Elijah Vue missing: WI man ordered to stand trial on neglect charge
MANITOWOC, Wis. - A man who was caring for a 3-year-old Elijah Vue when he vanished in late February was ordered by a judge Thursday, April 4 to stand trial on a child neglect charge in the child's disappearance.
After hearing testimony from two law enforcement officers, a Manitowoc County judge ruled there was enough evidence to move the case forward against Jesse Vang, 39, in Elijah Vue’s disappearance, news outlets reported. The judge also denied a defense motion to drop the case against Vang.
The Two Rivers, Wisconsin, man was formally charged in February with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect in Elijah’s disappearance. He is being held on a $20,000 cash bond, with his arraignment hearing set for April 16.
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Vang is the boyfriend of Elijah’s mother, Katrina Baur of Wisconsin Dells, who was charged in February with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer.
Elijah Vue; Katrina Baur
Prosecutors later amended the felony count to a charge of party-to-a-crime chronic child neglect and filed a misdemeanor charge of neglecting a child against Baur, who is being held on a $15,000 cash bond.
Elijah was last seen at a residence in Two Rivers where Baur, 31, had left her son to stay with Vang because she wanted him to teach the youngster "to be a man," according to a criminal complaint.
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Jesse Vang appears in court via video conference from the Manitowoc County Jail March 21, 2024. (Image courtesy Manitowoc County courts/Zoom)
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 three hours later he was gone.