Blanket belonging to missing Wisconsin 3-year-old found almost one month after he disappeared

A blanket belonging to missing 3-year-old boy Elijah Vue has been discovered almost one month after the Wisconsin toddler's disappearance, police said Monday.

Elijah disappeared from an apartment in Two Rivers, about 90 miles north of Milwaukee, and the blanket became a key focus of the ongoing search for clues to his whereabouts.

Two Rivers Police Chief Ben Meinnert said on Facebook that the red and white plaid blanket Elijah was said to have had with him when he disappeared was found on Goodwin Road, in a rural area between Manitowoc and Two Rivers, about 3.7 miles from where he was last seen.

"Today we can confirm the blanket is Elijah’s blanket," Meinnert said.

Elijah’s mother, Katrina Baur, 31, and the man who was looking after him when he disappeared, Jesse Vang, 39, have been charged with child neglect.

Baur was charged with being a party to the crime of neglecting a child, as well as two counts of obstructing an officer. According to a criminal complaint, she told police she left her son with Vang on Feb. 12 to teach him "to be a man" and planned to pick him up Feb. 23.

Court documents seen by NBC Chicago said Vang called police before 11 a.m. Feb. 20 to report Elijah missing after he fell asleep and woke to find the child gone.

Both suspects deny involvement in the disappearance.

At a hearing in February, Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre said Elijah’s mother "intentionally sent that child for disciplinary reasons for more than a week to the residence. She was aware of the tactics used and the lack of care provided."

Police urged the public to help them by "checking all urban and rural areas, including water, to find Elijah and locate any evidence related to his disappearance."

The search has already taken in wetlands, farmland, the West Twin River and a farm waste container, police said.

The reward for information leading to Elijah’s discovery has risen to $40,000 from multiple local donors.

Police have also sifted through large amounts of dashcam and security camera video after they appealed for images of a beige 1997 Nissan Altima with Wisconsin plates and a registration beginning with A, between 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Feb. 19.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com