French authorities are intensifying their investigation into the baffling disappearance of a two-year-old boy who wandered away from his grandparents’ home in the small village of Le Vernet, nestled in the picturesque French Alps. The search for the child, identified only as Émile, has been called off after days of exhaustive efforts failed to yield any clues about his whereabouts.
Since Monday, a massive search operation involving hundreds of police officers, firefighters, and volunteers, along with the deployment of search dogs and helicopters equipped with thermal imaging cameras, has been conducted across the 1,000-acre area surrounding Le Vernet. Despite these extensive efforts, no trace of the missing toddler has been found.
In an effort to uncover any leads, investigators have collected data from the search operation, including telephone records that will be cross-checked with the movements of individuals in the village at the time of Émile’s disappearance. Police are treating this case with utmost seriousness and have not ruled out the possibility of a criminal offence.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Rémy Avon, the prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains, emphasised that no theories are being dismissed, leaving the investigation open to all possibilities. Jacques Morel, a gendarmerie general, expressed his belief that the child could not have left the area on his own without the involvement of a third party, suggesting the potential complicity of someone in Émile’s disappearance.
The incident has cast a shadow of concern over Le Vernet, a tiny village consisting of only around 20 houses. Regrettably, this is not the first time the community has been thrust into the spotlight due to tragic events. In 2008, Jeanette Grosos, the owner of Café du Moulin, was fatally beaten by a well-known customer. Additionally, in 2015, the village was devastated by the crash of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525, which took the lives of all 150 people on board, including the perpetrator who intentionally downed the plane in a suicide mission.
