Skeletal remains found last weekend in Wisconsin were those of a missing 3-year-old boy who vanished in February, police said Friday.
The Two Rivers Police Department confirmed the remains were those of Elijah Vue, who was the subject of an Amber Alert when he went missing.
"The family's devastated. We're devastated. Our community is devastated," said Two Rivers Police Chief Benjamin Meinnert. "I never met Elijah, but I watched that 3-year-old boy bring out the best in this community."
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The alert was canceled Friday.
"What started out as a search for a missing boy is now a death investigation," the chief said.
The remains, a skull and bones, were found by a deer hunter in a wooded area on private land in Two Rivers Sept. 7, authorities said. The area had been searched several times by authorities and the landowner by foot and air, police said.
The Wisconsin Crime Lab conducted DNA testing on the remains. Police said Vue's family was identified as soon as the test revealed an identity, police said.
Vue went missing in February from his Two Rivers home. His mother, Katrina Baur, and her boyfriend, Jesse Vang were both charged with child neglect, though they were not directly linked to his disappearance, Fox Milwaukee reported.
