Disappearance of Émile: false kitties launched, the prosecution threatens to open an investigation for fraud

2023-07-15 05:18:23

Watch out for scams. Fake pots have been opened online in the name of Émile, the 2 and a half-year-old child who has been missing for six days in a hamlet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, alerted the prosecution this Friday.

“Émile’s family found that pots had been opened in the name of their child or in the name of the family (…) and they would like to point out that they are not the origin”, explained the public prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains Rémy Avon, by threatening to open an investigation for fraud if these were not closed.

The fraud is punishable by a five-year prison sentence, he said.

The investigation into Emile’s disappearance continues

Regarding the investigation, opened Sunday morning to find the causes of the worrying disappearance, it continued on Friday, but without finding any clue that could explain the disappearance of the child.

Little Émile had been seen for the last time on Saturday at 5:15 p.m., by two neighbors, alone, in an alley of the tiny hamlet of Haut-Vernet, 25 inhabitants, at the foot of the Trois-Evêchés massif. He was leaving the house of his maternal grandparents, where he had arrived for the summer holidays.

During a week of investigation on the ground, the 30 houses of the hamlet were visited, the 25 inhabitants interviewed, all the vehicles inspected, and 97 ha of fields and woods raked. Unsuccessful so far.

The hamlet still closed to the public

Accident ? Homicide? Removal ? “No thesis is privileged, no thesis is excluded”, insisted Thursday evening the prosecutor of Digne, confirming that the second phase of the investigation was now open, consisting in analyzing “the considerable mass of data” collected, including telephone data and the 1,200 messages left on the dedicated call line.

The hamlet of Haut-Vernet is still closed to the public, until Monday, following a decree issued by the mayor of Vernet, the village of 125 inhabitants on which Le Haut Vernet depends. “I made this decision to protect families and channel possible curiosity tourism,” explained the elected official.