(NewsNation) — Authorities have confirmed a red and white plaid blanket found during the search for missing Wisconsin three-year-old Elijah Vue is the one that belonged to him.
The blanket was found earlier in the investigation, 3.7 miles from where Vue was reported missing. Police also announced the reward for information leading to Vue’s location and/or arrest and charges of the person responsible has increased to $40,000.
Vue was reported missing on Feb. 20 from the apartment of Jesse Vang, a man Vue’s mother had sent the child to for “discipline.” Both he and Katrina Bauer, Vue’s mother, have been arrested and charged with child neglect.
Vang and Bauer both claim they have nothing to do with Vue’s disappearance and are both currently being held in the Manitowoc County Jail.
A vehicle identified during the investigation has also been taken into custody by police, who said they are not interested in the car’s current owner but in camera footage of the 1997 Nissan Altima taken between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2024.
Vue is three feet tall, with brown hair and eyes and is of Hmong and white ethnicity. He has a birthmark on his left knee and was last seen wearing gray pants, a long-sleeved dark shirt and red and green dinosaur shoes.
Anyone with information on Vue should call the Two Rivers Police tip line at 844-267-6648 or contact the Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers.