Disappearance of Émile: the disturbing message received by the mayor of Vernet 48 hours after the start of the search
The 2-year-old boy who has been missing since July 8 in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence echoed another unresolved case which took place in the department more than thirty years ago and which haunts memories: the disappearance of little Yannis, 3 years old, never found.
The investigation into the disappearance of little Émile, aged 2, continues. The case was the subject of a documentary broadcast on France 2 on Saturday November 18 in the program “1:15 p.m. on Saturday”.
During filming, François Balique, the mayor of Vernet, the place where the little boy disappeared while he was staying with his maternal grandparents on July 8, spoke at length about this affair.
The mayor rejects the possibility that the culprit is from the village
In a long interview given to France 2, the chief magistrate wanted to explain that it is certain that no inhabitant of his village is involved in this disappearance.
He said: “It’s certainly not someone from the village, that’s for sure. I’m sure of it. I don’t even have a doubt that someone could have done something like that.”
Before adding: “It’s like a family, we know each other after all. I’ve been mayor long enough, I know my constituents. I’m speaking to you from the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of my thoughts.”
A message that he does not hope is premonitory
The mayor also explained that he received a message 48 hours after Emile’s disappearance. In this note, the mayor of Ganagobie wished him good luck.
This message echoes the mysterious disappearance of Yannis, 3 years old in 1989, in this village also located in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 60 km from Le Vernet. A case that has never been clarified.
The mayor of this village remains traumatized by this disappearance, as evidenced by this message full of compassion towards François Balique: “I was town hall secretary when it happened, today I am mayor, good luck “. For the mayor of Le Vernet this implies: “You could find yourself in our situation”.
Something that the mayor of Vernet does not hope for… “I still have this apprehension, and if we don’t find it. That would mean that the village would have to live in this situation, it will be difficult.”
And to conclude: “I can’t wait for us to know what happened. It would free us. It would remove this weight that weighs on our minds and our hearts. It is difficult not to fall into the suspicion of our neighbors.”
Little Yannis was never found.
Yannis, the case of the little one never found
The case dates back to May 2, 1989. That day in the small village of Ganagobie, an hour’s drive from Le Vernet, Yannis, 3 years old, had fun building a cabin with his three brothers not far from the family house which is located about thirty meters away.
Two boys decided at one point to go look for tools in the house and left from the place of their makeshift construction. The eldest of the siblings stayed behind, but little Yannis wanted to follow the other brothers. He was never seen again.
Pascaline Moré, the mother of little Yannis, explains that even if the children had gone to play a little far away, she could observe them from the window because they were all wearing brightly colored clothes that day.
The search lasted six days, but the child has never been found for thirty-four years.
More than a year after the child’s disappearance, his chain, his shoes and his clothes (an anorak and underwear as well as a single sock) were found below a road except for a t-shirt and a sock which were missing.
All hypotheses have been studied and none of them has ever been ruled out, as with the disappearance of Emile, but since 1989, the mystery of what happened to this little boy remains, even if justice had to close the file.
Hoping that the case into Emile’s disappearance will find a positive outcome and that the parents of the 2-year-old boy, unlike Yannis’ family, will have answers before the case is closed.
Gn Fr France
