MANITOWOC, Wis. (WFRV) – Jesse Vang entered a not guilty plea to a felony charge of chronic child neglect, party to the crime Tuesday morning.
The missing three-year-old Elijah Vue went missing while in Vang’s care on February 20 in Two Rivers.
Vang and his defense attorneys Timothy Hogan and Michael Turner appeared via Zoom. The brief hearing was much different than the April 4 preliminary hearing, which lasted nearly two hours when law enforcement testified about the investigation and saw Vang appear in-person for the first time.
“I have previously gone through that charge with Mr. Vang so he waives any formal reading, reserve jurisdictional objections and enter a not guilty plea,” Hogan said.
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Two photos depicting Elijah days before he went missing were presented at that preliminary hearing but remain sealed from public view.
According to Manitowoc County district attorney Jacalyn LaBre, a hard drive containing new evidence has been compiled and sent to the defense attorneys to be reviewed ahead of further proceedings. Vang is due back in court in two months for a status hearing on June 28 at 3:30 p.m.
“I just emailed counsel that the discovery in this case is voluminous,” LaBre said. “So it’s going to take them some time, I don’t know how long they want for the next status.”
The search for Elijah continues nearly two months after he went missing. This Saturday marks the heartbreaking milestone and volunteers are losing hope they will find the toddler alive, but are just as motivated to bring closure to the Vue family.
“I understand he has his due process rights, but I feel like this is just being dragged out at this point,” search volunteer Yolanda Godfrey said. “Just tell us where he is. That’s it, just tell us where he is.“
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“We deserve answers. We’re going on two months on Saturday, and we still haven’t produced this little boy. There’s something wrong with that picture,” Godfrey said. “He is in Manitowoc County. I solely believe that he is by us, and he’s close. I just feel that we’ve passed him plenty of times.”
While the search drags on, Godfrey says that searchers are having to retrace their steps.
“We love that little boy. We’ve gone over and over a couple different spots just to relook again. So whatever we got to do, we’ll do,” she said. “I feel that something bad happened to him. I really feel that he is with our lord and savior. I really do.”
Meanwhile, Elijah’s mother Katrina Baur is due back in court next Friday, April 26 for further proceedings.
Hope might be waning for the volunteers, but it has not vanished.
“He’ll be brought home one way or the other. I do feel that, it’s just taking some time,” Godfrey said. “It’s hope, it is. We hope every single day that we walk into the Mikadow, ‘maybe today’s going to be the day.’”
Local 5 will continue to update this story as more details are released.
