TWO RIVERS – Six months have passed since 3-year-old Elijah Vue was reported missing.
In a news release Aug. 20, Two Rivers Police Department Capt. Andrew Raatz said: “We feel it’s important for the public to know that while they might have seen us in the last several months resuming standard operations within our community such as calls for service, community events and the like, the search for Elijah and the investigation still continues and remains our priority.
"Our investigative team, including members of our agency, led by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is actively working on this investigation, as are other entities outside our department.
“This is still an active investigation, and we are working hard to find answers. We will continue to share any information as we can. Thank you for your continued support.”
The captain added police continue to follow up on tips and leads with the help of local, state and federal law enforcement partners.
“We are confident that our investigation will ultimately reveal the truth of Elijah’s disappearance,” Raatz added.
Raatz said investigators continue to analyze “extensive amounts of data” from searches done on land, water and by air by private search-and-rescue groups. The analysis utilizes “specialized equipment and technology such as software designed to detect anomalies in the earth,” he said.
“In the coming weeks, we plan to continue our search efforts using additional aerial searches with this technology,” Raatz added.
Rumors spread of Elijah’s discovery as police warn of scams and false information.
In the Aug. 20 news release, Raatz warned that rumors online and on social media stating Elijah has been found are false.
He added, “The spreading of false and misleading information is disrespectful to the family of Elijah and detracts from our efforts in locating him.”
Police have also learned of fake GoFundMe or similar crowdsourcing pages and other scams.
“We are also aware of some individuals who appear close to the case and have proven ulterior motives by spreading false information,” Raatz said. “We would like to remind everyone that we remain the sole source of factual information in this investigation and will release more information and updates when they are available to share.”
Angelique McNaughton, a GoFundMe spokesperson, told the Herald Times Reporter: "Our Trust & Safety team is continuing to monitor and will review any fundraisers related to this situation to ensure compliance with GoFundMe Terms of Service. A single fundraiser was identified and removed from the platform before any funds were raised."
Elijah Vue was reported missing Feb. 20 from a Two Rivers apartment.
Elijah was reported missing Feb. 20 by Jesse Vang, 39, of Two Rivers, boyfriend of Elijah’s mother, 31-year-old Katrina B. Baur, who was at her Wisconsin Dells residence at the time.
Jesse Vang told police the last time he saw Elijah was at around 8 a.m. Feb. 20 after Vang had ordered the 3-year-old to stand next to Vang's bed and pray as a punishment.
Vang said he fell asleep, and when he woke up nearly three hours later, the boy was gone and he called 911 to report him missing at 10:59 a.m.
More about Jesse Vang:What to know about Jesse Vang, the Two Rivers man charged with neglecting missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue
Baur and Vang are both in custody on child neglect charges.
Baur and Vang were both arrested in February shortly after Elijah’s disappearance and were charged with child neglect. They remain in custody at Manitowoc County Jail. Baur is being held on a $15,000 cash bond while Vang is being held on a $20,000 cash bond. The Wisconsin court system requires people to pay the full cash bail to be released from custody.
Baur has been charged with felony child neglect, misdemeanor child neglect involving another child, and two misdemeanor charges of resisting or obstructing an officer. Her next court date is a status conference at 3 p.m. Oct. 22 before Judge Robert Dewane.
Vang also faces neglect charges in relation to Elijah’s disappearance. He is due in court for a status conference at 2 p.m. Sept. 27 before Judge Dewane.
Katrina Baur's case:No bail reduction for mother of missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue, but judge grants her supervised visits with her other child
Jesse Vang had been helping with Elijah’s care and discipline for about a month.
Vang said he had assisted with Elijah’s care and discipline on and off for about a month. During this time, Elijah was dropped off to stay with Vang at Vang’s residence in the 3900 block of Mishicot Road in Two Rivers Feb. 12 and was supposed to return to his mother on Feb. 23.
The morning Elijah disappeared, Vang told police he saw the boy sleeping on a sofa in the living room when he woke up at 7:30 a.m. to help his own son get on the bus for school. He then woke Elijah up and gave him cereal to eat, but didn’t change his diaper, and then had him stand next to Vang’s bed and pray.
Vang said he shut the door and fell asleep at around 8 a.m. When he woke up nearly three hours later, the boy was gone. He called 911 at 10:59 a.m. to report the boy missing. The Two Rivers Police Department sent out a Wisconsin AMBER Alert, which is an emergency child abduction alert, for Elijah a few hours after he was reported missing.
Vang told police he would force Elijah to stand for two to three hours without sitting as a punishment and he would threaten Elijah with cold water.
Criminal complaint states Elijah’s mother wanted Jesse Vang to teach her son ‘how to be a man.’
According to a criminal complaint in the case against Baur, Elijah was staying at Vang’s Two Rivers residence at an apartment in the 3900 block of Mishicot Road for more than a week before he was reported missing.
Baur told police she wanted Vang to teach Elijah “how to be a man.” She typically resided in Wisconsin Dells with Elijah.
The misdemeanor child neglect charge against Baur involving another child pertains to a 6-year-old and stems from a visit Baur made to Vang’s residence Feb. 14, which was Valentine’s Day. She brought the 6-year-old child with her but left her in the car while she went inside to have sex, according to the amended criminal complaint.
The complaint notes that the National Weather Service listed the temperature for Feb. 14 at a low of 27 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 36 degrees, and Baur had texted Vang about leaving the car off so the lights wouldn’t draw attention.
Police also found a deleted photo on Baur’s phone from Feb. 14 of Elijah lying down on a bed. The photo showed Elijah had a blindfold over his eyes and appeared to have bruising on his jawline, neck and upper arm on the left side.
During another visit to Two Rivers, Baur and Vang spent time at a Kwik Trip and at Saucy’s Sports Bar in Manitowoc, respectively. According to the complaint, the 6-year-old child was left with a neighbor in Wisconsin Dells during that time, but police believe Elijah may have been left alone at Vang’s residence.
“Law enforcement has been unable to locate anyone other than Jesse Vang or Katrina Baur who cared for the child (Elijah) on February 16 and 17, 2024,” the complaint states.
The complaint listed a series of texts from Feb. 18 between Vang and Baur. Vang told Baur to trust him regarding Elijah’s visit with him and that he’ll make sure “he hates me and being here.”
She responded that she only wanted Elijah to fear him, not hate him, the complaint said.
Vang messaged back, “he did fear me ... but he didn’t respect me ... now I’m making him respect me.”
Elijah’s blanket was found earlier in the investigation.
March 18, Two Rivers police confirmed they had located a red-and-white plaid blanket belonging to Elijah earlier in the investigation on Goodwin Road east of County B in Manitowoc County.
They said the location was 3.7 miles away from the apartment building in the 3900 block of Mishicot Road in Two Rivers where Elijah was reportedly last seen.
Missing children in Wisconsin:Elijah Vue is one of more than 30 missing children in Wisconsin
Police recovered a vehicle in relation to the investigation.
With the search in its 15th day March 5, Two Rivers Police Department said in a news release a vehicle they recovered — a 1997 four-door Nissan Altima, beige in color, bearing Wisconsin registration beginning with “A” and ending with “0” — was not owned by either Baur or Vang.
Police had asked people and businesses in Manitowoc County and those in adjacent counties to check their security camera footage for the vehicle between 2 and 9 p.m. Feb. 19. They said their “interest is not with the current owner of the vehicle, only in the camera footage captured” Feb. 19.
A candlelight vigil was held in Two Rivers March 16.
A candlelight vigil was held for Elijah March 16 at Walsh Field in Two Rivers.
Family, friends and community members turned out to share in the hope that Elijah would be found. They lit candles, blew bubbles and spoke of the community’s resolve in searching for Elijah.
The search for Elijah Vue has been wide ranging.
The wide-ranging, monthslong search for Elijah has included everything from canvassing of urban and rural neighborhoods; searches of rivers, shores, a landfill in Calumet County and a farm waste container in Manitowoc County; aerial searches using drones; K9 teams “checking and rechecking various areas”; searches by horseback of rural farmland; investigation in Baur’s hometown of Wisconsin Dells; and the analysis of extremely large amounts of video data.
Reward money is still being offered for information leading to the discovery of Elijah or the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for his disappearance: $15,000 through the FBI, $10,000 through Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers and $15,000 through the city of Two Rivers, funded through community donations.
Anyone with information about the case can contact the tip line at 844-267-6648 or submit information via the Crime Stoppers app P3.
Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 orbreid@gannett.com, or follow himon X at@breidHTRNews.
