A 3-year-old Wisconsin boy has gone missing after his mother dropped him off at a male friend’s house for “disciplinary action,” police say, and search for any trace of him in local woods or waters. An intensive search is underway.
Police said Elijah Beau was last seen by an adult caregiver at a Two Rivers home around 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Two Rivers Police Chief Ben Meinert said late Saturday that the missing person was reported shortly before 11 a.m., which led to an area-wide search that expanded to include both land and water. It was announced on .
Two days after Elijah disappeared, two people, Elijah’s mother Katrina Bauer and her friend Jesse Vann, were arrested on suspicion of child neglect.
Van’s address matched where the boy was last seen. FOX11 reported.
At Friday’s bail hearing, Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre alleged that Baur, who lives in Wisconsin Dells, sent her son to Vann’s home as a form of punishment, the newspaper reported.
“She intentionally sent the child home for over a week for disciplinary reasons,” Labret told the court, without elaborating on what disciplinary action was taken.
“She was aware of the tactics used and the lack of care provided. This was intentional on her part,” prosecutors said of the move, adding that Baur also contacted authorities “at least twice.” He added that he had lied about her whereabouts.
A judge ordered Bauer, 31, held on $15,000 cash bail on a charge of child neglect, FOX11 reported.
Vann, 33, was held on $20,000 bail on suspicion of child neglect related to lack of childcare or discipline, the newspaper added.
At the time of his arrest last week, Vann was also on federal supervision on unrelated charges.
His long rap sheet includes past charges for aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and child abuse. Spectrum News reported.
Mr. Bauer and Mr. Vann are scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Neither the District Attorney’s Office nor the Two Rivers Police Department responded to The Post’s requests for comment Sunday.
Meanwhile, police, local residents and Ilya’s loved ones continued to search for the child throughout the weekend.
On Saturday, the boy’s relatives scoured a wooded area near a dog park north of Manitowoc. CBS58 reported..
“Honestly, it means everything,” Elijah’s uncle, Orson Vieux, told a community support agency.
“I don’t know what I would have done if it was just me and my family doing this search. It means the world that the whole world is really reaching out and giving us their support and love. , we couldn’t do it without them,” he said, adding that the family had not seen him since he was 6 years old and a few months old.
Regarding the charges against Bauer, Orson Vue said the family is trying to withhold judgment until more information is available.
“We’re not going to rule anything out. But we’re not going to just come out and put the blame on a certain person and say that person did that, when no one really knows anything yet. “I’m not going to say I did that,” he said.
Local residents also cooperated in the search.
“I don’t know Elijah from a paint can. I don’t know him or his family, but it doesn’t suit me as a mother to stay home and do nothing.” Two Rivers resident Jessica Shields told WBAY..
“We went into the woods, we searched the neighborhood, we searched inside cabins, we crawled under houses, we went everywhere and it just wouldn’t stop, it wouldn’t stop,” she said. She talked about her efforts.
On Saturday afternoon, police set up a search area in the woods behind a church in Two Rivers, Action 2 News reported.
Investigators were seen walking shoulder-to-shoulder through the ditch area, and a drone was seen flying overhead, the report said.
Local residents are being asked to check their doorbells and security camera footage for anything suspicious, and to keep an eye on Elijah themselves.
This little boy weighs 45 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.
According to CBS 58, he is of Hmong and Caucasian ethnicity.
He is about 3 feet tall and has a bruise on his left knee.
