TWO RIVERS, Wis. — The disappearance of 3-year-old Elijah Vue demonstrated how much the tight knit community of Two Rivers cares.

Aaron Ressler joined his mother and two others to form a search party. They had been looking for Elijah since early Thursday morning.

“I want to find answers for the family, and I want to help this little boy. He’s only three years old,” said Ressler.

Ressler searched for those answers along the Ice Age Trail. 

“We were looking along some trails earlier," said Ressler. "We are just trying to think of places where someone who is kind of stressed out and anxious might think to go. They know that there are woods around here. They know that there is woods by their house. They know that there are bodies of water and rivers so we are trying to look at place where anything might have happened.”

Shane Ruttner and Shaine Kramer looked on the other side of the woods. Ruttner said he learned about Elijah from Facebook posts. That motivated him to go out and search.

“It takes a community to raise a child and, in this situation, it also takes one to find one,” said Ruttner.

Kramer said Ruttner then asked him to join.

“I’m down to do anything and if it helps for bringing a child back, I’m done to go and look for everything,” said Kramer.

No matter the outcome, Ressler remained determined to see this through.

“Everyone was feeling really hopeful at first," said Ressler. "Now I feel that people are getting a little discouraged, but we are still banning together as a community to do what we can.”

Ressler said Ruttner and Kramer were strangers before this search.

However, their ability to mobilize quickly showed Ressler that their community wants Elijah to come home safe and sound.