The manhunt for the missing toddler who disappeared while vacationing in rural France has continued for three days with no success.
Émile, 2, vanished without a trace while playing at his grandparents’ home in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet in the French Alps on Saturday.
Since the child’s mysterious disappearance, over eight hundred rescuers – including firefighters, the police, volunteers, and K9 units – were deployed to search for the boy.
Despite using drones and a helicopter for help, no progress has been made in finding little Émile and bringing him to safety.
In a desperate and heartbreaking attempt to get the child’s attention, the search crews also broadcasted his mother’s voice via helicopter.
“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” public prosecutor Rémy Avon said of the puzzling case.
“The 30 buildings that make up the Haut-Vernet building were completely visited. 25 people were heard, 12 vehicles visited, 12 hectares raked.”
The news comes after sources from the police admitted that the boy may have been killed by a car or tractor by accident and that his body may have been taken further away and hidden.
“Of course, we still have hope of finding him alive, but elsewhere. If he was dead in the perimeter, the dogs would have smelled him. If he was alive and hidden, we would also have found him given the means that were deployed,” a source said.
Meanwhile, another insider shared a more positive insight saying the boy’s mother believes the toddler could have gotten very far because he loved chasing butterflies.
“Their hope is that Émile will be hidden in the countryside, and will come out when he hears his mother’s voice coming from a helicopter,” a rescuer, who is participating in the airborne search for the boy, said.
“Émile was always chasing butterflies, and could have got a long way away, before hiding somewhere for a nap.”
Our thoughts remain with Émile’s family as the search continues.