Prosecutors filed new charges Thursday against the mother of a 3-year-old Wisconsin boy who vanished last month, and a judge rejected her request for a bond reduction after new details surrounding accusations of the days leading up to Elijah Vue’s disappearance were revealed.
Tuesday marked three weeks since 3-year-old Elijah Vue disappeared in Wisconsin.
Searches remained ongoing and a reward climbed to $40,000 as the public and police continue a quest for answers in the Two Rivers area, but still, police said "Elijah Vue has not been found."
Much has unfolded in the case in the weeks since the young boy was first reported missing.
Charges were filed, new details on what happened prior to his disappearance were revealed and a vehicle of interest was identified.
Here's a look at what we know about the case so far:
When did Elijah Vue go missing?
Elijah has been missing since Feb. 20, when he disappeared from a residence in Two Rivers.
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He had been at a home with his mother's boyfriend, Jesse Vang, at the time.
Vang called police Feb. 20 and reported the boy missing, telling officers he had taken a nap and brought the 3-year-old in the bedroom with him, but when he awoke some three hours later, the toddler was gone, according to the complaint.
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What happened in the days leading up to Elijah's disappearance?
Baur told police she had left her 3-year-old with Vang on Feb. 12 because she wanted him to teach her son “to be a man,” and she had intended to pick him up Feb. 23, according to a criminal complaint.
Prosecutors told the court last week they had evidence Elijah's mother, Katrina Baur, left the 3-year-old unattended for at least an hour on Feb. 16 as she and Vang traveled to other locations throughout Manitowoc, WLUK-TV reported. They also said they had evidence Baur left a 6-year-old child unattended in a vehicle Feb. 14 for about an hour in temperatures below freezing without the vehicle running.
Why were charges filed in the case?
Baur, of the Wisconsin Dells, was charged last month with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. The 31-year-old is being held on a $15,000 cash bond. Manitowoc County prosecutors amended the felony count on Thursday to a charge of party-to-a-crime chronic child neglect and also filed a misdemeanor charge of neglecting a child against Baur.
Vang, 39, of Two Rivers, was formally charged in February with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect. He is being held on a $20,000 cash bond.
During her hearing, Baur’s attorney, Ann Larson, told the court that “there’s a lot of high emotion going on, but there’s also a lot of high emotion going on with Ms. Baur. She’s been worried sick not knowing where her son is.”
Baur and Vang are both scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 14.
What have police said so far?
Wisconsin police said Elijah Vue remained missing as of Monday.
"We continued our search efforts through the weekend. Today follow up on leads continued and searches were conducted by law enforcement, with help from the Two Rivers Fire Department, on local waterways and other rural areas," the Two Rivers Police Department wrote on Facebook. "We also continued to follow up on numerous tips and leads including reviewing and following up on the large amounts of video that have been submitted."
Police had requested any potential video footage that might be connected to the case, including anything that may feature a vehicle of interest.
The "vehicle of interest" was first released in an update last week from the department.
Authorities said the vehicle of interest was in the possession of law enforcement. Police released pictures of the car, a 1997 four-door beige Nissan Altima. The vehicle has a Wisconsin license plate that begins with "A" and ends with "0."
"Our interest is not with the current owner of the vehicle," the department said, noting that they are instead focused on finding any potential camera footage of the vehicle captured on Feb. 19, the day before Elijah was reported missing, between the hours of 2 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Neither Elijah's mother nor Vang are the owners of the vehicle, police said.
Search efforts are expected to continue, police said, as they "follow up on tips and leads."
"Please contact our tip line at 844-267-6648 with any tips or leads," the department said. "You may also submit information via the Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers P3 App. We will provide you with further information when it becomes available."
