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As the search for a missing Wisconsin three-year-old extends into its third week, his mother faces additional criminal charges, and police are searching for a vehicle of interest in his disappearance.
An Amber Alert was issued in Manitowoc County for Elijah Vue on Feb. 20. His mother, Katrina Baur, 30, and her boyfriend Jesse Vang, 39, appeared in court this week on child neglect charges.
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On Thursday, prosecutors upgraded Baur’s charge to chronic child neglect and added an additional child neglect charge.
“We have now changed count one to chronic neglect as party to the crime. We have also added count four, which involves neglect to another child who is 6 years old from Feb. 14,” Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre told WISN.
WISCONSIN AUTHORITIES BELIEVE MISSING 3-YEAR-OLD ELIJAH VUE ABDUCTED FROM HOME
Elijah Vue, a three-year-old Wisconsin boy, was last seen around 8 a.m. in Two Rivers on Feb. 20.(Two Rivers Police Department)
This is the fourth charge levied against the mother – she also faces two counts of resisting an officer, Fox 6 reported.
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Baur’s attorney, Ann Larson, requested that her client’s $15,000 bail be lowered on Thursday in Manitowoc County Circuit Court:
“She’s been worried sick, not knowing where her son is,” Larson said, according to WISN.
But Baur’s own mother, Jodi Baur, argued against reduced bail in court, WISN reported. LaBre read a written statement from the child’s grandmother in court on Thursday.
“I have known Katrina Baur longer than anyone else as I am her mother,” said the statement, read aloud by LaBre.
TEXAS GIRL’S WEEKLONG DISAPPEARANCE HIGHLIGHTS ‘RISK TO CHILDREN’ USING DATING APPS, EXPERT SAYS
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“Katrina has struggled with depression and anxiety for many years, has a history of erratic behavior. She has been suffering from traumatic brain injury and is highly likely to forget mandatory appearances.
“I don’t feel it’s worth the risk to lower her bond, especially as a victim has not been found and many questions have not been answered. She does need to be held accountable for what rules out in the future and I feel releasing her she would be a flight risk.”
Vue’s mother Katrina Baur, right, and her boyfriend Jesse Vang, left, face criminal charges for child neglect. (Two Rivers Police Department)
Vang, who qualifies for public defender representation but has not yet been assigned counsel, also requested that his bail be reduced:
“Yeah, I just got a question,” Vang said, according to WISN. “I want to put in a motion for bail reduction.”
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Vang was charged with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and is being held on a $20,000 cash bond.
Prosecutors said Baur would send Elijah to her boyfriend, Vang, for disciplinary purposes because she wanted to teach her toddler to “be a man.”
Wisconsin authorities announced an Amber Alert for missing three-year-old Elijah Vue more than two weeks ago – a vehicle of interest in his disappearance has since been seized. (Two Rivers Police Department)
Among “punishments” Elijah endured were cold showers and standing for hours while praying in time-out, authorities said.
An amended criminal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital gives insight into Elijah’s abuse and the days before his disappearance.
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After reviewing Baur and Vang’s messages via text and Facebook, prosecutors say the two were discussing meeting at Vang’s apartment to have sex on Feb. 13. Vang told Baur that the three-year-old could “be placed in the bathroom while they have sex,” per the complaint.
Elijah Vue is three feet tall, weighs 45 pounds and has blond hair and brown eyes, according to authorities. Anyone who has information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911.(Two Rivers Police Department)
When Baur arrived at Vang’s apartment at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 13, prosecutors said, she left her older six-year-old child unsupervised in her car.
At 3 a.m. the next day, according to the complaint, a photograph from Baur’s phone was taken of Elijah “laying down on a bed” with a “blindfold over his eyes.” The toddler appeared to “have bruising on his jawline and neck on the left side, as well as bruising on his upper arm.”
Elijah was reported missing on Feb. 20 by Vang, who told police he had taken a nap and took the boy into the bedroom with him, but that the child was gone when he woke up about three hours later, the Associated Press reported.
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Combined rewards for Elijah’s recovery have risen to $25,000, with Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers offering $10,000, and the FBI offering $15,000, for information leading to the location and return of the child or the arrest and conviction of those responsible for his disappearance.
TENNESSEE POLICE SEARCHING KENTUCKY LANDFILL IN CONNECTION WITH DISAPPEARANCE OF MISSING AUTISTIC TEEN
On Monday, police said they had seized a car of interest – a beige 1997 Nissan Altima with WIsconsin plates beginning with “A” and ending in “0” – in the child’s disappearance. Now, police are asking home and business owners to scour any surveillance footage taken on Feb. 19 between 2 and 9 p.m. for the vehicle, according to Fox 6.
Vue, who is of Hmong descent, is three feet tall, has dark blond hair and brown eyes and weighs about 45 pounds, police say. He has a birthmark on his left knee and was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a long-sleeved, dark-colored shirt, and red-and-green dinosaur slip-on shoes.
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Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 844-267-6648 or 920-686-7200. You can also submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
(WAND) – The National Weather Service confirmed five tornadoes touched down in central Illinois during Sunday’s storms.
The tornado count for the WAND viewing area, which does not include all of central Illinois, is now at 61 as of June 22.
For reference, the area averages 20 tornadoes annually.
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The NWS confirmed an EF-1 east of Neoga in Cumberland County, along with EF-0 tornadoes southwest of Stewardson in Shelby County and northeast of Toledo, also in Cumberland County.
Additionally, the NWS office in St. Louis confirmed two EF-0 tornadoes south of Shobonier in far southern Fayette County.
Bloomington South’s Ellie Barada discusses state title win in 800m
Bloomington South senior Ellie Barada secured her second consecutive state title in the 800 meters at the IHSAA girls state track and field meet.
The USATF U20 Championships took place on June 18-19, while Nike Outdoor Nationals ran June 18-22 in Eugene, Oregon.
Some of the top high school track and field athletes, including recent graduates, fared excellent when the lights were the brightest.
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Here are the top results from Eugene last week.
More: Indiana high school girls state track and field meet results, winners, record breakers
Ellie Barada
Barada, a Bloomington South graduate, qualified for U20 Worlds with a second-place finish (2:02.72) in the women’s 800 meter run. She won gold in the mile (4:34.25) at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The North Carolina recruit also ran anchor leg for the winning 4000-meter state distance medley relay team, which combined for a time of 11:36.99.
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Noah Bontrager
Bontrager, a Westview graduate and Notre Dame recruit, won the U20 men’s 3000-meter run (8:32.53).
Collin Bumgardner
Bumgardner, an Indiana State recruit and Danville state champion, placed 12th in the boys 200 finals (21.49) and 16th (10.71) in the 100 finals at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
More: Danville senior Collin Bumgardner springs upset, wins double state title in sprints
Ellie Cooley
Cooley represented Carmel with a sixth-place finish (129-08) in the girls discus Emerging Elite event at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
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Rylan Hainje
Hainje placed first in the prelims of the 110 hurdles (13.44) before he placed third (13.36) in the finals of Nike Outdoor. The Franklin Central grad and Marian recruit suffered a false start in the 110 hurdles of the U20 prelims.
Konrad Hayden
Hayden placed 11th in the boys high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Fishers graduate recorded a leap of 6 feet, 8.75 inches.
Kallen Hoeft
Hoeft was a member of the mixed 4×400 relay team that finished as runner-up at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Hamilton Southeastern quartet of Hoeft, Anissa Lammie, Jaxson Wanza and Chloe Senefeld ran a time of 3:30.01.
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Lexi Kollbaum
Kollbaum was a member of the winning state distance medley relay team. The Bloomington South junior placed 36th in the 800 and 40th in the mile at Nike Outdoor.
Anissa Lammie
Lammie placed sixth (54.54) in the 400-meter dash at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She was also a part of the mixed 4×400 team that placed second with a time of 3:30.01. The Hamilton Southeastern junior ran the 800 leg for the winning state distance medley relay team.
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Kaitlyn Oshimura
Oshimura, a Carmel graduate, placed fourth in the 1 Mile Emerging Elite race with a time of 4:55.64. She also placed 39th in the 800-meter run at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Jordan Randall
Randall, a two-time high school state champion for Warsaw, placed fourth in the high jump at both U20 (7-01.75) in the men’s event and Nike Outdoor Nationals (7-00.50) in the boys event.
Chloe Senefeld
Senefeld ran the 400 leg for the winning state distance medley relay team in the state category at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Indiana quartet of Senefeld, Barada, Kollbaum and Lammie took home gold with a time of 11:36.99. She was also a member of the second-place mixed 4×400 team. The Iowa recruit was a national runner-up (59.27) in the 400-meter hurdles. She placed sixth (58.54) in same event at U20.
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Kira Smith
Smith was a runner-up in the girls high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She recorded a jump of 5-feet, 10.75 inches.
Jaxson Wanza
Wanza helped Southeastern earn a runner-up finish in the mixed 4×400 relay at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Marc Ray is a high school sports reporter at the IndyStar. He can be reached at marc.ray@indystar.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
It’s an underrated storyline that I can’t help but think will rear its head at some point this season for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The complete overhaul of the special teams unit is a massive change for this team after years of continuity under LeVar Woods, who is now coaching at Michigan State.
The Hawkeyes will see a new placekicker, punter, and return man. Drew Stevens is kicking in the NFL, Rhys Dakin followed Woods to Michigan State to punt, and Kaden Wetjen took his return talents to the NFL as well.
Chris Polizzi is at the helm now and has a blank canvas to fill out with his depth chart before Week 1 versus Northern Illinois.
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Kicker
Kicker: Eli Ozick
The Hawkeyes only roster two kickers, Eli Ozick and Caden Buhr, who will compete for the starting job.
Ozick comes to Iowa from the North Dakota State Bison, where he was 16-for-18 last year, which earned him Second-Team FCS All-American notoriety. That performance translates well to Iowa, where I think he gets the nod in Week 1.
Should things go sideways, Caden Buhr could step in to kick. He was with Iowa last year and has one kickoff under his belt.
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Punter
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Punter: Boston Everitt
Only at Iowa is the starting punter such a focus. It’s what makes Iowa, well, Iowa. Iowa has dipped into its Australian pipeline with Boston Everitt, who comes from the University of Melbourne. Iowa’s trend of Australian punters gives Everitt the slightest of nods.
The other punter rostered is Tanner Philpott, a D3 AP All-American last year at Simpson College. Philpott has much more collegiate experience and could easily push for the job. It won’t be a shock to see Iowa give him in-game opportunities.
Long Snapper
Long Snapper: Ike Speltz
Long snappers simply don’t get enough love. No one knows their name or hears of them unless the snap has gone bad. It’s a thankless job, but someone has to do it.
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Ike Speltz saw some long snapping action in 2025, which gives him the track here. He is also Iowa’s only long snapper listed on the roster.
Kick and Punt Returners
Punt Returner: Zach Lutmer
Kickoff Returner: Nathan McNeil
I make this prediction very begrudgingly. Zach Lutmer is going to be such a focal point on defense that exposing him to injury here is a bit scary. He is that talented with the ball, though.
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Other names to watch for in the return game come from the running back room. I think Iowa could give kickoff return duties to the running back room. Nathan McNeil or Brevin Doll, two athletic backs, could get their chance on kickoffs.
