A Wisconsin father of three who faked his own death to flee to Europe in an attempt to start a new life has been sentenced to serve 89 days in prison - the same length of time that authorities spent searching for him.
Ryan Borgwardt, 45, vanished on a fishing trip in August 2024, leaving behind his phone, ID, and an overturned boat. Officials searched for his body but later discovered he had fled to Canada then to Georgia in the former Soviet Union.
Officials say he went to Georgia to meet a woman from Uzbekistan whom he had met online.
The judge's 89-day sentence for obstruction is twice as long as the term requested by prosecutors as part of their plea deal with Borgwardt.
He was also ordered by Green Lake County Circuit Court Judge Mark Slate to pay a $30,000 (£22,000) restitution for costs spent by search and rescue crews who were sent to look for him.
