A MISSING dad has been found dead after a week-long search that started when he vanished just days before Thanksgiving.
Benjamin Berendsen, aged 37, went missing on November 26. This caused concern among his loved ones as he was supposed to watch the Thanksgiving day Packers game with his brother.
The day after Thanksgiving, authorities found Berendsen’s vehicle parked on the side of a highway in Belgium, Wisconsin, approximately an hour’s drive from his home in the Green Bay region.
The police located Berendsen’s body on Wednesday morning in a damp, forested area close to where his car had been left. The reason behind his death has not been disclosed.
“There is no danger to the community and foul play is not suspected,” Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Marshall Hermann confirmed.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office first put out an alert for Berendsen a week after he was last seen.
The dad-of-three told his brother, Tyler Berendsen, that he was excited for the NFL game before he disappeared.
“Two days before this, he had a conversation with me and was looking forward to going to the Packer game,” Tyler told ABC affiliate WISN.
“All of a sudden, to hear that people lost contact with him, I’m like, well, I’m going to the Packers game with him tomorrow, so I’ll get a hold of him and see if we’re still going or what’s going on.
“And that’s when I found out, like, OK, this is for real. He’s not answering.”
Tyler said he was surprised to learn the area where Berendsen’s Chevy Suburban was found.
“As far as I know, he’s not even familiar with that area where his truck was,” Tyler said.
Tyler and Berendsen’s sister, Hannah Canales, said their older brother didn’t answer the phone after he disappeared, which is unusual for him.
“He was calling the kids every night and wasn’t – didn’t call that night,” Canales said.
A look at Berendsen’s Facebook page revealed a doting dad who last posted a picture of his three kids on October 23.
The mother of Berendsen’s children posted on Facebook that she won’t be responding to any calls or texts following the news of Berendsen’s death.
Timeline of Benjamin Berendsen’s disappearance
A Wisconsin family has been left searching desperately for answers after dad-of-three Benjamin Berendsen went missing days before Thanksgiving.
Below is a timeline of Berendsen’s disappearance:
November 26 – Benjamin Berendsen is last seen
November 28 – Berendsen misses the Packers game he was supposed to attend with his brother
November 29 – Berendsen’s car is found abandoned going northbound on the shoulder of I-43 in Belgium, Wisconsin
December 3 – The Brown County Sheriff’s Office issues a missing endangered person alert
December 4 – Police find Berendsen’s body at 4:25 am in a swampy, heavily wooded area in Belgium
His family members left missing posters for Berendsen in gas stations near where his car was abandoned.
Berendsen’s sister said the community’s support was important while the family was left in limbo.
“Especially in this area, the community support has been really good,” Canales said.
“We’ve had a lot of people reaching out to us to check even just how we’re doing.
“You just feel like a shell of a human, like, you just feel like you’re going through the motions.”
POLICE SEARCH
The OCSO, presiding over the area where Berendsen’s car was found, helped BCSO with their investigation.
“A search of his vehicle was conducted along with several searches of the immediate area, including a K9 search, drone search, several searches by foot, and a canvas of the residences in the area,” Hermann said before Berendsen’s body was found, adding that officers also pinged his cell phone.
Before Berendsen was found, his brother vowed to keep fighting for answers in a now-heartbreaking message.
“Everything’s been unknown, and there’s been no answers, and that’s what we’re after is answers,” Tyler said.
“We’re going to keep going until we get something.”
