Found Deceased France - Émile S., 2, outside grandparent’s house, Le Vernet, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 8 July 2023

[SouthAussie]

So, who were the witnesses who have provided information about being the last to see him?
We have been given to understand:
1. His young cousins;
2. Nearby neighbours.
Possible explanation:
... Did his young cousins run back to the Grandparents to tell them that Emile had run off and they had lost sight of him?
... Following that, did the nearby neighbours then see him?
Both of these witnesses could then believe that they each were the last to witness seeing him.MOO

I think the cousins are actually aunts/uncles. We posted a link to an article further back that said they are so young (14 and 16 years old? IIRC) because Emille's mother is the eldest of 10 children ... and she is only in her 20s.

 

[Couldbe]

I think the cousins are actually aunts/uncles. We posted a link to an article further back that said they are so young (14 and 16 years old? IIRC) because Emille's mother is the eldest of 10 children ... and she is only in her 20s.

Thankyou SA .... yes, my mistake .... aunts/uncles.

 

[kittythehare]

Were the last people to see Emile kids? I thought they were (unnamed/undescribed) neighbours.

"..... who was last seen by neighbours leaving the family home alone on Saturday"

Police call off search for missing two-year-old Emile in French Alps

Hundreds of police officers, soldiers, and volunteers have led desperate efforts to locate the two-and-a-half-year-old, named Emile, who was last seen by neighbours leaving the family home alone on Saturday

www.euronews.com

Quite.
That is what is reoprted in all MSM sources I have read.

 

[pukasonqo2]

Oklahoma 2-year-old found dead half a mile from home after crawling out of bed in middle of the night

Looking up similar cases to see how far a two year old can get. This poor boy was found 1/2 a mile away.

How far will your 2 year old walk?

Also some interesting comments from parents discussing how far their kids can walk. Seems to be quite varied!

William Tyrell here in Australia comes to mind, still no trace of William had been found
He also went missing during a visit at his grandparents (William was a foster child at the time)

Australia - Australia - William Tyrrell Disappeared While Playing in Yard - Kendall (NSW) - #74

DBM

www.websleuths.com

 

[Tintenbar]

Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est la terminologie et l'emplacement. il se répète à propos de '30 maisons' et hameau. J'ai google mappé "Le Vernet, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence" et il y a plus de 30 maisons. En fait, il y a des restaurants et des auberges dans quelques zones différentes. Il semble donc que la recherche et les nouvelles soient concentrées dans le quartier, pas dans la ville. Quelqu'un de connaisseur peut-il confirmer ?

Émile disappeared in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet. https://www.zupimages.net/up/23/28/z2tv.png

 

[Twittens]

Since the intensive search has not located a live child or his remains, police now have to consider other possibilities. When someone's missing, the people closest to them are scrutinized. The fact that Emile disappeared on the same day his parents dropped him off makes the far-fetched a bit more plausible, IMO.

<bold by me>

The reporting has been a bit confusing imo so it's hard to be sure, but this French source, which is very detailed in other respects, states that Emile was dropped off the day before he went missing:

"Depuis samedi, le jour de la disparition de l'enfant, ils étaient une dizaine dans ce hameau où les grands-parents maternels du garçonnet possèdent depuis une quinzaine d'années une vaste propriété. C'était le début des vacances. La mère de l'enfant, Marie, avait déposé son fils la veille."

Translates as: "Since Saturday, the day of the child's disappearance, there were ten of them in this hamlet where the boy's maternal grandparents have owned a large property for fifteen years. It was the start of vacation. The child's mother, Marie, had dropped off her son the day before."

Disparition d'Emile : comment va se poursuivre l'enquête après la fin des recherches ?

(Under the heading La famille d'Émile, un clan qui ne vit pas reclus)

Information about when his parents returned to Haut-Vernet has been quite contradictory and it's not clear (to me at least) whether they were coming back anyway or whether they returned because Emile had gone missing. Nor is it clear whether both parents travelled together, or where they had been meanwhile (i.e. their own home or elsewhere).

I don't know whether any of this is relevant anyway, as there's no evidence that Emile's parents are anything other than victims in this tragic story, but just to address what was said above.

MOO

 

[LemonMint]

Some of that terrain looks quite dense, more and more so the further you get from the houses.

If we believe that he genuinely did just womble off rather than anything more sinister, I was surprised he wasn't found promptly and LE seem to have been too.

But then I think how long it sometimes takes for a body to be found when someone's gone off voluntarily to end their life, especially in wooded terrain. There are lots of missing cases in the UK that have ended that way and it often takes weeks or even months to find remains.

MOO

I agree with you. There have been so many cases of missing adult persons whose remains have been found months later in the very same location despite of extensive searches It can be very tricky to find an adult person let alone a toddler.

Other options that are less likely in my opinion though: something sinister happened like in poor Maëlys de Araujo’s case in 2017

Ex-soldier given life for French girl's murder - BBC News

Eight-year-old Maëlys de Araujo was abducted and then killed at a wedding five years ago.

www.bbc.com

Mirror (hmm…!) is also reporting as follows:

'Boy racer' teen infamous for tractor speeding 'questioned' over missing toddler

Police have reportedly interviewed a farmer's son who also lives in the tiny 25-person village in the French Alps where two-year-old Émile disappeared last weekend

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[SouthAussie]

.
Emile has been missing for a week now.

They have been holding masses for him ... one in Sainte-Marthe-du-Bas-Vernet church last night (Saturday), another in his hometown of Bouilladisse today.

https://newsbeezer.com/franceeng/a-mass-in-support-of-the-little-boys-family/

https://euro.dayfr.com/trends/536308.html

 

[FromGermany1]

Émile went missing from his grandparents’ house in the Alpine hamlet of Le Haut Veren on Saturday, while his parents apparently remained 200 miles away at their own home in Marseille.

Missing French boy’s dad has ‘very worrying profile’, children minister says

Émile went missing from his grandparents’ house in the Alpine hamlet of Le Haut Veren on Saturday

www.standard.co.uk

His parents, who recently moved to the heart of Bouilladisse, a small town in the Bouches-du-Rhône, used to come and stay in the village of Le Vernet every vacation. Here's everything we know about this very discreet family.
The parents, who previously lived near Marseille, had not yet enrolled the toddler in daycare or school. According to the media,the investigators also looked into Emile's father's past.

Here's everything we know about the family of the missing French toddler, Emile by Laurène Gernez

On 8 July 2023, a French toddler called Emile was reported missing. Here's what we know about his family.…. Published: 2023-07-13 15:21:47 by Laurène GernezSaturday,July,white shorts,La Provence,Emile,hiking boots,Latin Mass,verdict,Le Vernet,religion inspirations,

marseillegrid.com

Émile’s home in La Bouilladisse, near Marseille - where he lives with his parents and baby sister - was searched by investigators on Monday.

Cops' sinister theory in search for missing toddler after blood found in car

A French toddler who has been missing for four days may have been killed in a car accident and his body hidden, French police say. However, they aren't ruling out anything in the desperate search for two-year-old Émile.

www.mirror.co.uk

Emile, who lives in Marseille with his parents, was on holiday with his grandparents in Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence when he went missing.

“No clue, no information": French police issue update about missing Emile, 2, as search for boy who vanished on holiday

French police have been stumped by the mystery disappearance of two-year-old French boy Emile - admitting that they have no clues into where he went after vanishing from his grandparents' house.

www.lbc.co.uk

Emile's hometown always seems to be questionable.

 

[SouthAussie]

Emile's hometown always seems to be questionable.

Not really. The little town of La Bouilladisse is only 21km from Marseilles.
It is not as if the articles say that Emile lived in Paris, when he actually lived a stones-throw away from Marseilles.
All the articles are providing the correct vicinity of Emile's hometown. imo


"La Bouilladisse is located in the township of Roquevaire part of the district of Marseille."

https://www.map-france.com/La%20Bouilladisse-13720/

 

[kittythehare]

An ultra-precise detector usually used by the army was brought to the hamlet of Haut-Vernet. All of the hamlet's bales have been inspected.

Eight days after the disappearance of Émile in the town of Vernet (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), the investigation to try to find the little boy continues.

Disparition d'Émile: les ballots de paille du Haut-Vernet passés au détecteur de métaux

Un détecteur ultra-précis utilisé habituellement par l’armée a été amené jusqu’au hameau du Haut-Vernet. L’ensemble des ballots du hameau ont été inspectés.

www.bfmtv.com

 

[SouthAussie]

An ultra-precise detector usually used by the army was brought to the hamlet of Haut-Vernet. All of the hamlet's bales have been inspected.

Eight days after the disappearance of Émile in the town of Vernet (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), the investigation to try to find the little boy continues.

Disparition d'Émile: les ballots de paille du Haut-Vernet passés au détecteur de métaux

Un détecteur ultra-précis utilisé habituellement par l’armée a été amené jusqu’au hameau du Haut-Vernet. L’ensemble des ballots du hameau ont été inspectés.

www.bfmtv.com

The article also says that the local farmers are currently harvesting with "agriculture machines", and it is very important (obviously) to make sure that a perhaps-fallen Emile has not been caught in that harvest.

When the farmers use the hay to feed animals in autumn, they sometimes find deer that have fallen and been caught in the harvest machinery - and presumably then end up in the hay bales.

 

[kittythehare]

The article also says that the local farmers are currently harvesting with "agriculture machines", and it is very important (obviously) to make sure that a perhaps-fallen Emile has not been caught in that harvest.

When the farmers use the hay to feed animals in autumn, they sometimes find deer that have fallen and been caught in the harvest machinery - and presumably then end up in the hay bales.

aye. They really do appear to be doing everything possible.
Smaller communities are better for that reason.
Everyone will try.
But no good result.
Sometimes I do think about people disappearing into thin air.
It makes as much sense.
By now every single person that was in the vicinity has been interviewed suggesting his disappearance is unrelated to human intervention.
That just leaves wild animals and nothing points in that direction either.

 

[LadyL]

if the dog(s) tracked him to a certain point and then lost the scent, doesn't that indicate he was picked up at that point and either carried or put in a car? there is no water at that point

there were neighbours who saw him after that point further down the hill? maybe that info is lost in translation

 

[kittythehare]

if the dog(s) tracked him to a certain point and then lost the scent, doesn't that indicate he was picked up at that point and either carried or put in a car? there is no water at that point

there were neighbours who saw him after that point further down the hill? maybe that info is lost in translation

not sure that sequence has been clarified.

 

[SouthAussie]

if the dog(s) tracked him to a certain point and then lost the scent, doesn't that indicate he was picked up at that point and either carried or put in a car?

We had a case here in Australia (Gary Tweddle) where the dogs tracked Gary's scent to a point on the road, then nothing after that. Despite extensive searching.

It was discovered - when they eventually found Gary's body - that Gary had left the road at some point, wandered through bushland, and fallen over a cliff. He was found on a ledge further down the cliff. The presumption was accidental death, as Gary was extremely inebriated when he disappeared.

Found Deceased - Australia - Gary Tweddle, 23, Blue Mountains NSW, 16 July 2013 - #3

MISSING - Gary Tweddle - 23 YO - Blue Mountains - NSW - Australia Missing from: Fairmont Resort - Leura - Blue Mountains - New South Wales - Australia Last Known Movements Video Sighting Mon 15th July 2013: Around Midnight: CCTV Footage shows Gary running from the Fairmont Resort Leura...

www.websleuths.com

 

[LadyL]

We had a case here in Australia (Gary Tweddle) where the dogs tracked Gary's scent to a point on the road, then nothing after that. Despite extensive searching.

It was discovered - when they eventually found Gary's body - that Gary had left the road at some point, wandered through bushland, and fallen over a cliff. He was found on a ledge further down the cliff. The presumption was accidental death, as Gary was extremely inebriated when he disappeared.

Found Deceased - Australia - Gary Tweddle, 23, Blue Mountains NSW, 16 July 2013 - #3

MISSING - Gary Tweddle - 23 YO - Blue Mountains - NSW - Australia Missing from: Fairmont Resort - Leura - Blue Mountains - New South Wales - Australia Last Known Movements Video Sighting Mon 15th July 2013: Around Midnight: CCTV Footage shows Gary running from the Fairmont Resort Leura...

www.websleuths.com

interesting but in this case the houses are beside the road (not the bush) so wouldn't Emile's scent have been tracked further than the road (into backyards)?

 

[SouthAussie]

interesting but in this case the houses are beside the road (not the bush) so wouldn't Emile's scent have been tracked further than the road (into backyards)?

All I know is that the dogs are not infallible.

There was a comment in one of the articles about this case that the dogs were having difficulties due to parasites (presumably when they were trying to track off the roads).
I recall in the William Tyrrell case that the same thing happened. The dogs were getting covered in ticks and it was affecting their ability to track. At least one dog had to be taken to the vet due to this problem.

imo

 

[sundaaaay]

The article also says that the local farmers are currently harvesting with "agriculture machines", and it is very important (obviously) to make sure that a perhaps-fallen Emile has not been caught in that harvest.

When the farmers use the hay to feed animals in autumn, they sometimes find deer that have fallen and been caught in the harvest machinery - and presumably then end up in the hay bales.

Interesting theory! An event like this could make a lot of sense because it would explain how a toddler can seemingly vanish from an area.

-Where he went missing is more agricultural than forested
-It is hay season
-He is known for liking chasing butterflies, which would likely be abundant in the fields
-He may have tired himself out and fell asleep in the field and was later baled

The only issue is once the tiny village was notified he was missing, surely agricultural activities like baling were called off.

 

[shadwell]

Interesting theory! An event like this could make a lot of sense because it would explain how a toddler can seemingly vanish from an area.

-Where he went missing is more agricultural than forested
-It is hay season
-He is known for liking chasing butterflies, which would likely be abundant in the fields
-He may have tired himself out and fell asleep in the field and was later baled

The only issue is once the tiny village was notified he was missing, surely agricultural activities like baling were called off.

NGL I struggle with the idea that a farmer could have mown, raked and baled a field of hay without noticing the presence of the child - without going into detail, I think it would have quickly become very obvious.

Photos of combine harvesters published by some French media are misleading - this is haymaking, not a wheat or barley harvest, which is an altogether more ‘heavy duty’ operation in terms of equipment.