 The tiny French village of Le Vernet has found itself at the centre of a mystery this week after the disappearance of a toddler on a summer afternoon. Little Émile, 2, vanished while playing in the garden of his grandparents' house in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday. Despite a huge search over several days, which has included a helicopter, drones and sniffer dogs, and some 1,200 phone calls about the Émile, the child is nowhere to be found. It is now the fifth day of the search and police say they still have 'no clue' as to his whereabouts. Public prosecutor Rémy Avon told journalists: 'At the moment we have no clue, no information, no element that can help us understand this disappearance.' It is thought Émile may have gone missing while out 'chasing butterflies'. An emergency services source said: 'Émile was always chasing butterflies, and could have got a long way away, before hiding somewhere for a nap.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Émile, aged 2, vanished while playing in the garden of his grandparents' house in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France (Picture: Shutterstock) A huge search over several days has included a helicopter, drones and sniffer dogs (Picture: AFP via Getty Images) But it's not the first time Le Vernet, which has a population of roughly 150, has been at the heart of tragedy. Local Christian Mollet told La Montagne: 'The village has been hit by this type of tragedy three times. 'There was the murder of Jeannette, the manager of the Moulin café, killed by a customer in 2008; the crash of the company Germanwings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa in 2015 with 150 people on board; and then there is this disappearance…' One villager added today: 'Everybody is saying it – Le Vernet feels like a village of the damned.' Café owner murder Jeanette Grosos, who at the time was the owner){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
The tiny French village of Le Vernet has found itself at the centre of a mystery this week after the disappearance of a toddler on a summer afternoon.
Little Émile, 2, vanished while playing in the garden of his grandparents’ house in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday.
Despite a huge search over several days, which has included a helicopter, drones and sniffer dogs, and some 1,200 phone calls about the Émile, the child is nowhere to be found.
It is now the fifth day of the search and police say they still have ‘no clue’ as to his whereabouts.