James Yoblonski’s dad passes polygraph 2 months after 13-year-old disappeared

August 4, 2023

The dad of missing 13-year-old James Yoblonski passed a polygraph test related to his son’s disappearance Thursday, nearly two months after the boy left his Wisconsin home in a possible attempt to survive “off the grid.”

William Yoblonski, of Reedsburg, told local ABC-affiliate station WKOW that he was given the test by the Sauk County Sheriff Thursday morning — though the distraught father is not considered a suspect in the teen’s June 12 vanishing.

“Maybe that’ll relieve people,” he said. “I had nothing to do with my son’s disappearance.”

Last month, the worried dad said he would remortgage his home in order to offer a $10,000 reward for any information that brings James home.

“It makes you feel even worse that you haven’t found your son and he hasn’t been brought home yet,” he told the station moments after passing the lie-detecting test.

“You know you’re innocent but yet here we are doing this [polygraph].”

He said he was taken aback by the request as he was asked questions like: “Do you know where James is?” and “Did you have anything to do with James’ disappearance?” WKOW reported.

James Yoblonski, 13, disappeared on June 12 after he reportedly left his home in his family’s van intent on trying to live “off the grid,” authorities said.

William Yoblonski was subjected to a polygraph test Thursday — which he passed — is not believed to be involved in his son’s disappearance.

But now that he passed, Yoblonski said he hopes the attention will go back to finding his son.

“At first, I was upset, but now that I know that proves that I’m innocent and I had nothing to do with it, it’s a relief in a little,” he said.

Sheriff’s deputies said they believe James ran away from home to go on a survivalist mission.

Sauk County Sheriff Lt. Steven Schram told WiscNews last month that the young teen was trying to live “off the grid” and brought two survival guidebooks within him when he left home in the family’s van.

The van was found abandoned on the side of the road the same day he allegedly ran away, and investigators later discovered evidence of a makeshift campsite they believed the boy created in Devil’s Lake State Park.

Since the discovery of the campsite where some of the child’s belongings were left behind, authorities have found no signs of James.

Sheriff deputies and a police dog walk along the edge of a wooded area. — The search for James Yablonski has expanded into other states, and the FBI is now assisting local sheriff deputies in their investigation.

The FBI has now joined the local sheriff’s investigation into the boy’s vanishing.

The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office revealed Thursday that they have expanded their search across state lines after finding James’ online search history from early 2023 in which he researched how to travel out of Wisconsin.

“Investigators have followed up with each of these browser searches including physical searches of several areas,” Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister said. “These follow-ups have not produced any evidence that James was ever physically present at these locations after his disappearance.”

Bill Yablonski doesn’t know what else he can to do to bring James home as more weeks pass.

“I don’t know what to do anymore,” he told WKOW. “I just keep looking because it’s all I can do.”

“I just want him home.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of James Yoblonski is asked to contact the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office at 608-355-4495.