A man from Wisconsin, Ryan Borgwardt, 45, was sentenced to three months in jail after pretending to drown while kayaking so he could leave his wife and three children to be with a woman he met online.

Borgwardt was found guilty of obstructing law enforcement and received an 89-day jail sentence, matching the number of days he successfully fooled authorities about his whereabouts.

The judge handed down a longer sentence than prosecutors had recommended in a plea deal. Borgwardt apologized in court, saying he deeply regretted the pain he caused his family and friends.

Judge Mark Slate said the sentence was meant as a warning to anyone thinking about faking their death to escape responsibility, noting that Borgwardt had misled authorities for 89 days.

Borgwardt went missing on August 12, 2024, after telling his wife he would be kayaking on Green Lake, about 100 miles from Milwaukee. Early searches treated it as a potential drowning case.

Authorities became suspicious after 58 days of no leads. Investigators found that Borgwardt had obtained a new passport months earlier, applied for a $375,000 life insurance policy, reversed his vasectomy, and moved money to an overseas account.

He had been communicating with a woman from Uzbekistan and planned to meet her abroad.

Reports revealed that Borgwardt overturned his kayak, left his ID in the water, used an inflatable raft to reach shore, rode an electric bike 70 miles to Madison, then traveled to Toronto, Paris, and finally Georgia, where he stayed with the woman.

Authorities contacted Borgwardt in November and convinced him to return to the U.S. in December. He surrendered and was charged with obstructing the search. His wife divorced him four months later.

Borgwardt also paid $30,000 to cover the cost of the search. His lawyer said he returned to make amends and sincerely regrets his actions.

The location of the woman he ran away with remains unknown.