Missing Wisconsin toddler's blanket found weeks after he disappeared
The blanket of a missing Wisconsin toddler was found weeks after his disappearance, local police said on Monday.
The Two Rivers Police Department said that a red and white plaid blanket found earlier in this investigation was confirmed to belong to Elijah Vue, a Wisconsin 3-year-old who went missing on February 20. The blanket was found about 3.7 miles from where Elijah was last seen, the department said in a news release.
An initial description of Elijah said he was last seen wearing gray pants, a long-sleeved dark shirt, and red and green dinosaur shoes, according to CBS affiliate WDJT. He might have been carrying the blanket, WDJT reported.
Vue's mother Katrina Baur and another man, Jesse Vang, were arrested and charged with child neglect on Feb. 21. WDJT reported that local authorities said that Baur handed Elijah over to Vang for "discipline." The Vue family told the station that they don't know how Baur knew Vang, who served six years in prison for the distribution of methamphetamine. WDJT later described Vang as Baur's boyfriend.
It was Vang's apartment that Elijah disappeared from, police said, and Vang who reported him missing.
"(Baur) intentionally sent that child for disciplinary reasons for than a week to (Vang's) residence," Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre said in a court hearing on Feb. 23. "She was aware of the tactics used and the lack of care provided. This was an intentional thing by her."
Both Baur and Vang maintain that they had nothing to do with Elijah's disappearance, WDJT reported. They will next appear in court this week. Baur will be arraigned on Friday, while Vang's preliminary hearing will be held on Thursday, police said. Both remain held in Mantiwoc County Jail, according to online records.
Police have taken possession of a vehicle that they said was identified during the investigation. The car, a four-door 1997 Nissan Altima, has Wisconsin plates beginning with "A" and ending with "0." The car was not owned by Baur or Vang, police said.
"Our interest is not with the current owner of the vehicle, only in the camera footage captured on February 19, 2024, between the hours of 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM," the department said.
Anyone with information leading to the discovery of the toddler may be eligible for a reward of up to $40,000, police said.
Multiple agencies have been searching for Elijah since he was reported missing. The Two River Police Department has asked all members of the public to keep an eye out for the toddler and check all urban and rural areas, including water, to help find him or any evidence related to his disappearance. Officials have searched storm sewers, landfills, rivers and more, police said.
Elijah's uncle, Orson Vue, told WDJT that the family has been drained by the search effort but have been touched to see strangers organize searches for the toddler.
"It means everything, to be honest," Vue said. "If it was just me and my family doing this search, I don't know what we'd even do. With the whole world, really, reaching out, giving their support, their love, it means the world, and we couldn't do it without them."