Elijah Vue

Case background and investigation

Elijah Vue was three years old when he was reported missing on February 20, 2024, from an apartment in Two Rivers, in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. According to WBAY and Fox 11, the report was made by Jesse Vang, the boyfriend of Elijah's mother, Katrina Baur, in whose care the boy was staying. An Amber Alert was issued the same day.

WBAY reported that Elijah had been sent from Wisconsin Dells to stay with Vang in Two Rivers. Prosecutors allege that Baur sent her son there for disciplinary reasons, according to Fox 11. Both adults were charged in the weeks after the disappearance with child neglect offences. Baur pleaded not guilty in March 2024, and Vang pleaded not guilty to felony chronic child neglect at an arraignment on April 16, 2024, WBAY reported. At that stage no one had been charged over the disappearance itself.

Searches continued for months. According to the Solve the Case listing, police confirmed in March 2024 that a blanket belonging to Elijah had been found about 3.7 miles from where he was last seen.

On September 7, 2024, human remains were discovered on private property in a wooded area near the entrance to Camp Manitou, Fox 11 reported. The remains were subsequently identified as Elijah's; the Solve the Case listing says the identification was made through DNA testing by the Wisconsin state crime laboratory.

New charges followed. Vang is charged with physical abuse of a child causing death and hiding a corpse. Baur is charged with chronic neglect of a child where the consequence is death, along with further neglect counts. WSAW reported that Baur pleaded not guilty to those charges on October 30, 2024, and that her bond had been raised to $400,000. The Solve the Case listing states that both defendants have pleaded not guilty. These are allegations that have not been tested at trial, and neither defendant has been convicted of any offence relating to Elijah's death.

Pretrial proceedings have continued through 2026. On May 18, 2026, a Manitowoc County judge denied Vang's request to move the trial or bring in a jury from another county, Fox 11 reported. On June 5, 2026, the court set a joint trial for both defendants beginning April 14, 2027, expected to last about two and a half weeks. On September 18, 2026, the judge ruled that an FBI specialist in geologic materials may testify for the prosecution, according to WBAY; the defence had challenged that evidence.