TWO RIVERS, Wisconsin — The combined reward in the case of a 3-year-old Wisconsin boy who disappeared last month has increased to $25,000, a police chief said Tuesday.
A Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers reward for information leading to the location and return of Elijah Vue or the arrest and conviction of those responsible for his disappearance has increased to as much as $10,000, Two Rivers Police Chief Ben Meinnert said in a statement press release.
The Crime Stoppers reward is in addition to an FBI reward of up to $15,000 in the case, Meinnert said.
The boy was last seen on Feb. 20 at a home in Two Rivers, where prosecutors said his mother sent him to stay. Searches by police and residents have so far not found Elijah.
His mother, Katrina Baur, 31, of Wisconsin Dells, has been charged in Manitowoc County with one felony count of neglect of a child in the commission of a crime and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. She is being held on a $15,000 bond.
The man Elijah was sent to stay with, Jesse Vang, 39, of Two Rivers, has been charged with one felony count of child neglect. He is being held on a $20,000 bond.
Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre has said that Baur sent Elijah to stay with Vang for disciplinary purposes and that Baur was not in Two Rivers, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Green Bay, when Elijah disappeared.
Baur told police she left Elijah with Vang on Feb. 12 because she wanted him to teach her son “how to be a man,” and that she planned to pick him up on Feb. 23, according to a criminal complaint.
Vang called police on February 20 and reported Elia missing. He said he took a nap that morning and took Elijah into the bedroom with him, but when he woke up about three hours later, the boy was gone, according to a criminal complaint.
Vang told police he was in a relationship with Bauer and had tried to help with her son’s bad behavior, the complaint said.