MANITOWOC COUNTY, Wis. — Jesse Vang has pleaded not guilty to charges of chronic child neglect on Tuesday. 

Vang, 39, entered the plea during his arraignment in a Manitowoc County court. A judge on April 4 ordered Vang to stand trial on the neglect charge in the disappearance of Elijah Vue. Vang is being held on a $20,000 cash bond.

Vang was the man caring for Vue, 3, when he disappeared in Feb. 2024.

According to court documents, Vue’s mother, Katrina Baur, sent Vue to stay with Vang in order to help correct supposed disciplinary issues. She was charged in February with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. She has pled not guilty and is being held on a $15,000 cash bond.

Vue is still missing. He was last seen at Vang's home in Two Rivers.

Vang called police on Feb. 20 and reported the boy missing. He told officers he had taken a nap and brought the 3-year-old in the bedroom with him, but when he awoke three hours later the boy was gone. Regular searches for the child have been conducted and are ongoing.

A status conference for Vang is scheduled for June 28.