FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Almost 80 miles from Two Rivers, Fond du Lac is joining the effort to find missing three-year-old Elijah Vue.
- The criminal complaint states that Elijah's mother dropped off Elijah with her boyfriend Jesse Vang in Fond du Lac.
- Volunteers are looking for clues about the toddler's disappearance.
- Video shows details on the search.
I’m your Fond du Lac Neighborhood Reporter Margaret Cahill and I joined my community’s search party Thursday, organized by Fond du Lac native Jordan Dillon.
"I needed to do something," Dillon said.
She’s been following the case of Elijah’s disappearance. When she saw reports about the criminal complaint for Katrina Baur, Elijah’s mother who is charged with neglecting a child, she noticed a mention of her hometown.
The criminal complaint states Baur met boyfriend Jesse Vang in Fond du Lac to drop off Elijah about a week before his disappearance.
"If he was here once, he could possibly be here again,” Dillon said.
With a Facebook post, she rallied about 30 people to search Hobbs Woods near I-41 and I-151 in Fond du Lac
“I'm just hoping for a good outcome, that maybe we can be helpful in some way, shape or form,” Dillon said. “As a mother, I really needed to do this.”
Julie Ziegelbauer saw the post on Facebook and joined the search with her son Juldan.
"I said ‘this is really big on your mom's heart, would you want to do this?’ And he said yes,” Ziegelbauer said.Stephanie Anheuser, who studied forensics at Moraine Park Technical College, is also on the search.
"We all have to think positively that this little boy is safe somewhere,” Anheuser said.
Dillon says she hopes people in other communities will also search.
“I just want to make sure that all bases are covered,” Dillon said.
As the community searched in Fond du Lac, your Lakeshore Neighborhood Reporter Preston Stober continued to search with Elijah's family in Manitowoc.
Many of these volunteers told me that they want to continue searching for Elijah this weekend, and helping out in any way they can.
