Jesse Vang said he did not commit the crime of ongoing child neglect in connection with 3-year-old Elijah Vue's disappearance in Wisconsin.
Key points:
- Vue was being looked after by Vang when he disappeared in late February from the 39-year-old’s home in Two Rivers. After a judge decided there was sufficient evidence to go to trial, Vang appeared in a Manitowoc County court on Tuesday, stating that he did not commit the crime.
- Vang is the partner of Vue’s mother, Katrina Baur, who also faces charges of being involved in neglecting a child and two counts of resisting or obstructing an officer.
The details:
- In February, Baur sent her son to stay with Vang as a form of punishment and to teach him about being a man, claiming the child had shown bad behavior.
- But on Feb. 20, Vang reported Vue missing, saying that he had taken a nap with the child in his bedroom and when he woke up three hours later, the child was not there.
- Baur also said she did not commit the crime during her arraignment. She is set to return to court for further proceedings on April 26. No one has been charged in the boy’s disappearance.
- Authorities have described Vue as a 3-foot-tall, 45-pound child of Hmong origin, with sandy hair, brown eyes and a birthmark on his left knee. He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a long-sleeved dark-colored shirt and red-and-green slip-on shoes featuring dinosaurs.
- Despite extensive searches conducted since, the child’s location is still unknown.
What’s next:
- On Friday, a magic show will be held at 6 p.m. at the Mikadow Theatre aims to help with the ongoing search for Vue. The event, where a minimum donation of $5 is requested for entry, aims to raise funds for essentials like food, drinks and supplies for volunteers involved in the search efforts.
- Authorities urge anyone with information about Vue’s disappearance to contact the police. A combined reward totaling $40,000 is being offered for information leading to his location.
