An investigation is opened after the worrying disappearance of a child of two and a half years in Vernet, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. This boy has escaped the vigilance of his grandparents since Saturday evening.
The alert was given this Saturday at the end of the afternoon by the grandparents. Emile, two and a half years old, disappeared from his grandparents’ home in Vernet, north-east of Digne-les-Bains, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Significant research resources were mobilized to try to find this boy. A call for witnesses was also launched by the prosecution of Digne-les-Bains.
“A judicial inquiry has been opened by the public prosecutor of the Digne-les-Bains judicial court”, specifies in a press release the prefecture. The investigation for “disturbing disappearance of a minor” was entrusted to the research section of Marseille, indicated the prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains, Rémy Avon. Franceinfo summarizes what we know about the case.
Emile, two and a half years old, was seen in the village
The child disappeared around 5 p.m. He was then at the home of his grandparents. His last hosted “their only grandson for a week or 15 days of vacation” according to the mayor of Vernet, François Balique. “They were about to have an activity”, continues the chosen one. “They are loading the car to go to this activity. When they wanted to take Émile to take him, fifteen minutes after waking him up from his nap, they noticed that he was no longer there.” On site, in the family home, there were other family members aged between 14 and 16 years. “The family is large enoughhimself”, specifies François Balique. The grandparents have 10 children.
The mayor of Vernet assures that the inhabitants of the village have seen Emile “going down the road”.“They saw him pass at the time that corresponds to when he escaped the vigilance of the grandparents. There is no gate. The children are free in the villages, there is no of danger. It’s a quiet village.” This Sunday, during a press conference, the prosecutor confirmed that “the child was seen” by two witnesses “leaving the place of residence of his grandparents then in a descending street”. The grandparents were interviewed to guide the research.
A call for witnesses launched
The Digne-les-Bains prosecutor’s office has launched a call for witnesses to try to find Emile. It is addressed to all “person having been on the sector of the disappearance” this Saturday afternoon and for “anyone who has crossed the area to get to Barcelonnette and the Ubaye valley or to go down to Nice, Grasse, Draguignan and Aix-en-Provence”.
A photo of the young boy has been released. Emile has brown eyes and blond hair. He is 90 centimeters tall and wears a yellow top, white shorts and hiking shoes. In case of information, it is necessary to warn the investigators at 04.92.36.73.00. A “fifty calls” have already been harvested and are “being processed”announces the prefect of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
“The first 48 hours are crucial” according to the prosecutor
According to the prosecutor, the research is focused “within a radius of 5 kilometers” around the grandparents house. “The 48 hours are crucial to be able to optimize our chances and ensure that we can find him”, indicated the prefect of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
The canine teams made it possible to identify “some markings which give rise to verification”. “It’s a relative element”specifies the prosecutor, Rémy Avon. “We are in a rural area, there may be elements that interfere with the dogs’ sense of smell.”
Significant research resources mobilized
An investigation has been opened by the police. Since the establishment of a warrant of disappearance, “thirty gendarmes, including members of the PGHM, the high mountain gendarmerie platoon, twenty firefighters, dog teams, drones and a helicopter are mobilized”, specifies the prefect. During the night from Saturday to Sunday, the search continued until 3 am.
This Sunday, a hundred volunteers helped the police in the search “Utremendous solidarity has been created”assures François Balique. “Teams on foot have raked every forest. We rake every bush, every square meter of hay”.
Research continues and concern grows. “Everything is possible”sighs the mayor. “There is necessarily an answer. We don’t know it, but we hope it will be very positive and favorable. Fortunately, the night was not very cool, 12-13 degrees, we are at 1,300 meters above sea level. ‘altitude.”
The thesis of the “improbable” kidnapping according to the mayor
Field “around the house is steep”, report the gendarmes. The mayor of the town indicates that there are “dangerous areas where he could have slipped”. At franceinfo, François Balique specifies that Emile, two and a half years old, is considered a child who is “a very good walker”.
The elected judge “improbable”, at this time, the trail of the kidnapping. “Haut-Vernet is a cul-de-sac”, describes the mayor of the village. “We see all the passing cars. You can imagine, we are in Haute-Provence, a small village in which there are about twenty houses, you can see everything. After he passed on a path and someone passed… We can imagine everything, but it is more than unlikely in my opinion. Here, every passing car is checked, that’s how it is, that’s village life.”
Asked about a possible abduction of the child, the public prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains indicates that“no hypothesis, for the moment, is eluded, none is privileged”.