Midwest
Missing Wisconsin 3-year-old's mother hit with more charges as police ask for video of car in disappearance
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.
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.
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
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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GRETNA, Neb. (WOWT) – A new recreation area opened Thursday in Gretna, honoring a notable Nebraska Native American while reducing flooding risks.
The Sergeant Mad Bear Recreation Area, located just off 168th and Giles, was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The park is named after Sergeant Mad Bear, a Pawnee warrior who lived in the area during the 1860s. He was wounded in battle and became the first Native American in the country to receive the Medal of Honor.
“This lake that we’re here for is named after one of our soldiers. And a revered soldier,” said Pat Leading Fox, head chief of the Pawnee Nation Chiefs Council.
Honoring Pawnee heritage
Leading Fox said he was honored to see Mad Bear’s name live on at the site.
“He’s a Pawnee member. He’s a member of the band that I represent, Skidi Band, S-K-I-D-I. And to stand here, you know, where he could possibly have, you know, walked, you know, really is touching,” Leading Fox said.
For Leading Fox, the park represents more than a place to relax.
“This is our homeland here so you I always say home, we’re home,” he said.
Dual purpose: recreation and flood control
The park also serves as a flood reservoir, one of many managed by the Papio Missouri River NRD.
“This is part of a larger plan to control flows downstream. It works in conjunction with the levees and with the other reservoirs,” said Ian Ghanavati of the Papio Missouri River NRD.
The reservoir is currently empty but designed to fill with rainwater.
“Where the rock is, where you can kind of see the edge of the earth, that’s where the shoreline will come up to. We just need some rain to fill it,” Ghanavati said.
Community amenity
The empty reservoir has not deterred park visitors, who are already using the area’s other amenities.
Jen Boswell, a park visitor, said she uses the walking trail regularly.
“They just put in the trail from our street down to the path here. So yeah, I try to come down and walk at least three times around,” Boswell said.
Boswell said she is looking forward to using the park more as it develops.
“Walk, play, ride our bikes, scooters around here, fish. I think you could even put maybe like a kayak in here once it’s ready. So it’s going to be a great addition to the area for sure,” she said.
Sergeant Mad Bear is the second reservoir to open in the Papio NRD, following the Forest City Reservoir which opened last fall.
Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Valley News Live) — The U.S. Space Force wants to build a $250 million space operations center at Grand Forks Air Force Base as part of President Trump’s 2027 defense budget request.
The facility would be about 180,000 square feet and built as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, designed to handle top-secret information. It would house highly classified missile-warning and missile-tracking operations, as well as the space data network.
The project would bring more than 100 Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office personnel to the base across two to three fully manned squadrons, according to North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer.
“This new project puts Grand Forks right at the center of what’s next in space operations,” Cramer said in a statement. “It speaks to the depth of our Airmen and Guardians’ expertise and why this base keeps getting tapped for the most important and modern missions.”
The facility builds on the low-Earth orbit satellite mission already at Grand Forks, which serves as the backbone of U.S. military communications. Hoeven worked to establish that mission and has been pushing to add missile-tracking and advanced fire-control capabilities.
The three-story facility will include a 500-person auditorium for secure briefings and conferences, as well as a dining area to support 24/7 operations, according to the Space Force.
Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, said he spoke with Space Force Chief of Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman about the proposal this week. He said he will work to secure funding through the annual appropriations process.
Design is expected to start later this year if Congress approves the funding.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
The 2026 NFL Draft began on April 23 with a flurry of Ohio State players going off the board.
Four Buckeyes were among the top-11 picks in the draft, beginning with wide receiver Carnell Tate who was taken by the Tennessee Titans at No. 4 overall.
Linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles soon followed as they went No. 5 and No. 7 to the New York Giants and Washington Commanders, respectively. Safety Caleb Downs was the Dallas Cowboys’ selection at No. 11.
Even with the early wave of players who went, Ohio State still has its share of prospects left, with the second and third rounds of the draft set for April 24.
Here are the best remaining ones:
Kayden McDonald, defensive tackle
It figures McDonald will be among the earlier selections in the second round after he had generated some first-round buzz in recent months and was invited to the draft in Pittsburgh.
But Florida’s Caleb Banks and Clemson’s Peter Woods were the only defensive tackles to be picked in the opening round.
McDonald emerged as a run-stuffing nose tackle for the Buckeyes in his first year as a starter and was named a unanimous All-American and the Big Ten’s defensive lineman of the year.
He followed Downs, Reese and Tate in leaving school a year early to turn pro.
Max Klare, tight end
Klare was one of the Buckeyes’ top pass-catching weapons after he transferred from Purdue.
He had 43 catches for 448 yards and two touchdowns in 2025, nearly matching his production from the previous year when he led the Boilermakers in receiving as their top target.
Klare considered his move to Ohio State as an opportunity to develop into a more well-rounded tight end, pointing to blocking as an area of growth.
If he goes in the second or third round, he’d be the Buckeyes’ first tight end to be drafted on Day 2 since Jeremy Ruckert in 2022.
Davison Igbinosun, cornerback
Igbinosun spent three years with the Buckeyes after he transferred from Mississippi in 2023.
His physicality as a 6-foot-2, 189-pound cornerback challenged receivers, but also left him prone to pass interference.
He was the most heavily penalized cornerback in the nation in 2024 before cutting down on penalties last season.
Coach Ryan Day praised Igbinosun for his toughness last year, pointing to his influence on the culture of their secondary.
“A gritty, competitive dude who just brings it every day,” Day said. “He’s had a major impact on our program.”
Will Kacmarek, tight end
Kacmarek was another multi-year player out of the transfer portal for the Buckeyes after leaving Ohio for Ohio State in 2024.
He provided them with a dependable run-blocking tight end who also caught 23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns during his two years.
Even if he isn’t a frequent receiving target, he’ll provide a physical presence with his 6-foot-5, 261-pound frame.
Ohio State’s remaining draft-eligible players
- RB CJ Donaldson Jr.
- TE Will Kacmarek
- TE Max Klare
- OL Ethan Onianwa
- DL Caden Curry
- DL Tywone Malone Jr.
- CB Davison Igbinosun
- S Lorenzo Styles Jr.
- LS John Ferlmann
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
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