The authorities spent weeks searching a Wisconsin lake for the man’s body before discovering that he had moved money into a foreign bank account and had been communicating with a woman in Uzbekistan.

The Green Lake County Sheriff's Office and other authorities have been searching for 44-year-old Ryan Borgwardt, of Watertown. The father-of-three has been missing since Aug. 12, when he failed to return from a kayaking trip to Green Lake.

The search for Ryan Borgwardt’s body in a lake has dragged on since August. Now, investigators think he might have staged his disappearance and fled to Europe.

Officials believe Ryan Borgwardt, a father of three, faked his own death in August, when his capsized kayak was located in a lake. He may still be alive overseas.

Ryan Borgwardt was reported missing in Wisconsin on Aug. 12, but authorities now think he's in Europe following a 54-day-long search

In a shocking turn of events, Wisconsin authorities believe Ryan Borgwardt, 44, staged his disappearance and fled to Europe.

Authorities in Wisconsin believe that Ryan Borgwardt, a 44-year-old married father of three, staged his disappearance and fled to Europe.

For several weeks, the family of avid kayaker Ryan Borgwardt braced for the likelihood that search divers were about to find his body in a Wisconsin lake. His kayak, fishing rod, wallet and car keys were found at Green Lake on 12 August,

Officials in Wisconsin believe that a man who disappeared after kayaking at a lake this summer is alive and well, possibly faking his death and traveling to Europe — after taking out a life insurance policy and communicating with a woman from Uzbekistan.

A kayaker reported missing from Green Lake, Wisconsin, in August is now thought to have faked his own disappearance and fled the country to Europe.