Elijah Vue update: Mother pleads not guilty to child neglect charges as search reaches fifth weekend

Elijah Vue’s mother pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges in connection to the toddler’s disappearance.

Katrina Baur appeared briefly before Judge Robert Dewane, with her next court appearance now set over a month from now.

This comes after a brief court appearance on Thursday for her friend Jesse Vang, who was the last known person to see Elijah.

The toddler was last seen by Mr Vang on 20 February in Two Rivers, a town on the shore of Lake Michigan .

Authorities say Ms Baur sent her son to live with Mr Vang for “disciplinary reasons,” where the boy was reportedly subjected to lengthy time-outs and threats of cold water if he misbehaved.

Now, it has emerged that Mr Vang was previously charged with human trafficking. The charges were later dropped.

Earlier this week, police found a blanket belonging to Elijah four miles from his last known location . There is a $40,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to an arrest. Officials describe Elijah as three feet tall, with brown hair and brown eyes — he is also of Hmong and white ethnicity.