A new police theory has emerged regarding the disappearance of a two-year-old boy who disappeared in France four days ago.
French Gendarmes believe the toddler, Émile, could have died after being hit by a ‘car or tractor’, and that the killer might have taken his body away.
This comes after blood was today found on the front of a car close to where the boy was last seen - the blood has been sent away for testing to see whether it can be linked to Émile.
An investigating source said: “At the moment we don't even know if it's human blood. It might be a very old trace too, so everybody is being very cautious about the find.”
But public prosecutor Rémy Avon has called off the search today (Wednesday 12 July), saying it couldn’t go any further and that there was ‘no sign’ of Emile.
Mr Avon stressed that all lines of enquiry were still being followed. He said: “All possible explanations are on the table, we're not favouring any, and we're not ruling any out.”
Another judicial source said that while the “physical search” was being called off, the “judicial investigation into the causes of the disappearance will continue, in particular by analysing the considerable mass of information and elements collected over the past four days.”
Theories that Émile has been murdered, kidnapped, or involved in an accident are all being followed. At the time of Émile’s disappearance, there were 10 family members staying in his grandparents home, where he was on holiday.
One police source said: “A family reunion was taking place, with several uncles and aunts of the child, of all ages, including some minors. Émile was seen on Saturday morning, along with other children.”
Émile’s home in La Bouilladisse, near Marseille - where he lives with his parents and baby sister - was searched by investigators on Monday.
The source said: “They are a very traditional family – high Catholics who prefer the Latin mass to the modern one. The parents are passionate about sacred church music.”
Gendarmes are now looking beyond physical evidence - they are looking into phone records in order to understand “what phone calls were made, by whom and to whom” when Émile disappeared.
One spokesperson for French police stated that the body would either have been concealed after an accident or it had been removed from the area - but they stated that the sniffer dogs would likely have located the boy by now.
Le Parisian reports that calls for witnesses have resulted in 1,200 calls from those who think they may know something of the boy's disappearance. Helicopter searchers were even given a recording of the mothers voice to play from overhead, in a speculative hope that the boy would hear her voice and emerge.
An emergency services source said: “'Emile was always chasing butterflies, and could have got a long way away, before hiding somewhere for a nap”.
The police boss of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, where Emile went missing, said: “He is two-and-a-half years old, he was able to walk quite a distance. But, all the hunts we have done for the past two days should have allowed us to locate him."
Public prosecutor Avon also made clear that nothing suggests a “criminal offence” is likely to be the “origin of this disappearance.”
“From the moment there is no offence, there is no person implicated,” he added. Local bar owner Marie-Laure said: “We were preparing for the evening service, when we were told the child had gone missing.
“We all went to see what we could do to help as quickly as possible. We have looked in places where he could be, we have really looked everywhere for him.”
The investigation continues.
