• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Huge search underway for toddler who disappeared in French Alps

Home> News> World News

Updated 11:27 12 Jul 2023 GMT+1Published 06:24 12 Jul 2023 GMT+1

Huge search underway for toddler who disappeared in French Alps

Two-year-old Emelie was staying with his grandparents in Haut-Vernet when he disappeared over the weekend.

Keryn Donnelly

Keryn Donnelly

A massive search effort is underway to find a toddler who went missing in a hamlet in the French Alps four days ago.

The two-year-old - named only as Emile - was staying with his grandparents in Haut-Vernet, a tiny village of 25 inhabitants at an altitude of around 1200 metres, when he disappeared on Saturday (15 July).

The toddler was last seen walking down the street near his grandparents' house by two witnesses on Saturday afternoon, according to authorities.

His grandparents notified the police of his disappearance at around 5.15pm local time on Saturday. He was reported to have been wearing white shorts and a yellow top at the time.

Advert

“The family was getting ready to leave the house to go on an outing. He took advantage of this fleeting moment to leave," Francois Balique, the local mayor, told French TV.

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

A massive search effort began that night, but after 48 hours of combing through the area, no clues to the toddler's whereabouts were found.

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

The two-year-old was last seen in Haut-Vernet on Saturday, 15 July.
Twitter/@Gendarmerie

Advert

“There was a gap of two metres (seven 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.”

Rémy Avon, public prosecutor for Digne-les-Bains, said the search would become 'more targeted' and 'more selective' going forward.

“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," he said.

“The 30 buildings that make up the Haut-Vernet building were completely visited. 25 people were heard, 12 vehicles visited, 12 hectares raked.

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

Advert

All houses in the hamlet have been searched, except for two that are unoccupied, and several witnesses have been interviewed.

On Tuesday, helicopters spent the day broadcasting a recording of his mother’s voice over the area.

Search teams were instructed to play the recording 'as loud as possible' in the hopes of finding the toddler.

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

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@Gendarmerie / AFP

Topics: News, World News

Keryn Donnelly
Keryn Donnelly

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Urgent search underway for teenager who went missing from UK music festival
  • Desperate search underway for two British hikers who failed to board their flight home from Italian mountains
  • Chilling CCTV footage emerges as police search for victim's head after reality star girlfriend charged with murder
  • Major search underway after flight carrying 10 people vanishes over Alaska

Choose your content:

3 mins ago
an hour ago
  • 3 mins ago

    Amelia Earhart's incredible life becoming a pilot as scientists think they have uncovered lost plane mystery

    She lived a truly incredible life

    News
  • an hour ago

    UK Government issues important update on 100ml airport rule as peak summer travel hits

    It comes as Edinburgh and Birmingham become the latest airports to install new hand luggage scanners

    News
  • an hour ago

    Expert on Amelia Earhart’s disappearance reveals what he thinks really happened as scientists 'finally discover' lost plane

    In 1937, Earhart disappeared while flying across the Pacific Ocean in a Lockheed Electra

    News
  • an hour ago

    Tragic details emerge as man 'sucked into jet engine' before takeoff

    The incident occurred at Milan's Bergamo airport

    News

    breaking