The grandmother and other family members of a 3-year-old Wisconsin boy who went missing after his mother sent him to her boyfriend’s home for “discipline reasons” say the two were abandoned. After being charged with the crime, he tearfully asked for help finding the boy.
Police said Elijah Beau was last seen by an adult caregiver around 8 a.m. on Feb. 20 at a residence in Two Rivers.
The mother, Katrina Bauer, and her boyfriend, Jesse Vann, were arrested on suspicion of child neglect.
Elijah’s grandmother, Leah Vann, urged the Two Rivers community not to give up.
“I want my grandson to be at home with his family,” a tearful Vann said at a news conference earlier this week. NBC26 reported. “So I want everyone to keep going. Don’t stop looking for my baby, Elijah.”
“Without news of Elijah’s safety, words cannot express the depth of our grief and the despair that grips us moment by moment,” his aunt Linda Vue told reporters. Fox11 reported.
“Every day without him feels like a piece of our heart is missing. We yearn to hear his laughter, witness his curiosity, and feel the warmth of his embrace.” “I’m doing it,” she said. “The void left by his absence is a void that nothing else can fill.”
“If you hear our voices, please know that you are sorely missed and loved. We will not rest until you are safely back in our arms,” said Aunt. added.
Elijah’s uncle, Orson Beau, said his family will fight hard to find him.
The boy’s distraught family, who described Elijah as a fun-loving, curious child full of life and love, struggled to find words to explain his suffering.
“It breaks my heart to think about it. But if we come together and make a plan, we will get it done,” he told NBC 26 during a search of parks and forests in Manitowoc County.
“In that sense, it gives us some peace of mind that we are making a huge effort to find Elijah,” he added. “It hurts…and it’s hard. It’s hard to face sometimes. He’s not here and I don’t know where he is.”
Jesse Vann, 39, called 911 around 11 a.m. on Feb. 20 to report Elijah missing while he was babysitting her, Fox 59 said, citing a criminal complaint. reported.
He reportedly said he was trying to help Elijah’s mother correct her child’s “bad behavior.”
On the day the boy went missing, Vann said she got her son ready for school and saw Ilya still asleep. FOX59 reported.
After they had breakfast together, Vann went back to sleep and woke up to find Elijah missing, her boyfriend told authorities.
Baur, 31, of Wisconsin Dells, said her son has been in Vann’s custody for about a week, adding that he is the “rule enforcer” in the relationship.
Fox 59 reported that disciplinary action included praying, saying sorry and memorizing a code of conduct.
The mother told police that she wanted her boyfriend to teach Elijah “how to be a man.”
Vann told investigators that his time with the boy was a kind of “boot camp,” according to the complaint.
“He’s pretty tired…I think standing is too,” Vann told police, explaining the several-hour standing timeout.
When Elijah tried to sit down, Vann asked if he wanted cold water and gave the boy a cold shower as punishment, according to the complaint.
Bauer was charged Monday with one felony count of being a party to a crime of child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing a police officer.
She was being held on $15,000 cash bail.
Mr. Vann was charged with one felony count of child abandonment by a party to a crime and was being held on $20,000 cash bail.
At the time of his arrest, Vann was 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. Baur) intentionally sent the child to the residence for over a week for disciplinary reasons. She was aware of the tactics used and the lack of care provided,” Manitowoc County said. Prosecutor Jacalyn Labret said during a Feb. 23 bond hearing. KTVL reported.
“This was intentional on her part. And on at least two occasions during interviews she provided false information about her whereabouts over the past week,” she added.
Baur requested that his $15,000 bond be amended so he could be released on his own recognizance, Fox 11 reported. She was unable to pay her bail, she claimed.
No hearing has been scheduled on this matter.
Meanwhile, the owner of Ross Auto Service in Two Rivers shared an image of Elijah’s Outlet at Jesse’s store on February 16, four days before he was reported missing.
ross auto service
He said there was nothing unusual about the visit and that when he learned his child was missing, he immediately shared all his belongings with police.
Elijah is 3 feet tall, has dark blonde hair and brown eyes, and weighs approximately 45 pounds.
There is a bruise on his left knee.
The Amber Alert remains in effect and anyone with information is asked to call 1-844-267-6648.
