Missing French toddler – latest: Police give update as helicopter teams use mother’s voice recording in search
The search for a missing two-year-old is “at the same point” as it was yesterday, the local prosecutor has said in an update as helicopters spent Tuesday broadcasting a recording of his mother’s voice.
Two-year-old Emile was last seen playing in the garden of a property in Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute department of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, with his grandparents notifying the police of his disappearance at around 5.15pm local time on Saturday.
Airborne search teams were instructed to play the recording “as loud as possible” in the hopes of finding the toddler.
However, the investigation still has “no information”, with the prosecutor urging the public to “give the gendarmes time” as investigators probe the 1,200 calls received on the dedicated case line.
“We have no clue, no information, no element that can help us understand this disappearance. We are at the same point than yesterday at the same time”, Rémy Avon, public prosecutor for Digne-les-Bains, told a press conference on Tuesday evening.
“The 30 buildings that make up the Haut-Vernet building were completely visited. 25 people were heard, 12 vehicles visited, 12 hectares raked”, Mr Avon added.
Key Points
Desperate search for French toddler who vanished on holiday with grandparents
Police forced to switch ‘to another dimension’ 48 hours into search
Airborne search teams broadcasting recording of toddler’s mother ‘as loud as possible’
'We are not losing hope', says prefect
Search ‘at the same point’ as yesterday, local prosecutor tells press conference
Search ‘at the same point’ as yesterday, local prosecutor tells press conference
17:27 , Eleanor Noyce
The search for missing two-year-old Emile is “at the same point” as it was yesterday, the local prosecutor has said.
“As I speak to you, the operations have not brought any useful elements to the investigation”, Rémy Avon, public prosecutor for Digne-les-Bains, told a press conference on Tuesday evening, La Provence reports.
“We have no clue, no information, no element that can help us understand this disappearance. We are at the same point than yesterday at the same time”, Mr Avon added.
‘We will have to give the gendarmes time’, says public prosecutor
18:14 , Eleanor Noyce
“The 30 buildings that make up the Haut-Vernet building were completely visited. 25 people were heard, 12 vehicles visited, 12 hectares raked”, public prosecutor Rémy Avon told a press conference on Tuesday evening.
The search will resume tomorrow, as investigators probe the 1,200 calls received on the dedicated case line over the past 3 days.
“We will have to give the gendarmes time”, Mr Avon added.
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence prefect praises locals for 'exceptional outpouring of solidarity’ in search
16:56 , Eleanor Noyce
On Monday, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence prefect Marc Chappuis announced that from Tuesday morning, the village would be closed to non-residents.
“Nearly 800 people took turns almost without interruption for two days to try to find the child, within a radius of 5 km around the place where he was last seen”, Mr Chappuis told reporters, praising the “neighbours, hikers, walkers, hunters from the surrounding communes” who “showed an exceptional outpouring of solidarity.”
“We don’t need new arrivals of reinforcements”, he added.
Local phone records to be analysed to understand ‘what phone calls were made, by whom and to whom’, says prosecutor
16:05 , Eleanor Noyce
On Tuesday, 80 military police officers were deployed for a targeted search, employing search and rescue dogs and a helicopter, The Telegraph reports.
Local prosecutor Remy Avon confirmed that the search will now be “very detail-oriented”, including analysis of phone records locally to understand “what phone calls were made, by whom and to whom.”
Several witnesses have been questioned and houses in the village searched, with Mr Avon noting that “all possible explanations are on the table, we’re not favouring any, and we’re not ruling any out.”
‘It’s a quiet little hamlet’: Locals reflect as Le Vernet introduces residents-only restrictions
15:46 , Eleanor Noyce
On Monday evening, the prefect of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and the prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains confirmed that only residents of Le Vernet are permitted to leave and enter the village, La Provence reports.
Two-year-old Emile’s disappearance has sent shockwaves through the community, with locals describing Le Vernet as “safe” and “quiet.”
“It’s a quiet little hamlet, you feel safe there, much more than in the city”, one resident told La Provence of the search.
“We all know each other here, I don’t think that a foreign person who would have gone up to the top of the village would have gone unnoticed”, another added.
‘We have really looked everywhere for him’, local says of search mission
15:37 , Eleanor Noyce
Locals have stepped up in the search for the missing two-year-old, including bistro-owner Marie-Laure.
“We were preparing for the evening service when we were told the child had gone missing”, she told La Provence newspaper.
“We all went to see what we could do to help as quickly as possible. We have looked in places where he could be, we have really looked everywhere for him.”
In pictures: French gendarmes and volunteers take part in search operation
15:20 , Eleanor Noyce
French gendarmes and volunteers alike have been pictured taking part in the search operation to find two-year-old Emile.
On Monday, Le Vernet’s mayor said that the scope of the search had been extended.
Toddler's disappearance in France: 'We are not losing hope', says prefect
15:12 , Eleanor Noyce
“We are not stopping the searches, we are not losing hope”, a prefect has told reporters as the search for two-year-old Emile continues.
“As long as we have not located him, we are not losing hope.
“The searches did not bring the answers we expected. We have not located the child yet, but we continue searching and we remain on the ground and we are adapting our ways of searching for this investigation.”
Where is Le Vernet?
14:57 , Eleanor Noyce
Two-year-old Emile went missing in Le Vernet, a small mountain village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department and the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in southeastern France.
It has a population of approximately 100.
Airborne search teams broadcasting recording of toddler’s mother ‘as loud as possible’
14:28 , Eleanor Noyce
With two-year-old Emile still missing, helicopters are now broadcasting the voice of his mother across the region in the hopes of finding him, MailOnline reports.
On Tuesday morning, airborne search teams were given a recording of her voice to play “as loud as possible.”
“Their hope is that Emile will be hidden in the countryside, and will come out when he hears his mother’s voice coming from a helicopter”, an emergency services source told MailOnline.
“Emile was always chasing butterflies, and could have got a long way away, before hiding somewhere for a nap”, the source added.
Police forced to switch ‘to another dimension’ 48 hours into search
14:21 , Eleanor Noyce
As the search for two-year-old Emile continues, police have admitted that, after 48 hours, they’ve been forced to switch “to another dimension.”
“It is obvious that, after 48 hours, we have switched to another dimension. Hearings are underway”, a gendarmerie spokesperson told Le Point.
“Of course, we still have hope of finding him alive, but elsewhere. If he was dead in the perimeter, the dogs would have smelled him.
“If he was alive and hidden, we would also have found him given the means that were deployed”, the spokesperson added.
Elsewhere, La Provence reports that officials are now investigating whether the toddler could have been hit by a car or tractor and his body taken.
Desperate search for French toddler who vanished on holiday with grandparents
13:58 , Eleanor Noyce
A desperate search is underway for a toddler who vanished from a garden while on holiday with his grandparents in the south of France.
Two-year-old Emile, whose surname is unknown, was playing in the garden of a property in Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday when he went missing.
His family was preparing to go out for the day when they noticed Emile had vanished, François Balique, the mayor of Le Vernet, told local media.
My colleague Matt Mathers has the full story:
Desperate search for French toddler who vanished on holiday with grandparents
