Elijah Vue: Two Rivers boy missing, volunteers search Avery salvage yard
MANITOWOC, Wis. - Volunteers continue to gather for large-scale searches nearly seven weeks after 3-year-old Elijah Vue was reported missing. On Monday, April 8, volunteer searchers headed to the Avery Salvage yard, just off Highway I-47 near Mishicot, WLUK reported.
Volunteers say there is no specific evidence linking the boy to the salvage yard. The salvage yard is less than nine miles from where the boy was last seen. The search didn't appear to uncover any new evidence, according to WLUK.
Have you seen him?
Authorities said Vue's caregiver last saw him at 8 a.m. at his home on Tuesday, Feb. 20 – near 39th and Mishicot in Two Rivers. He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a long-sleeved, dark-colored shirt, and red-and-green dinosaur slip-on shoes.
Vue, who is of Hmong descent, is described as 3 feet tall and 45 pounds with sandy hair and brown eyes. Officials said he has a birthmark on his left knee.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 844-267-6648 or 920-686-7200. You can also submit a tip through the FBI website, or to Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers through the P3 app.
Elijah Vue
Latest in court
Manitowoc County prosecutors charged 39-year-old Jesse Vang with neglecting a child. He was ordered by a judge on Thursday, April 4 to stand trial on a child neglect charge in the child's disappearance.
After hearing testimony from two law enforcement officers, a Manitowoc County judge ruled there was enough evidence to move the case forward against Jesse Vang, 39, in Elijah Vue’s disappearance, news outlets reported. The judge also denied a defense motion to drop the case against Vang.
The Two Rivers, Wisconsin, man was formally charged in February with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect in Elijah’s disappearance. He is being held on a $20,000 cash bond, with his arraignment hearing set for April 16.
Jesse Vang and Katrina Baur (Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office)
Vang is the boyfriend of Elijah’s mother, Katrina Baur of Wisconsin Dells, who was charged in February with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer.
Prosecutors later amended the felony count to a charge of party-to-a-crime chronic child neglect and filed a misdemeanor charge of neglecting a child against Baur, who is being held on a $15,000 cash bond.
Elijah was last seen at a residence in Two Rivers where Baur, 31, had left her son to stay with Vang because she wanted him to teach the youngster "to be a man," according to a criminal complaint.
Vang called police Feb. 20 and reported the boy missing, telling officers he had taken a nap and brought the 3-year-old in the bedroom with him, but when he awoke three hours later he was gone.
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Rewards offered
Rewards in the search for Vue have risen to a combined $40,000.
The Two Rivers Police Department on Monday, March 11 announced the city has raised $15,000 in reward money through community donations. Donations to that reward fund are still being accepted.
The donation-driven reward is in addition to two other rewards already announced for information in the case. There is an FBI reward of up to $15,000, and a Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers reward of up to $10,000.