TWO RIVERS – As the search for Elijah Vue continues nearly a week after the three-year-old boy’s disappearance, Vue’s mother Katrina Baur and her boyfriend Jesse Vang appeared in Manitowoc County Court Monday afternoon. Both Vang and Baur were charged with child neglect, while Baur also faces obstruction charges related to lying to officers about her whereabouts.
According to the criminal complaint, Baur told detectives that Jesse Vang was the enforcer of rules in their relationship and that was the reason she sent Vue to stay with Vang.
According to the complaint, Vang told investigators that the boy was afraid of him and he was disciplined using “time outs,” including being forced to stand for 1-3 hours and requiring him to pray. Vang also made Elijah take a cold shower for dirtying his diaper, which Vang admitted he only changed one time per day.
Vang regularly threatened him with cold water for not complying with orders, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleged that Baur sent Elijah to Vang’s residence in Two Rivers, where he later disappeared from, specifically for disciplinary reasons. Police said Vang told them he fell asleep on February 20 while watching Vue at his apartment. Vang said when he woke up, Vue was gone.
Neither Baur nor Vang have admitted to having anything to do with Elijah’s disappearance. Both remain in Manitowoc County Jail, with Baur’s bail set at $15,000 and Vang’s at $20,000 on the child neglect charges.
Preliminary hearings for Vang and Baur have been set for March 7 at 10:30. Two Rivers Police are urging anyone with information about Vue’s disappearance to call their tip line at 844-267-6648.
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