There is so far no clue or information on the disappearance of little Emile, despite a colossal sweep of the hamlet in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France, where the two-and-a-half-year-old went missing, the public prosecutor in Digne-les-Bains said on Tuesday.
“Little Emile has not been found,” Rémy Avon told the press in an update on the third day of the disappearance of the toddler, who went missing while on holiday with his grandparents. “We have no clues, no information, no element that can help us understand this disappearance.”
After searches on Sunday and Monday, the investigation was narrowed down on Tuesday to the hamlet of Haut-Vernet and its 25 inhabitants, which was completely cordoned off. “The 30 buildings that make up the hamlet were completely searched, 25 people were interviewed, 12 vehicles checked and 12 hectares combed,” Avon said.
“It’s a matter of looking for the slightest clue, the slightest trace that would enable us to try to understand how little Emile disappeared,” the prosecutor continued.
This phase of information gathering continued on Wednesday, after which investigators were scheduled to move on to a second phase, to “exploit this information,” according to the Digne prosecutor. He explained that, in addition to the gendarmes, sappers from the Foreign Legion, who specialise in searches, had been mobilised in the Alpine commune located 1,200 metres above sea level.
Avon also said 1,200 calls had been received in response to appeals for witnesses to come forward. He appealed for “good citizenship” to avoid swamping the investigators with useless information, giving the example of a report that caused a team to go to a camp site in Isère to clear up doubts by checking a camper there.
