Additional child neglect charges filed against the mother of a missing Wisconsin boy

MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors filed additional child neglect charges Thursday against the mother of a 3-year-old Wisconsin boy who vanished last month, and a judge rejected her request for a bond reduction.

Katrina Baur’s son, Elijah Vue, was last seen Feb. 20 at a residence in Two Rivers where prosecutors said she had sent him to stay with her boyfriend. Searches by police and residents have so far not located the boy, and the reward for information in the case has grown to $25,000.

During Thursday’s hearing, Baur’s attorney, Ann Larson, told the court that “there’s a lot of high emotion going on, but there’s also a lot of high emotion going on with Ms. Baur. She’s been worried sick not knowing where her son is.”

Baur, of Wisconsin Dells, was charged last month with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. Baur, 31, is being held on a $15,000 cash bond.

Manitowoc County prosecutors amended the felony count on Thursday to a charge of party-to-a-crime chronic child neglect and also filed a misdemeanor charge of neglecting a child against Baur.

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Prosecutors told the court they had evidence Baur left the 3-year-old unattended for at least an hour Feb. 16 as she and her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, traveled to other locations throughout Manitowoc, WLUK-TV reported. They also said they had evidence Baur left a 6-year-old child unattended in a vehicle Feb. 14 for about an hour in temperatures below freezing without the vehicle running.

A judge denied Baur’s request for a bond reduction Thursday and rescheduled both her preliminary hearing and Vang’s preliminary hearing from Thursday until March 14.

Vang, 39, of Two Rivers, was formally charged in February with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect. He is being held on a $20,000 cash bond.

Baur told police she had left her 3-year-old with Vang on Feb. 12 because she wanted him to teach her son “to be a man,” and she had intended to pick him up Feb. 23, according to a criminal complaint.

Vang called police Feb. 20 and reported the boy missing, telling officers he had taken a nap and brought the 3-year-old in the bedroom with him, but when he awoke some three hours later he was gone, according to the complaint.