Volunteer Who Helped Look for Man Believed to Have Faked His Own Death Reveals His ‘First Emotion’ Upon Hearing He Is Alive

Mar. 15, 2025

Keith Cormican; Ryan Borgwardt.Photo:NBC;Facebook

NBC;Facebook

A volunteer who assisted a Wisconsin sheriff’s office in the search for a man who is now alleged to have faked his own death is sharing his reaction to the unexpected development.

Keith Cormican — the founder ofBruce’s Legacy, an all-volunteer nonprofit that assists with search and rescue missions as well as recovery efforts from victims of drowning — spoke with Wisconsin news outletNBC 26about his role in the search for Ryan Borgwardt, a married father whom police nowbelieve staged his own disappearance.

“My first emotion was, ‘Okay, I didn’t miss him — he just wasn’t there,’ " Cormican told NBC 26, recalling the moment he learned that Borgwardt is alive.

A map of the area where Bruce’s Legacy searched for Ryan Borgwardt.Green Lake County Sheriffs Office

Green Lake County Sheriffs Office

“That was certainly very, very tough to deal with emotionally,” he added. “There was many nights that I’d get up in middle of the night because I couldn’t sleep, and I would get up and get on the laptop and start going through sonar data.”

Police now believe Borgwardt is “somewhere in Europe.”

Ryan Borgwardt.Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office

Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office

For Cormican — who started his nonprofit after his firefighter brotherBruce Cormicandrowned in 1995 — the initial search kept him awake at night, as he feared letting Borgwardt’s family down if he wasn’t able to find the missing dad.

“The stress of it … emotional feelings of wondering if I missed him … did I let the family down? Did I let the sheriff department down? Did I let the community down?” Cormican told the local station.

Cormican, who now plans to focus on another missing person search in Wyoming that he had to postpone during the search for Borgwardt, said this incident won’t change his mission to find missing people.

“I feel very, very sorry for the family that you know is having to go through this type of circumstances dealing with now what? What happens next for them? Yeah, pretty tough,” Cormican said.

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During a press conference earlier this month, Sheriff Podoll urged Borgwardt to come forward for the sake of his children.

Podoll also thanked Borgwardt’s wife, calling her “one strong lady.”

“Ryan, if you are viewing this, I plead that you contact us or contact your family," the sheriff said. “We understand that things can happen, but there’s a family that wants their daddy back.”

source: people.com