Remains found by a hunter on Saturday in Wisconsin have been identified as those of 3-year-old Elijah Vue, who disappeared in February.
Two Rivers Police Chief Benjamin Meinnert said at a news conference Friday that the remains had been found on private property and not Girl Scout Camp Manitou-Two Rivers, as had been reported on social media when the remains were found.
“The remains were found on private property,” Meinnert said. “This not was not camp property but rather a thick wooded area just to the north.”
The state crime lab confirmed the identity of the remains on Friday, and an Amber Alert that had been issued for the missing boy was cancelled, the chief said.
What started out as a search for a missing boy is now a death investigation,” Meinnert said, adding that it was “not the outcome” anyone wanted.
The Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the discovery of remains on Saturday after a Milwaukee radio host reported that the remains of a small child had been found, as CrimeOnline reported. At the time, the sheriff’s office said it could not confirm a connection with the Elijah Vue case, saying that that “determining the identity will be a lengthy process.”
It took less than a week.
Meinnert said the remains were found three miles northwest of the home of Jesse Vang, the boyfriend of the boy’s mother and who initially reported him missing. Vang and Katrina Baur, the boy’s mother, have been charged with child neglect and are still behind bars. They have not been charged in connection with his disappearance or death.
Vang had reportedly been caring for the child since mid-February, after his mother dropped him off there for reported behavioral issues.
According to the complaint against Vang, he told police that he brought Elijah into a bedroom with him at around 8 a.m. on the day he went missing and ordered him to stand next to the bed and pray. Vang claimed he fell asleep and when he woke up three hours later, the child was gone.
