Elijah Vue latest: 3-year-old has been missing one week in Two Rivers as search continues, police plan press conference

MANITOWOC — No trace of 3-year-old Elijah Vue has been found after more than seven days of searching, but the community continues to turn up in hopes of bringing the child home.

Liz Benecke, a De Pere resident with ties to Elijah's family, has helped organize a civilian search effort for the boy who was last seen Feb. 20.

Those efforts, which she said started the day Elijah went missing and have been getting more organized with each day, have been based out of the Mikadow Theatre on Washington Street in downtown Manitowoc.

Benecke said they have covered most of the state, county and city parks, and are now walking through more residential areas.

"The unfortunate part of it is Elijah is still not home and a family is still looking for a child," she said. "While there's a huge law enforcement presence with nothing new that has been released, I encourage people to continue to keep showing up."

The next searches are scheduled for 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 29 and March 1 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. March 2 and 3.

Those who wish to participate in the searches are asked to check in with Benecke and other organizers at Mikadow Theatre, 1118 Washington St., Manitowoc. Benecke said they will also have a list of areas to assign to each volunteer.

She said around 40 to 70 people have shown up each time to search the county on foot for signs of Elijah. Many are from Two Rivers and Manitowoc, but others have traveled from places like Door County, Madison and even southern Illinois.

"The support from the community has been astronomical, both from community members and the family members," Benecke said.

More: Elijah Vue latest: Court documents reveal more about 3-year-old’s disappearance in Two Rivers

Benecke said the searches have been productive, despite the lack of apparent progress in the investigation. She said the volunteers have documented and forwarded several potential tips and leads to law enforcement.

One of the biggest challenges is "battling the rumor mill," Benecke said.

"We also need to keep in mind that kindness is what matters ... choose kindness because the family is reading these things and, regardless of the outcome, at the end of the day the search is being done because we are all there to bring Elijah home," she said.

She and the other organizers are also working on building interactive maps and databases that document not only the areas searched, but also who searched that area and when.

"As the additional resources begin to fizzle out from the area," Benecke said, "we hope to be able to be closely partnered with law enforcement so that we can support them with whatever means we can at this time."

Two Rivers police plan press conference Tuesday evening

A press conference was scheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Two Rivers City Hall.

According to a press release in advance of the conference, representatives from the police department were expected to provide updates on the search efforts.

In previous releases, Two Rivers Police Chief Ben Meinnert said the department is using all resources available to them to help find Elijah.

A large search effort remains at the landfill in Calumet County and search efforts also continue along the East Twin and West Twin rivers, with those being conducted with the help of Wings of Hope and NorthStar Search & Rescue.

A Wisconsin Amber Alert was issued Feb. 20 for Elijah and continues to be active.

Two Rivers police have also pulled in help from state and federal resources such as the Wisconsin Army National Guard, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

More: The search for 3-year-old Elijah Vue of Two Rivers: Here's what we know.

Do you have information about Elijah Vue?

Police describe Elijah as being of Hmong and white ethnicity with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He is approximately 3 feet tall and has a birthmark on his left knee. He was last seen wearing gray pants, a dark-colored, long-sleeve shirt and a pair of red-and-green dinosaur slip-on shoes. He may also be carrying a red-and-white plaid blanket.

If you have information that could help the Two Rivers Police Department find Elijah Vue, contact their tipline at 844-267-6648 or submit information via the Crime Stoppers app P3.

People who share information that leads to finding Elijah or the arrest of anyone involved in or responsible for his disappearance could be eligible to receive a reward of up to $1,000.

Alisa M. Schafer is a reporter for the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc. She can be reached by email at aschafer@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Elijah Vue missing in Two Rivers: Police plan press conference; search persists