Boy, 2, missing in French Alps: Chances of finding him alive narrow

Nearly four days on, there is still no sign of Emile.

The two-year-old went missing in the French Alps on Saturday (July 8) while staying with his grandparents, sparking a huge search operation.

The hunt to find him moved onto a new phase on Wednesday (July 12) as investigators began sifting through information collected the previous day.

Tuesday (July 11) saw outsiders banned from the search site as more ‘targeted and selective’ scientific investigations got underway. This included studying telephone data of people in the area at the time of his disappearance and searching nearby homes.

However, the chances of finding Emile alive are dwindling.

“Medically, we are told that beyond a period of 48 hours, given his young age, his constitution, the current high heat, the prognosis is very, very serious,” said Rémy Avon, the public prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains.

Sniffer dogs

Emile went missing at around 17:15 on Saturday (July 8) as his family was packing the car for a trip in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet, around 30km from Dignes-Les-Bains.

Hundreds of local volunteers, police and gendarmes began scouring the village after the alarm was raised.

On Monday (July 10), Saint Hubert sniffer dogs, well known for their incredible sense of smell, were brought in. However, the dogs, which carry out over 1,000 missions in France each year were unsuccessful.

The snail search technique, which sees searchers start from a set point and then gradually expand the scope of the search following the shape of a snail’s shell, was similarly unsuccessful.

The investigation changed tack on Tuesday. The search site was sealed off and more targeted action began. This included studying telephone data of people in the area at the time of the disappearance. Around 30 homes were also searched and 25 people were interviewed by the police.

But on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Avon admitted “we have no hints, no information, no elements which could help us understand the disappearance”.

Mr Avon told French news channel BFMTV that detailed searches would continue on Wednesday (July 12) and that police would interview more people who were in the hamlet at the time of the boy’s disappearance.

He said the analysis of the elements gathered during the search will take time “and perhaps we will discover that we have something which can be linked to the disappearance”.

Investigators are still inviting anyone who may have any information to call a dedicated number if they have any genuinely helpful details. The number is 04 92 36 73 00.

However, the line has already received over 1,200 calls and Mr Avon is asking people not to “drown” investigators with useless information.

Read also

Boy, 2, missing in French Alps: Outsiders banned from search site