The father of a missing 13-year-old Wisconsin boy told local news he passed a polygraph test as the FBI joins the search for his son.
William Yoblonski reported his son, James Yoblonski, missing to the Sauk County authorities on June 12, saying that his son had fled their Reedsburg home in the family van overnight — possibly with his handgun.
William Yoblonski told WKOW that he had passed the lie-detector administered by the FBI on Thursday morning. A Sauk County Sheriff’s Office detective confirmed to the outlet that he had passed the test.
“Maybe that’ll relieve people,” Yoblonski told WKOW. “I had nothing to do with my son’s disappearance.”
A photo of missing 13-year-old James Yoblonski provided by the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office inset over the Devil’s Doorway rock formation at Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin. (iStock, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office)
He added that he had been upset when investigators first asked him to do the test, but now that it “proves” he’s innocent and had “nothing to do with it, it’s a relief in a little,” he said.
James also took his father’s cellphone when he left home, which pinged on the western edge of Devil’s Lake State Park on June 12, according to the sheriff’s office. Detectives found a makeshift campsite inside the park that they believe the boy used.
MODERN-DAY HUCKLEBERRY FINN VANISHES OFF-THE-GRID FOR OVER A MONTH
Authorities also found the Yoblonskis’ family van unattended in Sumpter, Wisconsin — about a 30-minute drive southeast of Reedsburg. A cellphone search indicated that James had researched how to travel out of state.
The FBI has since joined the search for the missing juvenile.
Map of Devil’s Lake State Park (mobile users go here)
William Yoblonski is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his son’s whereabouts.
A June search with police K9s at Devil’s Lake State Park, where James reportedly planned to live off the grid, did not turn up any significant findings.
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The park contains hundreds of campsites and a handful of showers, restrooms and outhouses. Drinking water is available at dozens of taps placed throughout the park.
Anyone with information on James’ whereabouts is asked to call the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office at 608-355-4495.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
