisconsin man who authorities say faked his death in a staged kayaking accident is alive, authorities have confirmed.

Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said at a news conference on Thursday, November 21 that his office made contact with Borgwardt through a Russian-speaking woman on November 11. Authorities do not know the whereabouts of the missing father of three, but he said he is safe and somewhere abroad.

Borgwardt sent officers a video from his apartment in which he claimed it was “November 11” and that he was in his apartment and “was safe, no problem.”

Podoll says they haven’t been able to pinpoint Borgwardt’s location yet, but they do believed to be located in Eastern Europe. The sheriff said the man’s family wanted him home, noting that “Christmas is coming.”

Authorities previously said Borgwardt was reported missing in August, when his family last heard from him. A search of Green Lake resulted in Borgwardt’s kayak, fishing rod and tackle box capsizing in the lake. His license was in the box.

However, after more than 54 days, Borgwardt’s body was never found. Both authorities and volunteers were involved in the search, but they failed to locate the missing father.

The search changed direction when police learned in October that Borgwardt’s name had been checked by Canadian authorities the day after the disappearance.

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Police then searched his laptop and discovered that on the day he disappeared, he had allegedly replaced the hard drive and deleted his internet browsing history. Authorities later determined that Borgwardt allegedly took photos of his passport, transferred money to an overseas bank account, changed his email address and contacted a woman in Uzbekistan.

Podoll says his office is in constant contact with Borgwardt, who he says is concerned about how he might be received if he returns home.

“We’re still tugging at his heartstrings,” Podoll says. “We’re not going to give up. We want to continue because he needs to go home to his children.”