Police say ‘no evidence’ Elijah Beau was kidnapped after searching garden in Netflix series

us news

by Katherine Donlevy

Investigators have ruled out the possibility that missing toddler Elijah Beau was abducted from a Wisconsin compound where his mother’s boyfriend was teaching the boy strength, police said Wednesday.

Two Rivers Police Chief Ben Meinert released an update on the case days after search crews scoured a nearby salvage yard made famous by the documentary series “Making a Murderer.”

“There is no evidence to believe this child was abducted,” Meinert told WISN 12 News. “The evidence also shows that this child didn’t just walk away.”

Elijah was reported missing in Two Rivers on February 20 by Jesse Vann, who told police that he woke up from a three-hour nap and realized Elijah was gone.

Vann led investigators to a complex search operation because they believed the three-year-old had “left” the property just 15 minutes earlier. Meinert said investigators spent valuable time tracking down the missing boy because the timeline was inaccurate.

According to the criminal complaint, Van and Elijah’s mother, Katrina Bauer, is being held on suspicion of child neglect, and Bauer told investigators that she took her son to teach him “to be a man.” He reportedly stated that he sent it to Van.

But in the six weeks since Elijah disappeared, investigators have grown suspicious that something more sinister may have happened to the boy.

“I don’t feel anything until I find him. It still hurts that he’s not here,” Meinert said.

“I’m often asked, do you think he’s still alive? I don’t know. That’s the sad truth of the matter. I think about it all the time, just like anyone else. Everyone’s like that. I think there’s hope, but I don’t think that heart-wrenching feeling will ever go away until we have closure.”

Investigators strongly believe Elijah is still in Two Rivers or the surrounding area, and search teams have been searching diligently for the boy for seven weeks since his disappearance.

On Monday, about 40 volunteers focused on Avery’s Auto Salvage, the same facility where Teresa Halbach’s body was discovered in 2005.

Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were convicted of murder, but Steven Avery has publicly maintained his innocence, which was the subject of the popular 2015 Netflix series “Making a Murderer.” It is recorded in

Although there was no evidence linking Elijah to the salvage yard, investigators told Fox 11 that the property had plenty of places for the boy to hide and hide.

The salvage site is within 15 miles of where the boy was last seen.

However, there was no sign that Elijah was at the scene, and the search was fruitless.

Police said search crews were continuing to search the area’s wetlands and countryside.

Little Elijah’s blanket was found at the beginning of the investigation about 6.9 miles from Vann’s home, where Bauer had sent the toddler for “disciplinary reasons.”

Police said Vann put the boy in extended time-outs, threatened to punish him with cold water and withheld his favorite toy.

Both Mr. Vann and Mr. Bauer deny any involvement in Ilya’s disappearance.

Bauer was charged in February with one felony count of child neglect by a party to a crime and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing a police officer. Prosecutors later amended the felony charge to chronic child neglect by a party to a crime and also filed a misdemeanor charge of child abandonment.

A judge refused to reduce Bauer’s $15,000 cash bail after emotional testimony from his mother, citing Bauer’s “history of erratic behavior.”

Vann was formally charged in February with one count of felony child neglect by a party to a crime in Elijah’s disappearance. He is being held on $20,000 cash bail.

The reward for information in Elijah’s disappearance is $40,000.