Elijah Vue update: Mother pleads not guilty to child neglect charges as search reaches fifth weekend
Authorities found Elijah Vue’s missing blanket four miles from his last known location
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Elijah Vue’s mother pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges in connection to the toddler’s disappearance.
Katrina Baur appeared briefly before Judge Robert Dewane, with her next court appearance now set over a month from now.
This comes after a brief court appearance on Thursday for her friend Jesse Vang, who was the last known person to see Elijah.
The toddler was last seen by Mr Vang on 20 February in Two Rivers, a town on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Authorities say Ms Baur sent her son to live with Mr Vang for “disciplinary reasons,” where the boy was reportedly subjected to lengthy time-outs and threats of cold water if he misbehaved.
Now, it has emerged that Mr Vang was previously charged with human trafficking. The charges were later dropped.
Earlier this week, police found a blanket belonging to Elijah four miles from his last known location. There is a $40,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to an arrest. Officials describe Elijah as three feet tall, with brown hair and brown eyes — he is also of Hmong and white ethnicity.
Jesse Vang will return to court next month
The last person to reportedly see Elijah, Jesse Vang, appeared in court on Thursday morning.
The schedule preliminary hearing was adjourned after only a few minutes, following a request by Mr Vang’s new attorneys.
As they could not be in court in person and need time to get up-to-speed with the case, Judge Robert Dewane granted the adjournment until 4 April at 11am.
Mr Vang remains in custody.
Elijah’s mother due in court today
Katrina Baur, 31, is due back in court today (Friday) for her arraignment hearing on charges of chronic child neglect and obstruction.
The hearing is scheduled for 4pm local time at the Manitowoc County Courthouse with Judge Robert Dewane.
Ms Baur is charged with chronic neglect of a child, neglecting a child and two counts of restriting or obstructing an officer.
At a previous hearing, the court heard a statement from Ms Baur’s mother, Jodi Baur, who asked the court not to honour a request to lower the suspect’s bond of $15,000.
“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,” Jodi Baur said.
The grandmother alleged that by aligning herself with Mr Vang’s family, her daughter had potential access to his extended family and they could help her flee the area.
The grandmother said Ms Baur had cut ties with her family in October 2022 and that she had a history of erratic behaviour.
“I don’t feel it’s worth the risk to lower her bond, especially as [Elijah] has not been found and many questions remain unanswered,” the statement continued.
Red-and-white blanket was last known clue
Earlier this week, Two Rivers Police Department said it had positively identified a blanket found earlier in its investigation as belonging to Elijah.
The update, posted on Monday, was the last real update on the search for the 3-year-old.
When the initial missing persons report was issued, the plaid blanket was highlighted as an object Elijah might have been carrying.
Read the full story here.
Elijah was subjected to “disciplinary” tactics
Elijah Vue’s mother Katrina Baur sent him to stay with Jesse Vang on 12 February, so that he could teach the little boy how to “be a man”.
While he stayed with Mr Vang, Elijah was subjected to time-outs lasting between one and three hours, where he had to remain standing.
At times he was told to pray, or to repeatedly say “sorry mommy”, according to statements given to police by Mr Vang.
On the morning he disappeared, Elijah had been told by Mr Vang to stand at the foot of his bed while the man took a nap at around 8am. When Mr Vang woke up, Elijah was gone and he has not been seen since.
Questions remain around seized car
Earlier in March, Two Rivers Police Department issued a plea for help in piecing together the movements of a vehicle connected with the case.
TRPD released images of the beige 1997 Nissan Altima, saying it wanted help in working out the car’s path the day before Elijah was reported missing.
Since then, the vehicle has not been mentioned by the department in its updates on Facebook.
Read the story here:
Elijah Vue: Police release new photos of car in connection to boy’s disappearance
Two Rivers Police shared photos of a beige 1997 Nissan Altima in connection to the case
Where did Elijah Vue go missing?
Elijah disappeared from Jesse Vang’s home in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
The small town sits on the shore of Lake Michigan, with the closest city being Manitowoc.
The little boy was staying around 150 miles from his home in Wisconsin Dells, making it around a 2.5 hour drive away.
Two Rivers is home to around 11,000 people and its police department has been leading the search for Elijah.
The text messages between Elijah’s mum and her friend
An updated criminal complaint on Wednesday gave us new details on messages between Katrina Baur and Jesse Vang, where they discussed disciplining Elijah.
“I told you to trust me… I’m a make sure he hates me and being here,” Mr Vang reportedly told the mother on 18 February.
She responded: “Don’t want him to *hate* YOU. Just fear you.”
However, Mr Vang reportedly told Ms Baur not to worry and said that someone “had to be the bad person” in the situation.
“I know but either way he can fear you and respect you,” Ms Baur replied, with Mr Vang responding that Elijah did fear him, “but he didn’t respect me... now I’m making him respect me.”
Their messages also included photos of Elijah with bruising on his face and wearing a blindfold, as well as standing in a corner in a full diaper, his hands in a praying position.
Elijah’s mother knew Jesse Vang in 2015
Reports in local media have outlined an apparent relationship between Katrina Baur and Jesse Vang dating back to late-2015.
WBAY reports of a “troubled past” for Mr Vang, Elijah’s mother Katrina Baur and the boy’s biological father Jimmy Vue.
Court documents state that in November 2015 police were called out to a hotel in Appleton, Outagamie County. When they arrived, they found Ms Baur hiding in the bathroom after she got the hotel staff to call 911.
She then told officers that she had been sexually assaulted by two men, one of whom was Mr Vang.
Ms Baur then told officers that she was “their property” and she had been taken to Minnesota to perform sexual acts in exchange for compensation, which included drugs.
Charges of human trafficking were later dropped, NBC 26 reported.
Read the full story here:
Last person known to see Elijah Vue faced human trafficking charges in 2015
The 3-year-old’s mother told investigators that she was Jesse Vang’s ‘property’ in 2015
Search for Elijah passes one month mark
The search for Elijah Vue passed one month on Wednesday, with law enforcement and volunteers continuing to look for him.
Here is a timeline of events so far:
Timeline of disappearance and search for missing Wisconsin three-year-old
The child’s mother and her boyfriend remain in custody as the search reaches the month mark
Police have urged searchers not to trespass
The last update on the search from Two Rivers Police Department came on Monday 18 March.
The department urged those trying to help find Elijah to be “respectful of private property” after some reports of individuals trespassing on private land.
“Law Enforcement has already thoroughly searched many areas of interest on private land with the permission of property owners,” the post read. “Please continue to search your own properties if you haven't done so and encourage others to do the same.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.