Massive search to find missing toddler in French Alps after three days

Emile, who is two and a half, was staying with his grandparents when he went missing on Saturday.

He was last seen by two neighbours walking alone on a street of Haut-Vernet, a tiny village of 25 inhabitants at an altitude of around 1200 metres.

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

But after 48 hours of combing through the area without success, the search was now becoming “more targeted” and “more selective”, he said.

Specialist forensic units had been called in, and more locals would be interviewed in the hope for clues as to the whereabouts of the boy.

The site is off limits to outsiders as of Tuesday, prosecutor Remy Avon said.

Investigators still had no leads as to what might have happened to Emile.

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

Several witnesses had been questioned, and all houses in the hamlet searched, except for two that are uninhabited, he said.

For now, there was nothing to indicate foul play, he said.

Hundreds of volunteers have signed up to help with the search.

“We took part in a big search this morning with 50 other people,” said Roxane, 19, who came with two friends to help on Monday.

“There was a gap of two metres 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 said.

The terrain in the search zone is hilly and craggy with many streams, and the region has been hit by a heatwave, with temperatures forecast to reach 34C on Tuesday.

Police, still hoping for a breakthrough thanks to witness statements, have circulated a picture of the blond and hazel-eyed boy who was wearing a yellow top, white shorts and hiking shoes the day he disappeared.