Police searching lake for French toddler missing since July

Émile Soleil has been missing since July 8th.

Police investigating the disappearance of a French toddler have started searching an Alpine lake in France. According to reports, the team looking for the missing boy Émile Soleil, who has not been seen since early July. The infant went missing from his grandparent's house in a small village near the Alps this summer. Despite extensive searches, police have not been able to find the young boy. Investigators extended their investigation to a 1,500 sq.m. lake, near Grenoble in France. Unfortunately, their search was unsuccessful.

"The searches are completed and have remained in vain," they shared.

Émile was playing outside his grandparents' home near Le Vernet before he vanished. The mayor of Le Vernet has now said their "only hope is Émile has been taken and is alive". He told Le Figaro newspaper: "Our only hope now is that he’s been taken and is alive. It’s the last thing we can hope for and it’s already terrible. "We could conceive that someone wanting a child passed by the area, saw this beautiful little boy, and took him away. He couldn’t survive alone in the wild, that’s for sure." Drones, sniffer dogs, and an audio recording of the young boy's mum's voice were used during the search. Over 500 people also volunteered to help find Émile. They searched through forests and around the village but failed to find any clues. Émile lives in Marseille but was visiting La Vernet with his maternal grandparents for a summer trip. The family was preparing to go on a hike before the young boy disappeared. There were reportedly 10 people at the house when he went missing. Police have admitted they still have "no clue" about what happened to Émile.

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