Remains of Elijah Vue, 3, Found in 'Thick Wooded Area' After Nearly 7 Months Missing: 'Devastated'

The toddler was discovered by a hunter just over three miles from his Wisconsin home, police announced on Friday, Sept. 13

The remains of missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue have been found.

On Friday, Sept. 13, Two Rivers Police Department's Chief Benjamin Meinnert confirmed the sad news during a press briefing shared on Facebook.

Elijah was last seen around 8 a.m. local time on Feb. 20 at an address in Two Rivers, Wis. His mother, Katrina Baur, 31, and her boyfriend Jesse Vang, 39, have since been arrested and charged with child neglect. Vang previously said he fell asleep and woke up to find Elijah missing.

Related: Mom of Missing Boy, 3, Sent Him to Boyfriend for 'Disciplinary' Reasons Before Disappearance: Officials

On Friday, Meinnert said that a forensic anthropologist at the state crime lab had confirmed the skull and bones found were human remains.

"It is with a heavy heart that I announce today, those remains were identified as Elijah Vue's," he told reporters.

"The remains were found on private property by a person getting his land ready for the hunting season," the officer had explained, confirming it was a "thick wooded area."

Meinnert added that the location where Elijah was found was just over three miles northwest from where he was originally reported missing.

Related: Police Searching Landfills, Rivers for Missing Wisc. Boy, 3, Whose Mom Was Recently Jailed

He added that the area had been "searched several times," and that the amber alert had now been canceled, adding that Elijah's family had been notified.

“This is not the outcome that we hoped for,” the officer said. “The family is devastated. We are devastated. Our community is devasted.”

"I never met Elijah, but I watched that 3-year-old boy bring out the best in this community," he added, thanking the public and anyone who's helped amid the ongoing investigation.

It was reported in April that Elijah's mother had left her son with her boyfriend, Vang — who has been charged with felony chronic neglect of a child, per his online court documents — for extended periods to “teach” him “by example how to be a man,” per a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

In February, Baur was charged with felony chronic neglect of a child as a party to a crime, as well as two counts of resisting or obstructing an officer and one count of neglecting a child — the latter three being misdemeanors, per her online court record.

Per the Associated Press, both Vang and Baur have pleaded not guilty.

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The update comes after Meinnert confirmed in March that a red and white plaid blanket belonging to Elijah had been found nearly four miles from where he disappeared.

Baur’s attorney, Amber Gratz, and the office of Vang’s attorney, Timothy Hogan, didn't immediately respond when contacted for comment.

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