The Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own death is still affecting what happens on state waters, but this time the outcome is a new rescue tool instead of a multi-agency search.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says it used restitution from the high-profile case to buy new sonar gear for underwater search and recovery. According to a DNR press release reposted by Urban Milwaukee, roughly $9,000 of the $30,000 ordered in restitution went toward a towfish sonar unit that can map lake and river bottoms for people, wrecks and hazards. The agency says the device will help locate missing people, chart underwater risks and reduce the need to send human divers into deep or dangerous recoveries.
The DNR says the towfish has already been deployed on four missions and helped locate two missing people. “The towfish unit is a vital tool to our program that will assist in bringing closure to families and communities when tragedy strikes,” Lt. Drew Starch, who leads the agency’s underwater search and recovery team, said in the release, according to WBAY.
The money traces back to Ryan Borgwardt, a Watertown man whose disappearance triggered an intensive, nearly two-month search after his kayak and gear were found adrift on Big Green Lake in August 2024, officials later said. He eventually pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor obstructing charge, was sentenced to 89 days in jail and ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution, reporting by CBS News shows. Earlier in the case, authorities said he had orchestrated his own disappearance.
Why the towfish matters
The towfish is pulled behind a boat and sends high-resolution sonar images back to operators, letting teams scan wide areas without putting divers into deep water or tangle-prone conditions. Remote tools like this can also support infrastructure protection, spill response and documentation of submerged cultural resources, the agency said in its statement reported by Spectrum News.
What this means locally
The DNR says the new sonar unit will be folded into regular search inventories and sent out when conditions make diver recovery too risky, highlighting the purchase as an example of restitution dollars flowing back into public safety. For people heading out on Wisconsin waters, officials continue to stress standard boating safety practices and to call 911 in an emergency, the release noted.
