The public prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains confirms that a “last sweep” is in progress, Thursday, July 13, at Haut-Vernet. It was in this small hamlet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence that little Emile, 2 and a half years old, disappeared the previous Saturday. Despite the significant resources mobilized, he remains untraceable. About fifty mobile gendarmes from Gap sift through “1.8 km road” And “a strip of about 10 meters”says the magistrate. Follow our live.
An area already inspected. Prosecutor Rémy Avon clarified to France Télévisions that this plot had been covered during the hunts of recent days. This new operation was organized “purely for safety”he added, without it being linked to any “new item” of the investigation.
The investigation moves into a new phase. On Tuesday evening, the magistrate admitted to being “the same as yesterday and the day before yesterday”. Rémy Avon said that the investigation, opened on Sunday, is now focusing on the exploitation of data collected in the field. The telephone records of the inhabitants of the hamlet, in particular, are beginning to be studied.
More than 300 volunteers mobilized for research. The search perimeter was raked several times and right down to its smallest corners on Tuesday. About thirty houses in Haut-Vernet were inspected, 12 vehicles were searched and the 25 inhabitants heard. The hamlet is cordoned off until Thursday evening “to protect families”explained the mayor.