WISCONSIN DELLS (NBC 26) — The search for Elijah Vue continues to grow. In the Wisconsin Dells, where Elijah lived with his mother, more people are preparing to look for the three-year-old boy.
- Elijah Vue lived in the Wisconsin Dells with his mother, Katrina Baur, before he went missing.
- I talked with one woman today who said she was Elijah's babysitter and she misses him dearly.
- Jeremy Bronas said that his daughter played with Elijah, and he was a very happy and fun young boy.
Misty Severson and her husband, Ryan, were neighbors with the family. Misty says she babysat Elijah and his older sister.
"He was just a sweet three-year-old little boy, that got dealt a really bad hand in life,” said Misty. "I was devastated whenever I heard about [his disappearance]."
The two say they grew close with Elijah and were sad when his mother, Katrina Baur, sent him to live with her partner Jesse Vang in Two Rivers.
Baur told police she did send her son to live with Vang earlier this year.
Both Baur and Vang have since been charged with child neglect, but not directly with Elijah's disappearance.
"He was the son I never had,” said Ryan Severson. "There's several parents here in the building, myself included. If she would've just asked, we could've helped her out."
Another neighbor, Jeremy Bronas, says Elijah used to play with his daughter, Eva.
"He was just a happy go lucky kid, you know,” Bronas said. “He would always come up to you and say 'hi, hi' and be nice."
Jeremy says he saw them often, until this winter.
"I never pictured or thought that Katrina would do anything to her kid,” Bronas said. “So, I'm hoping that he's out there somewhere and maybe he's just in a bad situation right now."
Everyone I spoke with in the Dells says they've heard about Elijah and they're hoping for the best.
"I'm hoping that we can bring him back and hopefully we get to say ‘hi’ to him again,” Bronas said.
Police said Monday that the boy is still missing, and a reward backed by donations is now up to $40,000.
People in the Dells say they'll begin organizing a search there from Tuesday through the week.
