Online records: Kayaker accused of staging his own death now in custody in Green Lake County

GREEN LAKE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- According to online records, the missing kayaker who faked his own death to flee to Europe is back in Wisconsin and in custody.

A website called VINE, which gathers criminal justice records, shows Ryan Borgwardt was booked into the Green Lake County Jail late Tuesday afternoon.

It's the latest development in a small-town mystery that has captured the country's attention.

Almost four months to the day after he faked his own drowning, Ryan Borgwardt is back, and the questions are only intensifying about why he did what he did.

Just Monday, we spoke with the Green Lake County chief sheriff's deputy about this case. He told us the office expected to have an update "in the near future" but would not answer any other questions, including if Borgwardt was still safe.

Borgwardt's journey from his home in Watertown to Europe and now to the Green Lake County Jail traversed several states, countries, and continents.

It started Aug. 11 when he went kayaking but never returned home.

After searching the lake for 54 days without finding his body, investigators asked Borgwardt's wife if they could check his laptop.

The story started to unravel when they found Borgwardt communicated with a woman from Uzbekistan and looked into moving money into foreign accounts.

They eventually got in touch with him overseas, and he sent them a video to prove he was safe.

From Europe, he admitted to investigators how he disappeared, saying he overturned the kayak and ditched his phone and wallet in the water. Then he rode a bike to Madison, where he hopped on a bus to Detroit. From there, he got into Canada using a second passport, then caught a flight to Europe.

In addition to the emotional fallout, Borgwardt will likely face legal and financial consequences: Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said his office would seek $35,000-$40,000 from Borgwardt as restitution for the costs of the search efforts.

And Podoll added Borgwardt could be charged with obstruction, in addition to possible federal charges.

Throughout the saga, the sheriff said Borgwardt was hesitant to return home because he didn't know how the community would react to him.

There will be a news conference Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. in Green Lake County. We'll be there with full reports coming throughout the day.

Then on Friday night at 10 p.m., we'll dig deeper into the mystery, the motive, and the fallout.