GREEN LAKE, Wis. — A kayaker who was reported missing for three months is likely alive and in a different country, Wisconsin authorities said.

Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Friday it believes 44-year-old Ryan Borgwardt staged his disappearance and has likely fled to Europe, according to the Fond du Lac Reporter.

During a news conference, Sheriff Mark Podoll said an investigation revealed that Borgwardt had a second passport, replaced his laptop’s hard drive, inquired about moving funds to foreign banks and took out a life insurance policy worth $375,000 earlier this year.

“Due to the discovery of this new evidence, we are confident that Ryan is not located in Green Lake and we have ended all search efforts associated with Green Lake,” Podoll said. “At this time, we believe that Ryan is alive and likely in Eastern Europe.”

The story began Aug. 12 when Borgwardt failed to return from kayaking on Green Lake, the newspaper reported.

Sheriff’s deputies located his kayak overturned with a lifejacket that same day before Borgwardt’s wife told authorities she received a text message from him at 10:49 p.m. Aug. 11 saying he was heading to shore.

An extensive search failed to turn up his body after 54 days. A new investigation that started Oct. 7 showed that Borgwardt’s name had been checked by Canadian law enforcement Aug. 13.

“Our investigation has many more steps to take to put this puzzle together,” Podoll said.