Boy, 2, missing in French Alps: inquiry changes to kidnapping

The investigation into the disappearance of a 2-year old boy who went missing from his grandparents’ house in the Alps in July has been reclassified as a kidnapping case.

The original case, opened on July 18, was centred on the ‘causes of the disappearance’ of the toddler Emile.

The boy, who went missing from the remote village of Haut-Vernet (Hautes-Alpes) on July 8, sparked repeated search operations involving hundreds of police officers after the alarm was raised that he had disappeared.

Despite the reclassification however, no new information regarding the case has come to light, according to authorities.

Second change to case

Emile disappeared whilst holidaying at his grandparents’ house when they momentarily lost sight of him whilst he was outside.

Initially, police and gendarmerie conducted search and rescue operations in the surrounding area, including with the use of sniffer dogs and drones, although no signs of the boy were discovered.

A case into the boy’s disappearance was opened on July 9, followed by a preliminary inquiry, and then on July 18 a full judicial investigation.

The investigation was into the cause of Emile’s disappearance, and did not eliminate any potential reasoning, although initial efforts focused mainly on finding the body of the boy, who was believed to have run off out of the village.

At the end of July, however, the investigation was widened by a supplementary indictment issued by Aix-en-Provence public prosecutor.

The expansion allowed for investigators to do more things relating to the case, such as take people into police custody for questioning.

At the beginning of the month, Emile’s parents filed a civil lawsuit to be able to access the files relating to the investigation.

A national investigation unit was also set up regarding the disappearance.

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