French police have called off a five-day physical search for a missing toddler after admitting that they have “no clue” where he is.
Emile, two, was reported missing on Saturday evening from a remote mountain village with only two dozen inhabitants just outside Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, between Grenoble and Nice.
But after five days of gendarmes, local authorities and volunteers sweeping the surrounding forests to no avail, police are now having to change tactics.
At a news conference on Wednesday, prosecutor Remy Avon said they had resorted to searching through masses of public data after five days of fruitless searching.
He said: “At the moment we have no clue, no information, no element that can help us understand this disappearance.”
He said that they are “really pushing the investigations on the ground as much as we can” but ultimately there had been no progress.
“We are at the same point as the day before yesterday after receiving the two testimonies,” he said.
In addition to an on-the-ground, door-to-door, search of the local area, the authorities have been combing local phone directories to determine phone traffic around the time of the disappearance. Part of this involved checking to see which phones were connected to local cell towers.
“All possible explanations are on the table, we’re not favouring any, and we’re not ruling any out,” added Mr Avon.
Emile’s grandparents had been preparing for a day out when they went to collect him from the garden, only to find out he had disappeared.
Francois Balique, the mayor of Le Vernet, told French TV: “The family was getting ready to leave the house to go on an outing.
“[Emile] took advantage of this fleeting moment [of inattention] to leave. His grandparents realised he was no longer there when they went to put him in the car.”
The village is surrounded by mountains, valleys, and woodland – with images from the scene showing villagers and tourists searching wilderness spots.
Mr Balique said there was no suggestion the boy had been abducted, adding: “It’s a small village with 20 or so houses … we see everything.”
Police described the child as 3ft tall with brown eyes and blonde hair and said he was wearing a yellow top, white shorts with a green pattern, and hiking shoes when he disappeared. They have called on anyone with information to come forward.
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