A search for Todd Sabatini and his 22-month-old son, Theo, widened across state lines after the pair vanished during what police described as a normal afternoon walk from their McHenry, Illinois, home. Authorities say the father left around noon on Saturday and never brought the child back as expected, setting off concern from family members and a fast-moving investigation that has now reached Wisconsin.
McHenry police said the walk was routine for the father and son, but family members contacted officers after they did not return within a few hours. Investigators later learned the outing appeared out of character for Sabatini, 36, and that he did not have the supplies needed for a longer trip with Theo. Police also said Theo’s stroller was found behind a local business, adding another piece to a troubling and confusing timeline.
Security footage and witness contacts helped police piece together part of the afternoon. Officers said video captured Sabatini trying to make contact with someone at Zion Lutheran Church at a supermarket, and he also spoke with someone at a Taco Bell. From there, police said, father and son took a rideshare to the Greenfield Police Department in Wisconsin, about an hour’s drive from McHenry. Sabatini then spoke with an officer before leaving the station on foot with Theo by 2 p.m. Saturday. What he discussed with the officer has not been made public.
By late Saturday, the case had become a broader search with help from police in both Illinois and Wisconsin. In an update, McHenry police said they had reliable information placing Sabatini and Theo in Milwaukee and were working with law enforcement partners across the two states to continue the search. The department’s warnings and updates show that investigators are treating the boy’s disappearance as an active, urgent case rather than a routine welfare concern.
