Jesse Vang and Elijah Vue are seen Feb. 16, 2024, on this image taken from surveillance video at Ross Auto Service in Two Rivers. The boy was reported missing four days later. (Image courtesy Ross Auto Service)
MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — There continued to be more questions than answers as the search for 3-year-old Elijah Vue moves into its 11th day.
Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies continued to investigate the boy’s disappearance while his extended family organized volunteer searches to help find the toddler on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Vue’s mother, Katrina Baur, who is in jail, charged with child neglect and obstruction for allegedly lying to investigators searching for her son, requested her $15,000 cash bail be modified. A hearing on the issue hasn’t been scheduled.
From downtowns to country roads, waterways and woods, law enforcement officers, volunteers and private agencies were still scouring the region looking for Elijah Vue.
Volunteers remained hopeful in their search while still understanding the gravity of the situation.
“Anything, I don’t want to say, is better than nothing, but I want to see him alive somewhere, but you’ve got to be realistic about it too,” said Jerry Nejedlo of Mishicot.
It’s been more than a week since Vue was last reportedly seen in Two Rivers, by Jesse Vang, a man now in jail, charged with child neglect, connected to this case. Vang reported the boy, who was in his care, missing on Feb. 20.
Two Rivers police said during a news conference Tuesday night, a week after Vue disappeared, they were still trying to put together a timeline of where Vue was before he went missing.
FOX 11 spoke with the owner of Ross Auto Service in Two Rivers. He shared images of Vue in his shop with Jesse Vang on Friday, Feb. 16 — four days before Vang reported him missing.
He told us there was nothing unusual about the visit and when he learned about the missing boy, he immediately shared everything he had with authorities.
While it’s unclear whether these images of Vue are some of the last before he went missing, searchers who are prepared to help look for the boy for as long as they need to wished they had more information to go on when they’re out and about.
“If you knew a certain time frame, where and when, I think you can narrow a search down, but law enforcement has their own ways, I guess, and just gotta go with what we have,” Nejedlo said.
While the volunteer search for Elijah Vue has centered in Manitowoc County, the family has put out a call for volunteers familiar with the Cleveland and Sheboygan areas in Sheboygan County, specifically marshes, creeks and deep wooded areas to come help them search on Saturday.
Elijah Vue was reported as last seen by his Jesse Vang at 8 a.m. Feb. 20. The boy was at Vang’s apartment in the 3900 block of Mishicot Road.
Vue has dark blond hair and brown eyes, weighs around 45 pounds,is three feet tall and has a birthmark on his left knee.
Police continue to remind the public, that no tip or bit of information is too small. Anyone who may have seen Vue or know where he is, is urged to call 1-844-267-6648.
Elijah Vue, 3, was reported missing from Two Rivers Feb. 20, 2024. (Photo source: Two Rivers Police Dept.)
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