Key facts
- Name: Lisa Michelle Stebic (née Ruttenberg)
- Born: May 19, 1969, Illinois
- Age at disappearance: 37
- Last seen: April 30, 2007
- Location: Plainfield, Illinois (her home)
- Height / build: 5’2″, 120–125 lbs, brown hair, brown eyes; rose tattoo on ankle, pink heart on belly, butterfly with children’s names on mid-back
- Status: Still missing — family calls it “a very cold case”
- Investigating agency: Plainfield Police Department; FBI
The run she never came home from
Lisa Stebic’s husband said she went out for a jog.
On April 30, 2007, the 37-year-old mother of two was living in the Plainfield, Illinois, home she shared with her estranged husband Craig Stebic — fourteen years married, divorcing, barely speaking, still under the same roof. Craig told police he believed Lisa had been picked up from their home around 6 p.m., voluntarily or by force. Her car stayed in the driveway. Her purse and cell phone were gone. Nothing on her credit cards or phone has ever shown activity since.
She was reported missing on May 1 — not by her husband, but by a neighbor.
What followed became one of the most bitterly watched missing-person cases in Chicago-area history, and not only because a young mother had vanished. It was what her husband did next: nothing. Craig Stebic refused to talk to the police. He refused to help with the investigation. He refused to help with the searches. Police named him a “person of interest” — he has never been named a suspect — and he hired a lawyer and went silent.
Nineteen years later, Lisa Stebic is still missing. As a family member, Melanie Greenberg, said in 2026, the disappearance has “become a very cold case” — and the family believes Lisa is dead.
Who Lisa was
Lisa Michelle Ruttenberg was born May 19, 1969, in Illinois. She married Craig Stebic and had two children, Zach and Lexi — their names inked in a butterfly tattoo across her lower back, alongside a small rose on her ankle and a pink heart on her belly.
By the spring of 2007, the marriage was over in everything but paperwork. Lisa had tried to have Craig evicted from the home, according to CNN’s reporting at the time. The couple were living as hostile roommates. Friends described Lisa as a devoted mother caught in an ugly divorce. Then, on the last day of April, she was simply gone.
The investigation
The Plainfield police chief told NBC’s Today show early on that foul play was suspected. The FBI joined the search, and in October 2007 added Lisa’s photo and case details to its kidnapped and missing persons website. Her face appeared on national television at the end of the October 11, 2007, broadcast of the CBS drama Without a Trace, and her case was detailed the next morning on The Early Show.
But the investigation kept colliding with the same wall: Craig Stebic. His refusal to cooperate — even to take a polygraph, even to help search for the mother of his children — made him the focus of public suspicion, though police were careful with their language. “Person of interest” was as far as it ever went.
The case also produced one of the strangest media scandals in Chicago true-crime history. WBBM-TV, the local CBS affiliate, broadcast video of a rival station’s reporter, Amy Jacobson, at the Stebic home — wearing a bikini, socializing with Craig Stebic’s family. Jacobson, Craig’s sister Jill Webb, and her husband Robert Webb all filed lawsuits against WBBM over the airing. The bikini footage became a national punchline. Lisa Stebic’s disappearance became a footnote to it, which her family found unbearable.
Searches came and went. Leads dried up. In December 2007, another local woman — Stacy Peterson of nearby Bolingbrook — vanished, and the national media moved on. Lisa’s case, already cold, went colder.
Theories: what might have happened
Foul play by someone close to her. Police have said from the start that they suspect foul play, and Craig Stebic’s behavior — refusing to speak to investigators or join searches for his missing wife — is the fact the public can’t get past. What supports it: the timing (an acrimonious divorce, an attempted eviction), the husband’s silence, and the absence of any sign Lisa planned to leave. What undercuts a charge: no body, no forensic evidence, no witness — and Craig Stebic has never been named a suspect, only a person of interest. He maintains his innocence through his silence, and the presumption of innocence applies.
Voluntary disappearance. Craig’s initial suggestion was that Lisa left voluntarily — or was “picked up” by someone. Against it: she left her car, never touched her money or phone, never contacted her children, and never surfaced in nineteen years. Mothers in the middle of custody fights don’t usually abandon their children without a word.
Abduction by a stranger. Possible in any case, but investigators have never publicly pointed that way, and nothing about the scene — a woman last seen at her own home — suggested a random attack.
Have information?
Contact the Plainfield Police Department or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov. You can also call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- May 19, 1969 — Lisa Michelle Ruttenberg is born in Illinois.
- April 30, 2007 — Lisa is last seen at her Plainfield home; her husband says she went for a jog around 6 p.m.
- May 1, 2007 — Reported missing by a neighbor.
- May 2007 — Plainfield police chief tells NBC’s Today that foul play is suspected; Craig Stebic refuses to cooperate.
- July 2007 — Police name Craig Stebic a “person of interest.”
- October 2007 — FBI adds Lisa to its kidnapped and missing persons website; her photo airs on Without a Trace and The Early Show.
- December 2007 — Stacy Peterson’s disappearance in nearby Bolingbrook shifts national attention away.
- 2026 — Family member Melanie Greenberg says the case has “become a very cold case”; the family believes Lisa is dead.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Lisa Stebic still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Lisa Stebic has been missing for more than nineteen years. There has been no confirmed trace of her since April 30, 2007.
Was Lisa Stebic ever found?
No. No remains have been identified as Lisa’s, and no credible sightings have ever been confirmed.
How old would Lisa Stebic be today?
Lisa was born May 19, 1969 — she turned 57 in May 2026.
Why didn’t Lisa Stebic’s husband help police?
Craig Stebic refused to speak with investigators or assist in searches, hiring an attorney instead. Police named him a “person of interest” but never a suspect. His reasons have never been publicly explained.
What was the bikini video scandal in the Lisa Stebic case?
Chicago’s WBBM-TV aired footage of rival reporter Amy Jacobson socializing at the Stebic home wearing a bikini. Jacobson and members of Craig Stebic’s family sued the station. The scandal overshadowed coverage of Lisa’s disappearance.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Anyone with information should contact the Plainfield Police Department or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Federal Bureau of Investigation — “Lisa Michelle Stebic” (kidnapped/missing persons listing).
- News: Fox News (“Illinois Police Search for Missing Mom,” May 10–11, 2007); CNN (“Woman tried to evict husband, disappeared”); Today/NBC News (“Police investigating missing woman’s husband,” Oct 2007); Chicago Sun-Times (Janet Lundquist’s coverage, 2007); CBS Local (“Six Years Ago, Lisa Stebic Left For A Run And Never Returned,” April 2013).
- Reference: Wikipedia, “Disappearance of Lisa Stebic” (retrieved Oct 2026); Uncovered.com case file.
- Media: Without a Trace (CBS, Oct 11, 2007); The Early Show (CBS, Oct 12, 2007); True Crime Garage (episodes 271–272, 2019).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.