Yves Bert, 6, Lyon, France, February 3, 1977

[Megsc]

1150DMFRA - Yves Bert
Yves BERT disparu à Lyon (69) | ARPD

Name: Yves Bert
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: February 3, 1977
Location Last Seen: Lyon, France

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: November 9, 1970
Age: 6 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 3'8" (112 cm.)
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Green
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Yves Bert was last seen leaving the Champonnay primary school on February 3, 1977 in Lyon, France, at around 5 pm. His older brother, Yannick, was waiting for him at the entrance of Mazenod school in Lyon, like he did every day. Yves never joined his brother. Yet, he was seen leaving the school holding hands with a little girl. It was raining that day. When their mother came to pick them up, Yannick was still waiting for Yves.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: OCRVP de Nanterre
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: +33 (0)1 40 97 80 16 or +33 (0)1 49 27 49 27
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown

Agency Name: APEV
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: +33 (0)1 46 48 35 94
Agency E-Mail: contact(at)apev.org
Agency Case Number: Unknown


Google street view of the school Chaponnay, where Yves went missing.

Also, here's an interview of his mother from 2017 that I wanted to share. That poor woman, my heart is broken for her :

What happened that evening?

THERESE DELEUZE: As usual when I left work, I met my boys on the way home and we went home together. We lived not far from there at the time, rue Paul-Bert in Lyon. But when I arrived, Yannick was alone. At school, all classes were visited because he could have been hiding there. But no, there was nothing. We looked around at the parents who could have welcomed Yves that evening. But he was nowhere. And at 6 p.m., we went to the police with Jacques, my husband. We were told it was a runaway...

How do you cope with grief?
It's very difficult. I can't imagine yet. But I think every day about what could have happened to him. I don't know if he's alive or dead. I would have preferred that Yves had been killed in an accident. At least I would know something. He would be 46 years old today, my boy, a family, children... I am still in this troubled question. We had to hold on and stand up for his brother Yannick. We had no choice but to cope. It was that or suicide.

And on this cruel anniversary, what are you doing?
Every anniversary of his disappearance, I went to see the press so that we wouldn't forget what happened. And this time I am launching a final appeal for witnesses: whoever did this or who knows something must finally speak. Let him make a sign. Let him at least give us a clue... Because the hardest thing for a mother is not knowing. It's this terrible doubt. I have nothing. I'm 70 years old, I'm afraid of dying without knowing. And Yannick also needs to know.

How do you live with this constant weight?
I tried to live normally despite everything. I pretended a lot. When people ask me, sometimes I don't answer. It's a survival strategy. It was first necessary to preserve Yannick and remove the weight of this disappearance from him. We didn't want it to weigh on him, on his life. We talked about it at length with him when he became an adult. He has made a life for himself and has children.

And the investigation?
It is always there. It is not closed. But there's nothing in there. I still remember the thousands of posters placed around Lyon and distributed in the markets. Fortunately, many friends supported us and the Aid to Parents of Child Victims association was a valuable help to our family. But half of me died on February 3, 1977.

 

[EphemerallyAya]

“We were told it was a runaway” for a six year old? Oh my goodness. I can feel rage on his poor mother’s behalf. A six year old runaway is still in extreme danger.

How far away is Mazenod from the primary school? I feel like the only two realistic situations here are that he got lost or met with foul play on the way from one school to the other. Since it was raining, would he have been willing to get in a car for a ride to his brother?