MANITOWOC, Wis. — Elijah Vue’s face is prominently displayed in store front windows and doors in many downtown Manitowoc businesses.
That includes one of the flyers taped to the window by the entrance to Wrap It Up. Owner Randy Lueptow said it’s a way the business can help in the search.“We’re just considering the fact that if the right person sees it or if we can help in any way, and really just for support for all the people that are out there that continue to search,” he said. “And for the families.”
An Amber Alert for Vue was issued Feb. 20 when he went missing from a residence in Two Rivers, Wis. Since then, volunteer searchers and law enforcement have been consistently searching for the three-year old.
“I believe it’s very much in the front of many people’s conversations,” Lueptow said. “I think the heart of the community is still very much behind locating and understanding what happened.”
Veronica Blackmon helps coordinate the regular volunteer searches throughout Manitowoc County and surrounding areas.
“We’ve searched everywhere,” she said. “We’re still searching and we’re not stopping. We need a lot of homeowners and businesses to give us permission to get on their properties.”
Blackmon and other volunteers — who have come from around the country — remain focused on finding Elijah.
“It does make it better,” she said. “We’re coming together looking for a three-year-old. With the community coming out like they do, it helps.”
Lueptow said Manitowoc is a close-knit community.
“We’re just praying for the best outcome possible for everybody involved and peace for the family,” he said.
Vue is a 3-year-old boy with sandy colored hair and brown eyes. Two Rivers Police Department said he “was described as having Hmong and white ethnicity.”
He has a birthmark on his left knee. He is 3-feet-tall and weighs 45 pounds.
In the Amber Alert issued Feb. 20, police said he was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, as well as a long-sleeve, dark-colored shirt and red and green dinosaur slip-on shoes.
Anyone with any information about the case is asked to call the tipline at 844-267-6648 or submit information via the Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers P3 app. Those who provide information that help investigators located Vue are eligible for a reward of up to $40,000.