Missing 3-year-old boy's mom allegedly told boyfriend to punish him and show him 'how to be a man'

TWO RIVERS, Wis. (TCD) -- Local, state, and federal officials are continuing to search for a 3-year-old boy who was last seen in February when he disappeared from his mother's boyfriend's house.

On Feb. 20, just before 11 a.m., an adult caretaker contacted the Manitowoc County Joint Dispatch Center to report a boy in his care, 3-year-old Elijah Vue, was missing. The man said Vue was last seen around 8 a.m. at his home on the 3900 block of Mishicot road.

Two Rivers Police Department officials began searching for the little boy and issued an Amber Alert on his behalf. Since then, officers have been combing through rivers, landfills, and other parts of Manitowoc County to make sure they "leave no stone unturned."

Vue, who is part Hmong and part white, was wearing gray pants, a long sleeve shirt, and red and green dinosaur shoes before he disappeared. There was also a chance he was carrying a red and white plaid blanket.

Two days after he was reported missing, police arrested Vue's mother, Katrina Baur, and her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, for child neglect. Baur is also being charged with two counts of resisting or obstructing an officer.

According to Baur's criminal complaint, Vang claimed he walked his son to the bus stop at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 20, and then he woke up Vue at 8 a.m. He allegedly brought Vue into his bedroom, but then fell asleep. When he woke up three hours later, he claimed Vue was nowhere to be found.

Baur reportedly told police she dropped Vue off at Vang's house on Feb. 12, and that she was not in the area in the following days. Cell phone data, however, allegedly contradicted her story.

Vue had been staying with Vang because he allegedly "had been trying to help Baur correct [Vue's] bad behaviors."

On Feb. 17, Vang reportedly texted Baur he was angry that Vue "overfilled his diaper with poop and pee," so he put the little boy in a cold shower. Baur described Vang as the "enforcer of rules in the relationship."

She allegedly spoke with Vang about "the limits of what discipline she did not want used," but she was "fine with whatever discipline Vang enforces." Some of the discipline allegedly included praying, apologizing, and "going over four rules that [Vue] is supposed to be memorizing."

Baur reportedly talked to Vang about her son's behavior around Thanksgiving and that she wanted her boyfriend to teach the toddler "by example how to be a man."

The complaint says Vang told detectives Vue "is afraid of him," but then "corrected himself and stated that he 'respects me.'" He reportedly wanted Vue to comprehend "going home is like a privilege for him."

Vang allegedly used time outs as a form of punishment and discipline in which Vue would have to stand for one to three hours at a time and apologize or pray. Vang reportedly described the time outs as a type of "boot camp" and how he "does not want to be mean to him but he is trying to teach him to be more respectful." If the time out wasn't effective, Vang allegedly gave Vue an "ultimatum" by asking if he wanted cold water, which Vue did not like.

According to the court document, Vue was not potty trained and still wore a diaper. On the morning of Feb. 20, Vang allegedly made Vue stand near his bed and pray. Vang did not change Vue's diaper because he "was too tired."

Vang's bond was set at $20,000, while Baur is being held on $15,000.

MORE:

• Update: February 20, 2024 - Two Rivers Police Department
• Press Release, 2/22/2024 - Two Rivers Police Department
• Katrina Baur criminal complaint
• State of Wisconsin vs. Katrina B. Baur
• State of Wisconsin vs. Jesse Vang