On a spring morning in 1996, 21-year-old Benjamin J. Wilberding, known to his friends and family as Ben, disappeared from his parents' rural home on County Road CC in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. The last known contact anyone had with him was a phone call he made to his sister on the morning of May 24, 1996. Reports indicate he was seen leaving his parents' residence in a maroon car with two other people, heading toward U.S. Highway 8.
At the time of his disappearance, Ben was described as being 5'10" and weighing 170 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans.
The circumstances surrounding Ben's disappearance are troubling and have left his loved ones with many unanswered questions. Just two days before he went missing, he had started a new summer job at Hurd Millwork Company in Merrill, Wisconsin. He never returned to pick up his last paycheck, and his own vehicle was left behind at his parents' property. Adding to the mystery, his driver's license and Social Security card were discovered weeks later in the possession of another individual. While authorities investigated this person, they found no evidence to link him to any crime related to Ben's disappearance. His Social Security number has not been used since he vanished.
Investigators do not believe that Ben Wilberding chose to walk away from his life. He had specifically moved back to his parents' home to spend more time with his mother, who was experiencing health problems at the time. Over the years, numerous searches of the family's property and the surrounding areas have been conducted, but none have yielded any clues as to his whereabouts. Both of his parents have since passed away, and their former home has been torn down. The case remains an active investigation with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, a persistent and unsolved mystery that continues to leave a void in the lives of those who knew him.Last Seen: May 24, 1996
