There are three possibilities for Benjen Stark as far as I'm considered. And since you asked(thanks!) I'll tell you what they are.
A few wafts of spoilers...read at your own risk.
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1. He's alive and on a mission..
I think he's alive.
In A Clash of Kings, while Mormont's force is making camp at the Fist of the First Men, Ghost leads Jon to find what he thinks is a fresh grave. After digging into the dirt Jon uncovers a cache of dragon glass daggers, arrowheads, an old broken horn and it's all wrapped in the black cloak of a Night's Watchman.
I think it's Benjen Stark's cloak.
I think on his last mission he met with the Children of the Forest and he's working with them against the threat of the Others. The Children of the Forest had him plant that cache for Ghost and Jon to find because the dragonglass is one of the few effective weapons against the Others.
Perhaps he knew they were going to be attacked soon.
Where he went from there is anybody's guess. But I think he's headed North. I think he's on a mission, given to him by the Children of the Forest. Something he feels he has to take care of. Something to aid the Realms of Men against the Others.
Maybe Bran already knows his fate.
My main evidence is this. He's a minor character but his name is mentioned HUNDREDS of times. Surely that's only because GRRM wants us to make sure to remember him, right? Remember him and the mystery of his disappearance? The disappearance that caused Jeor Mormont to venture out on a Great Ranging that ended up utterly disastrous to the Castle Black garrison? I mean, what would be the point, story-wise if he's dead.
Unless that is the point. Which leads me to possibility number two.
2. He's dead.
He could be dead. Sometimes people get lost in the wilderness and die. It happens. It happens even today. People wander off the Appallachian trail, or into the jungles of the Amazon and are never heard from again.
And there's textual evidence for it. Fairly damning it is, too.
The raven gave a cackling scream, but the Old Bear smiled through the grey of his beard. “This many men and horses leave a trail even Aemon could follow. On this hill, our fires ought to be visible as far off as the foothills of the Frostfangs. If Ben Stark is alive and free, he will come to us, I have no doubt.”“Yes,” said Jon, “but … what if …”“… he’s dead?” Mormont asked, not unkindly.Jon nodded, reluctantly.“Dead,” the raven said. “Dead. Dead.”“He may come to us anyway,” the Old Bear said. “As Othor did, and Jafer Flowers. I dread that as much as you, Jon, but we must admit the possibility.”“Dead,” his raven cawed, ruffling its wings. Its voice grew louder and more shrill. “Dead.”
We don't expect that to happen to someone who's been given so much prominence in this series.
But this wouldn't be the first time that GRRM played with readers' expectations on how stories go.
Far from it.
In fact, he's made himself a household name by playing with readers' expectations.
But I do think it would be anti-climactic if he was dead. Not exactly the jaw-dropper that the Red Wedding was.
But it could be that he is dead..
If so, then maybe we can look forward to a cheerful family reunion when his frozen reanimated corpse comes lumbering up to a random Stark and gives them a big ole hug of death.
3. He just got lost. Hey, it's a trackless forest. It's not like he has GPS.
(yes, I've read other theories:
He's the Hooded man in Winterfell!
He's Euron Greyjoy in disguise!
He's Daario Naharis!
He's Coldhands....I pretty much consider all of those theories crap. Maybe that's strong language. I mean, I just think those theories vary from the implausible to the pointless to the ridiculous.
That's just me, though.
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