Accident or kidnapping? 24 hours after the disappearance of little Emile, 2 and a half years old, at Vernet (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), no hypothesis is favored by the investigators.
The child was playing on Saturday in the garden of his grandparents’ house, in this village of 125 inhabitants, when he escaped their vigilance, around 6 p.m., in an area whose surroundings are steep.
According to initial elements emerging from two testimonies, the child left “the place of residence of his grandparents” and was seen “in a downhill street by two people. This is where we then lose track of him, ”said Digne-les-Bains public prosecutor Rémy Avon on Sunday during a press conference at Vernet.
No clue allows to point the track of an abduction
“The research covered a perimeter of five kilometers around the grandparents’ house,” added the prefect of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Marc Chappuis.
“For safety we embrace all the hypotheses”, insisted the prosecutor, adding that there was “no clue” at this stage allowing to point the track of a kidnapping.
A judicial investigation in “search for the causes of worrying disappearance” was opened on Sunday morning by the prosecution of Digne-les-Bains.
“So far, we have had some markings [par des chiens des équipes cynophiles] which give rise to verification, but it is a relative element since it is the sense of smell of dogs and that we are in a rural environment, in a mountain environment, and that there may be parasitic elements, ”put the magistrate into perspective. .
“Home visits [dans le village] were carried out, they did not give evidence one way or another, ”he also noted.
About fifty calls received on a dedicated line
The prosecution launched a call for witnesses at midday, with the photo and the description of the child broadcast on all the media. But the criteria for triggering an abduction alert were “not yet met”, he insisted.
The line dedicated to this investigation has so far received around fifty calls which are being processed, said the prefect.
“We are continuing the device throughout the evening and part of the night”, continued the latter, recalling that between the gendarmes – including soldiers from the high mountain gendarmerie platoon (PGHM) -, the firefighters and the many volunteers mobilized, nearly 100 people on Saturday and 200 on Sunday had taken part in the search for the child.
48 decisive hours
In total, ten dog teams, two helicopters, one with a thermal camera, as well as drones also equipped with thermal cameras, have been mobilized since Saturday evening.
“If the research is unsuccessful, we will renew the system all day tomorrow, with new means which, in particular, will be brought to us by the neighboring departments”, added the prefect.
“We will see after 48 hours”, these 48 hours which are “crucial to be able to optimize our chances” of finding him, “what the research has given”. “And we will adjust the device,” he noted.