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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
What we know about the disappearance of Wisconsin toddler Elijah Vue
By Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN
Updated:
12:19 PM EDT, Thu April 18, 2024
Source: CNN
It’s been nearly two months since 3-year-old in Wisconsin while in
the care of a man who was in a relationship with his mother.
Since then, investigators have been steadfast in their search and
rescue efforts, providing ; reviewing more than 10,000 video files;
canvassing by land, air and water; conducting dozens of interviews; and
following hundreds of leads, the police chief in Two Rivers, a city on
Lake Michigan, told CNN affiliate .
“We literally went into every home, talked to everybody that lived in
each home,” Chief Ben Meinnert said a week ago. “We checked every
room, every cabinet, everything in those homes.”
And yet, they haven’t found the toddler.
Meanwhile, the little boy’s mother and the man who’d been watching
him have pleaded not guilty to felony child neglect and other charges
stemming from alleged incidents before the toddler’s disappearance,
court records show.
Here’s what we know about Elijah and the ongoing investigation:
Who is Elijah Vue?
Elijah has dark, sandy blond hair and brown eyes and is of Hmong and
White ethnicity, according to and a . He’s about 3 feet tall and 45
pounds, with a birthmark on his left knee.
The toddler was last seen wearing gray pants, a long-sleeved dark
shirt, and red and green dinosaur slip-on shoes, it says.
His favorite color is blue, his family told .
A month ago police Elijah’s red and white plaid blanket had been
discovered earlier in the investigation some 3.7 miles from around
where he was reported missing.
“We cannot express the depth of our sorrow nor the desperation that
consumes us as each moment passes without news of Elijah’s
safety,” his aunt Linda Vue at an early March news conference,
describing his unexplained absence as “a torment no family or child
should ever face.”
Meanwhile, several Facebook groups – the – have surfaced, with
people in and outside Twin Rivers discussing theories and details about
the case – one-time strangers now with a common goal of finding the
little boy.
What led up to the toddler’s disappearance
Elijah was reported missing February 20 by his caretaker at the time,
Jesse Vang, who was in a relationship with the child’s mother,
Katrina Baur, according to a criminal complaint filed in Manitowoc
County.
About a week later, Baur, 31, and Vang, 39, were unrelated to the
boy’s disappearance, court documents show. Baur also is charged with
misdemeanor offenses: two for resisting or obstructing an officer and
one for child neglect, according to court records.
CNN has reached out to attorneys for Baur and Vang. Baur and Vang are
being held at the Manitowoc County Jail, according to
Vang had been helping care for Elijah off and on for about a month, in
part trying to correct what Vang called Elijah’s “bad behaviors,”
according to the complaint. Baur wanted Vang to teach her young son
“by example how to be a man” and had spoken to Vang about the
“limits of what discipline she did not want used,” she told a
detective, according to the complaint.
Vang told a detective Elijah’s discipline included standing for one
to three hours while required to pray or say, “I’m sorry, mommy,”
the complaint said.
The toddler was mostly bottle-fed and was not potty-trained, Vang told
a detective, the complaint states. The boy was not allowed to play with
the one toy he had at Vang’s home from February 12 to 20 because he
was in “time out,” Vang said, according to the complaint.
While Baur was out of town February 17, Vang told her he was angry
Elijah had overfilled his diaper and gave him a cold shower, Baur told
authorities, the complaint reads.
The evening before the 3-year-old was last seen, Vang had three
12-ounce beers and a muscle relaxant as a sleep aid, he told police,
according to the complaint.
Vang told police he noticed Elijah was missing when he woke up from a
nap at his home, according to the complaint.
“At no point did she (Baur) admit she was in the city of Two Rivers
between February 12, 2024, and February 20, 2024, or had any
face-to-face contact with” her son, the detective who spoke with Baur
recalled, according to the court document.
How the investigation has unfolded
On the afternoon of February 20, Twin Rivers Police made the for help
finding Elijah, sharing photos of him and asking anyone with
information to call the department.
Then on March 5, the agency asked the public to footage for what it
called “a vehicle of interest” – a beige 1997 four-door Nissan
Altima with a Wisconsin tag starting with “A” and ending with
“0.”
Police already had the sedan, which did not belong to Vang or Baur,
they said, adding they were keen to see any footage of it captured
February 19 between 2 and 9 p.m.
That same week, a judge denied Baur’s request for a reduction of her
$15,000 bond, court documents show. Bond for Vang is set at $20,000,
records show.
During Baur’s bond hearing, her mother – Elijah’s grandmother –
wrote a letter to the court opposing a lower bond for her daughter,
citing the woman’s pattern of erratic behavior, poor judgement and
inability to take responsibility for her actions, reported.
“Her story always depends on her audience,” the letter read, the
station reported. “At this time, rather than aligning in locating her
son, she feels the need to reiterate what a good guy Jesse is and is
fully defending him and his actions. By aligning with him, she could
potentially have access to his extended family and ability to flee the
area.”
Baur on March 22 pleaded not guilty to charges against her, court
documents show; her next court appearance is April 26. Vang on Tuesday
pleaded not guilty to the felony child neglect charge and is due back
in court June 28, according to .
As Baur and Vang have attended court hearings, investigators have
continued looking for Elijah. still provide online updates laying out
where and with what agencies they searched that day, plus give updates
on Baur’s and Vang’s court proceedings.
Sometimes, they also share details of vigils planned for the missing
little boy.
CNN’s Paradise Afshar contributed to this report.
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