(NewsNation) — After a month of searching, 13-year-old James Yoblonski is still missing, and authorities believe he may be attempting to live off the grid in Wisconsin.
Yoblonski’s family first reported him missing on June 12 and said the family vehicle was missing. The car was later recovered on U.S. Highway 12, according to the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office. The boy’s family also told officials that a handgun in the home was also missing.
Sauk County Lieutenant Steven Schram told WKOW that Yoblonski had expressed interest in being a survivalist.
Bill Yoblonski, James’ father, said James told kids at school that he wanted to live off the grid, but his son did not discuss this with him.
“If he had wanted to do this, we would have set it up where he went to the family farm and spent a couple of days and had to check in,” he said. “We would have made it what he wanted to do. But I had no idea he wanted to do this.”
Bill Yoblonski added that his son was gifted survivalist books from family and he had discussed going into the Air Force over the last two and a half years. But he said his son isn’t equipped to be outside this amount of time alone.
“He’s never been in the woods by himself alone, especially at night other than going camping. And we go camping three, four or five times a year. But he’s never been in the woods overnight. I don’t know where he would get the idea that he could stay in the woods overnight,” Bill Yoblonski said.
It’s been a month since the teen was first reported missing. Here’s what’s happened since then:
- June 12: James Yoblonski’s family reported him missing. Authorities found the family car on the side of U.S. Highway 12, near Devils Lake State Park. The family later reported a handgun missing from the home.
- June 17: Authorities found several makeshift campsites and some clothing believed to belong to the teen, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. It was then that officials believed James Yoblonski was trying to live off the grid as a survivalist. The outlet also reported that two officers had been sent to the hospital for injuries resulting from trying to navigate the Baraboo Bluffs while looking for Yoblonski.
- June 25: Bill Yoblonski organized a search effort via Facebook.
- July 7: Sauk County Sheriff’s Office released an update that the investigation is still “active” and they are still investigating areas of interest near where Yoblonski went missing.
The Yoblonski family is offering a reward for James Yoblonski’s safe return.
“I just want him home. I love him. Everybody in the family loves him and misses him,” Bill Yoblonski said. “If somebody is holding him, please let him go and just let him come home.”
Sauk County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about Yoblonski to call 608-355-4495.