Elijah Vue’s heartbroken grandmother sobs as she begs mother and boyfriend charged with neglect to tell them where he is: ‘A piece of our hearts is missing’

The grandmother of missing toddler Elijah Vue has begged his mother and her boyfriend for his return after he disappeared from their torture camp.

Hundreds of people have searched the area around Two Rivers, Wisconsin, since the three-year-old disappeared from his mother’s boyfriend Jesse Vang’s home on February 20.

The little boy was forced to take cold showers, banned from toys and had to stand in a dirty diaper for hours because mother Katrina Baur wanted him to “become a man.”

The couple has been charged with child neglect as the hunt for Elijah continues and his paternal grandmother, Lia, tearfully begged her neighbors not to give up.

“I want everyone to continue to help us in the search for my grandson,” she told a news conference. “I want my grandson to be home with my family, so I want everyone to keep going, don’t stop.”

Elijah’s aunt Linda Vue described him as a “happy, curious boy, full of life and love” and spoke to him directly in case something was bothering him.

“If you can hear us, please know that you are deeply missed and loved and we will not rest until you are safely in our arms again,” she said.

“We cannot express the depth of our grief, nor the despair that consumes us as each moment passes without news of Elijah’s safety,” she added.

“Every day without him feels like a piece of our heart is missing. We long to hear his laughter, witness his curiosity, and feel the warmth of his embrace.

“The void left by his absence is a void that nothing else can fill.”

Baur, 31, and Vang, 39, remain in custody after details of their lengthy criminal records emerged.

Vang was released on supervised release after serving three years in prison for drug trafficking and was convicted of child abuse in 2002 after assaulting a 12-year-old with a chair while serving another charge in the Outagamie County Jail.

Vang’s history also dates back to her teenage years and includes convictions for disorderly conduct in 2011 and 2015.

Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre said Baur sent Elijah to Vang for discipline on Feb. 12, and that he was “aware of the tactics used and the lack of care provided.”

Baur told detectives that Vang “was the rule enforcer in the relationship,” which is why she sent her son to him, WBAY reports.

Vang’s allegedly harsh discipline involved forcing Elijah to stand for up to three hours straight while he was forced to repeat the phrase “I’m sorry, Mom.”

Detectives said he did not identify any specific incidents that led him to punish the boy, but said if the boy did not comply with his punishment, he would ask him, “Do you want the cold water?”

Vang also reportedly claimed that he did not know why the boy was afraid of the phrase.

‘He’s fine. It’s not like his knees are shaking and about to fall,” he allegedly told investigators.

In an interview before his arrest, Vang also reportedly said he was trying to tell Elijah that “going home is a privilege for him.”

After saying the boy was afraid of him, he reportedly changed that by saying Elijah “respects me.”

A few days before Elijah’s disappearance, Vang texted Baur to say he was “angry” because the child had overfilled his diaper, so Vang gave him a cold shower, the complaint alleges.

Vang called police on February 20 and reported Elia missing. He told police he took a nap that morning and took Elijah into the bedroom, but when he woke up about three hours later, he was gone, the complaint said.

Fears grew for the little boy when one of the green and red dinosaur shoes he was wearing at the time of his disappearance was found on a nearby street.

Police are scouring rivers, forests and landfills in search of the sandy-haired child, who is three feet tall and weighs 45 pounds.

Baur faces one felony count of child neglect in the commission of a crime and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer and is being held on a $15,000 cash bond.

Vang was formally charged with one felony count of child neglect. He was held on a $20,000 bond.

Both Baur and Vang both appeared in court Monday afternoon for their initial court appearances, with their preliminary hearings set for March 7, according to court records.

Officials also alleged that Baur lied to investigators “at least twice” about her whereabouts at the time Elijah disappeared.

The criminal complaint against Baur states that she denied being in Two Rivers between Feb. 12 and Feb. 20, and that she denied being in the Manitowoc County area on Feb. 16 or 17.

However, she later admitted to being in Two Rivers on February 14 and again overnight on February 16 following a check of her phone records.

The FBI is offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to finding Elijah, and Local Crime Stoppers is offering another $1,000.

Manitowoc County Sheriff Dan Hartwig was in tears as he joined Elijah’s grandmother and aunt at the news conference Tuesday.

“Everyone has seen that child’s picture,” he said.

‘It touches everyone’s heart. Someone knows something.’