Authorities in Wisconsin are investigating the discovery of human skeletal remains found on Saturday in the town where a toddler disappeared in February.
The sheriff’s office says not able to confirm if the remains are related to the case of missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue.
The Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office says that the remains were discovered on private property by a deer hunter, who immediately informed law enforcement.
The investigation is currently ongoing, and no information on the age, race or sex of the remains is available. The sheriff’s office said they believe identifying the remains will be a lengthy process.
Elijah was reported missing on Feb. 20 by his mother’s boyfriend, Jesse Vang, who was caring for the boy. He told police he woke up from a nap and the boy was gone.
Vang and the boy’s mother, Katrina Baur, who’s from Wisconsin Dells, remain in custody on child neglect charges. No one has been charged in the boy’s disappearance.
Court documents say Baur left Elijah with Vang because she thought he was misbehaving. The criminal complaint says she wanted Vang to teach Elijah how to “be a man.”
Police said they found a deleted picture of Elijah on Baur’s phone showing him blindfolded on a bed with what appears to be bruises on his jaw, neck and arm inside Vang’s apartment.
Elijah’s grandmother, Jodi Baur, posted on Facebook Monday morning in response to rumors on Facebook. “It is likely, but not confirmed until DNA has come back,” she wrote. “They have not confirmed exactly ‘what’ was found.”
She called information being posted on Facebook “completely out of line” and criticized the “rumors, blame and hate” spreading on social media.
Authorities have not confirmed any relation to the Elijah Vue case, but many people in the area near Camp Manitou, northwest of Two Rivers, are wondering if the remains found are Elijah’s.
A police car was blocking the gates of the camp on Monday.
Mary Edwards, who owns a house across the street from Camp Manitou, said she’s had several encounters with police as they checked around the area.
She said she didn’t notice much activity on Saturday night when police say the remains were found, but she says that Elijah Vue’s mother, Katrina Baur, is familiar with the area.
“For whatever reason, she seemed fixated with this place, Katrina Baur, she seemed fixated with this place and she loved it here, apparently,” Edwards said.
Two Rivers resident Tristan Greely said she’s been invested in finding Elijah since she learned about his disappearance. She said she hopes the remains are Elijah’s so that the family and community can have some closure.
“I have three little kids at home, and that’s a scary thing. To think that he’s been missing for six months, that’s sad,” said Greely. “The community now can have some peace, I think that Elijah himself can have the community with him and celebrate that he was at least found.”
Authorities have not confirmed whose remains were found, and no additional information has been released.
The Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office is working closely with the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Anthropology Department, the Two Rivers Police Department and the Manitowoc County Coroner’s Office in this investigation.
https://www.29news.com/2024/09/09/human-remains-found-near-where-toddler-elijah-vue-went-missing/
