Human remains found in a Wisconsin town last weekend have been identified as missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue, who disappeared more than six months ago.
A skull and bones were discovered on a private property by a deer hunter preparing his land for hunting season in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Saturday, police said.
"It is with a heavy heart that I announce to you today those remains were identified as Elijah Vue," Two Rivers Chief of Police Benjamin Meinnert said during a news briefing Friday.
The location where the remains were found was just over 3 miles northwest of where Elijah was originally reported missing.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
"It’s been pretty catastrophic, not knowing where to look. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack," Kathy Hasselman said to NBC affiliate WTMJ. Hasselman's sister lives across the street from the property where Elijah's remains were located.
The land had been searched numerous times by law enforcement, the land's owner and by air and rescue teams, authorities said. Another search of the property was scheduled to be conducted as early as next week, Meinnert said as he asked the public to remain off the property going forward.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
"What started out as a search for a missing boy is now a death investigation," he said. "Although we understand your desire for information, we can't share every detail, and we must maintain the integrity of the investigation. We know the family and the community has a lot of lot of questions. This is a process that will take a great deal of time, and we'll do everything we can in this investigation to answer those questions."
Friday's briefing marks the first major update on the case since mid-March, when a blanket belonging to the toddler was found approximately 3.7 miles from where he was last seen.
Here's what to know about the case:
When did Elijah Vue disappear?
Elijah was last seen in late February, when the 3-year-old disappeared from an apartment where he was staying with his mother's boyfriend, Jesse Vang.
On the day of Elijah's disappearance, Vang called police 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, the toddler was gone, according to court documents.
What happened in the days leading up to Elijah's disappearance?
Elijah's mother, Katrina 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.
Prosecutors told a court they had evidence Baur left the 3-year-old unattended for at least an hour on Feb. 16 as she and 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.
Charges filed in the case
Baur, 31, of the Wisconsin Dells, was originally charged with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. Manitowoc County prosecutors later amended the felony count to a charge of party-to-a-crime chronic child neglect and also filed a misdemeanor charge of neglecting a child against Baur.
Vang, 39, of Two Rivers, was formally charged in February with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect.
During her 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.”
No charges had been filed in connection with Elijah's disappearance.
