Additional Coverage:
Skeletal remains discovered last weekend in Wisconsin have been identified as those of Elijah Vue, a 3-year-old boy who went missing in February, police announced on Friday.
The Two Rivers Police Department confirmed the remains belonged to the young boy, who was the focus of an Amber Alert at the time of his disappearance.
“The family’s heartbroken. We’re heartbroken.
Our community is heartbroken,” expressed Two Rivers Police Chief Benjamin Meinnert. “I never knew Elijah personally, but I saw how a 3-year-old boy could bring out so much good in our community.”
The Amber Alert has now been canceled as of Friday.
“What began as a search for a missing child has transitioned into a death investigation,” stated Chief Meinnert.
The skeletal remains, including a skull and bones, were found by a deer hunter on private land in a wooded area in Two Rivers on September 7, authorities reported. The location had been previously searched multiple times on foot and by air by both authorities and the landowner.
The Wisconsin Crime Lab performed DNA testing on the remains, and police contacted Vue’s family as soon as his identity was confirmed.
Elijah Vue went missing from his home in Two Rivers in February. His mother, Katrina Baur, and her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, faced charges of child neglect, although they were not directly connected to his disappearance, according to Fox Milwaukee.