Missing Two Rivers 7-year-old found deceased in river near where he was last seen

The body of 7-year-old Jacob Baer was pulled from the West Twin River in Two Rivers Sunday morning, December 1, 2024, after an hours long search for the boy when a parent lost sight of him at a nearby park.

Manitowoc officials started searching for the autistic boy in Two Rivers since just after 4:30 PM Saturday, November 30, in the area of Veterans Park at the end of School Street near the West Twin River.

Initially, Two Rivers Police, Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Deputies and Wisconsin State Patrol Troopers as well as local fire officials searched the area for the boy with K9s and drones, but the search grew to include the Coast Guard Ice Search and Rescue Team, the WI National Guard providing aerial searching with a helicopter, the Wisconsin DNR, as well as numerous local fire departments.

At about 2:40 AM Sunday, Law enforcement advised they had located several items believed to belong to Jacob in the water of the river. Later that morning the Wisconsin DNR was able to identify a possible location, in 5 to 6 feet of water, for what was believed to be Jacob.   Recovery operations continued until late Sunday morning when Jacobs body was recovered from that location.