Fears are growing that two-year-old Émile could have been kidnapped after going missing three days ago while on holiday with his grandparents. was kidnapped.
After more than 48 hours of intense searching around the hamlet of Le Vernet, authorities admitted that the boy ‘should have been found by now’ if he was within the perimeter.
‘He’s two and a half years old, he could walk quite a distance. But all the hunts we’ve carried out over the past two days should have allowed us to locate him,” said Marc Chappuis, the police officer in charge of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region where Emile went missing on Saturday afternoon.
With regard to treating the disappearance as a kidnapping, Rémy Avon, the public prosecutor, said at the same press conference: “The criteria for using this procedure are not met,” but added, “all hypotheses remain valid , none are favored or excluded. ‘
“We are committed to conducting investigations at all levels,” he confirmed.
Émile was playing in the garden of his grandparents’ house in the hamlet of Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday afternoon when he disappeared
Volunteers take part in a search for two-and-a-half-year-old Emile who has been reported missing
French gendarmes take part in a search for two-and-a-half-year-old Emile who is reported missing
After two days, the two-year-old is still nowhere to be found after police searched the 20 or so houses in the small, wooded hamlet in the Alps.
As fears grow, the prosecutor stressed that so far “no element is characteristic of a criminal offense that is likely to be at the root of this disappearance.”
“From the moment there is no violation, no person is involved anymore,” he repeated.
Mr Chappuis confirmed at the press conference that the search system would be adjusted for Tuesday to be ‘more targeted’.
Police had already expanded the 5km search area on Monday after finding no signs of the boy’s disappearance. A helicopter, drones with thermal cameras and sniffer dogs were all deployed to assist.
“We will remain on site,” Mr Chappuis said. ‘We deploy specialized resources in the search for traces and clues and respond to the needs of the judicial investigation.’
Mr Avon also confirmed that despite witnesses coming forward, no new element has so far been put forward that ‘probably explains the disappearance of little Émile’.
“These investigations will continue tomorrow (Tuesday) on a somewhat diversified course, particularly through the search for local clues,” he added.
Émile was playing in the garden of his grandparents’ house in the hamlet of Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday afternoon when he disappeared.
A group of gendarmes searches for little two-year-old Emile in a steep area just outside Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
French gendarmes are briefed before taking part in a search for two-and-a-half-year-old Emile
A French gendarme takes part in a search for two-and-a-half-year-old Emile, who has been reported missing for two days
Volunteers are looking for Émile who was playing in the garden of his grandparents’ house in a hamlet just outside Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence between Grenoble and Nice when he disappeared
French police are conducting an extensive air and land search for a missing two-year-old boy who disappeared from a village in the south of the country last weekend.
The family was getting ready to leave the house they were staying in when Émile took advantage of the oversight, officials said. His grandparents came to put him in the car and found him gone.
The grandparents then alerted authorities to Émile’s disappearance around 5:15 p.m. [4.15pm BST] At that point, relatives, police, aid workers and local villagers began the search for the boy.
François Balique, the mayor of Le Vernet, told French television yesterday that the boy can walk well for his age.
‘It’s a small village with about twenty houses… we see everything. He could have gone a long way and maybe got lost or hid,” he said
The area around Le Vernet is surrounded by forest and is popular with walkers.
A group of gendarmes goes on a hunt for little Emile. French police are conducting an extensive air and land search for the missing two-year-old boy
The initial 5 km search area for the Émile has been expanded today with a helicopter, drones with thermal cameras and sniffer dogs all deployed to assist
Emile was last seen playing in the garden at his grandparents’ house on July 8, with people now searching for him
Volunteers take part in a search for two-and-a-half-year-old Emile who has been reported missing for two days
Originally from Bouches-du-Rhône near Marseille, Émile was spotted by two people as he left his grandparents’ house. However, they then said to have ‘lost track of him’.
The police have so far searched all houses in the village and are calling on anyone with more information to come forward.
When releasing a photo and description of a child to social media and broadcasters, officials said he had brown eyes and blond hair and is 3 feet 10 inches tall.
They said he was wearing a yellow top, white shorts with a green pattern and hiking boots at the time of his disappearance.