French toddler missing: Police give update as helicopter teams use mother’s voice recording in search

The search for missing two-year-old Emile is “at the same point” as it was yesterday, the local prosecutor has said.

“As I speak to you, the operations have not brought any useful elements to the investigation”, Rémy Avon, public prosecutor for Digne-les-Bains, told a press conference on Tuesday evening, La Provence reports.

“We have no clue, no information, no element that can help us understand this disappearance. We are at the same point than yesterday at the same time”, Mr Avon added.

A volunteer who helped in the search for toddler Roxanne, told AFP news agency: “We took part in a big search this morning with 50 other people. There was a gap of two metres (7 feet) between each of us, we looked in the fields, and in the woods.”

“We looked out for the smallest clue, maybe an item of clothing or a shoe he could have lost,” she added.

BFM TV reported that authorities yesterday used a recorded voice message by the toddler’s mother and broadcast it over loudspeakers from a helicopter, in the area of the search.

The local prefect, Marc Chappuis told reporters that “we’re not stopping the search, we are not losing hope”.

He said that the search was now becoming “more targeted” and “more selective”.

Specialist forensic units had been called in and the site was reportedly off limits to outsiders on Tuesday, prosecutor Remy Avon said.

“All possible explanations are on the table, we’re not favouring any, and we’re not ruling any out,” the prosecutor said.

The authorities have been unable to find any clues to the whereabouts of the toddler who went missing over the weekend in the French Alps.

“At this point, we don’t have any clues allowing us to follow any particular theory (on his whereabouts)”, the local public prosecutor told Franceinfo Radio.

The local mayor, Francois Balique told French TV: “The family was getting ready to leave the house to go on an outing. He took advantage of this fleeting moment to leave. His grandparents realised he was no longer there when they went to put him in the car.”

Local reports said that at least 500 volunteers are helping with the search for the toddler in the areas surrounding the village.

So far, 500 volunteers have helped with the search for two-year-old Emile, who has been missing since Saturday.

Two-year-old Emile was last seen playing in the garden of a property in Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute department of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, with his grandparents notifying the police of his disappearance at around 5.15pm local time on Saturday.

“At this point, we don’t have any clues allowing us to follow any particular theory (on his whereabouts)”, the local prosecutor told Franceinfo Radio.

Meanwhile, a volunteer named Roxanne told the AFP news agency on Monday: “We took part in a big search this morning with 50 other people.

“There was a gap of two metres (7 feet) between each of us, we looked in the fields, and in the woods.

“We looked out for the smallest clue, maybe an item of clothing or a shoe he could have lost.”

The dedicated hotline has received 1,200 calls, with 30 buildings searched, 25 people interviewed, 12 vehicles searched and 12 hectares raked.

Searches for missing two-year-old Emile are to continue tomorrow, the local prosecutor told reporters on Tuesday evening.

“The area has been cordoned off and forbidden access to anyone outside the hamlet”, Digne-les-Bains prosecutor Remy Avon said.

“Searches will continue tomorrow. The gendarmerie is stepping up the investigation”, he added.

“More than 1,200 calls have been received and will now undergo checks.”

Two-year-old Emile went missing in Le Vernet, a small mountain village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department and the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in southeastern France.

It has a population of approximately 100.

Émile, aged two-and-a-half, was playing in the garden of his grandparent’s house when he vanished on Saturday afternoon.

Since then, a desperate search has been underway to try and find the missing toddler.

“We are not stopping the searches, we are not losing hope”, a prefect told reporters on Tuesday as the search for two-year-old Emile continues.

“As long as we have not located him, we are not losing hope.

“The searches did not bring the answers we expected. We have not located the child yet, but we continue searching and we remain on the ground and we are adapting our ways of searching for this investigation.”

A desperate search is underway for a toddler who vanished from a garden while on holiday with his grandparents in the south of France.

Two-year-old Emile, whose surname is unknown, was playing in the garden of a property in Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday when he went missing.

His family was preparing to go out for the day when they noticed Emile had vanished, François Balique, the mayor of Le Vernet, told local media.

“He took advantage of this fleeting moment [of inattention] to leave,” he said of the boy’s disappearance.

“His grandparents realised he was no longer there when they went to put him in the car.”

My colleague Matt Mathers reports: