One year ago today, Elijah Vue was reported missing.
The 3-year-old was reported missing from the home of Jesse Vang the morning of February 20th, 2024, kicking off a months-long search, which ended with his body being found in the Town of Two Rivers on September 13th.
The case drew massive attention locally, and around the state and the nation as everyone wanted to help find the young boy.
Two Rivers Police Captain Andrew Raatz tells SeehaferNews.com that the most difficult part for them was the dissemination of information at a time when everyone wants to know everything immediately.
“It can be difficult…when you have an incident like this to make that happen all the time,” he said. “You’re trying to maintain the integrity of the investigation, and there’s things that we just can’t release. We certainly wanted to be as transparent as we could, but that comes with some difficulties as well when you’re trying to build a case.”
The investigation process has been skewed in the public’s eye due to Hollywood and TV shows misconstruing just how long it takes to build a case in a situation such as this.
Raatz explained that in real life, investigators have to play things rather close to the vest.
“In situations where we might have evidence that links individuals to a to a crime, whether it’s this one or any other one, if that information becomes public and goes out there, it gives a chance for, someone who may be a suspect…to hide the information or get rid of that information or somehow jeopardize a lot of work that went into acquiring that evidence.”
And then, there’s the rumor mill. Raatz noted that there were a ton of rumors and speculation making the rounds at the water cooler and on social media, including several times in the early days of the search, people claiming Elijah had been found.
While the Department may have had evidence to the contrary of many of these rumors, Raatz said they can’t always dispel them.
“Unfortunately, when rumors start, it can be difficult to squash at times,” he admitted. “At times, you want to squash those rumors right away, but that can also tip your hand as far as your investigation goes. That can be a balancing act for sure.”
While this withholding of information can be frustrating for the public, and for the officers themselves, Raatz said, specifically in the Elijah Vue case, it was vitally necessary.
“The public’s right to know is important, but what’s more important is we find justice for a victim. In this case, it was Elijah.”
Raatz said the Department also learned a lot about dealing with a large-scale media surge, as they took interviews from local news organizations, as well as some from Milwaukee, and national outlets like Nancy Grace.
He also praised the local community for its support, saying “There’s evil in the world and it’s tragic and it’s unfortunate that this happened, but at the same time, our community stood strong and saw this through and stood up against evil, frankly.”
Vang is due back in court on March 13th for a scheduling conference as he faces charges of Physical Abuse of a Child – Repeated Acts Causing Death, Chronic Neglect of a Child, Resisting or Obstructing an Officer, and Hiding a Corpse.
Elijah’s mother, Katrina Baur, is due for a status conference on June 13th as she faces charges of Chronic Neglect of a Child – Consequence is Death, Neglecting a Child, and two counts of Resisting or Obstructing an Officer.
