Ben Oberto: Wisconsin dad goes missing after work trip to Chicago suburbs

CHICAGO - UPDATE: Ben Oberto was found dead inside his car which had crashed into a creek near O'Hare Airport. Troopers found him Friday afternoon. It was not clear how long he'd been there.

A Wisconsin family is searching for answers after a husband and father of two went missing in Chicago's suburbs on Wednesday night.

Ben Oberto, who lives in New Berlin, Wisconsin, works as a wine sales representative and was last seen at 1776 Restaurant in Crystal Lake, where he spent several hours at work. Surveillance footage showed him leaving the restaurant at 8:56 p.m., and his car exiting the parking lot at 9:02 p.m.

From there, the family tells FOX32 Chicago toll records and his phone's signal suggest he traveled eastbound on I-90. His I-Pass registered at the Elgin Plaza at 9:27 p.m., and his phone was last pinged in the Rosemont area around 9:47 p.m.

Shortly after, the phone lost power, and there has been no activity on his credit cards or phone since.

His wife, Laura Leatherberry, is struggling to explain the situation to their children, a 3-year-old son and a 21-year-old daughter living in New York.

"Your head can go a lot of different places. I just want him to be alive," Leatherberry said. "I don’t know what to tell my son right now. He has a daughter who I just told a few hours ago, and she’s distraught and just wants her dad home."

Oberto was driving a 2019 Subaru Impreza with Wisconsin license plate "ANJ 2349."

Leatherberry said police confirm he never went to O’Hare, and he was last seen wearing jeans and a blue zip-up sweatshirt with a gold logo on it.

Authorities in Crystal Lake and New Berlin have not yet confirmed a missing persons report, but his family is urging anyone with information to contact police.