A source said, 'He's determined to stay coherent and lucid for as long as possible so his grandchild can have some happy memories of a grandfather'

The French village of Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence has been struck by tragedy following the disappearance of a young boy. Émile, aged two-and-a-half, was playing in the garden of his grandparent's house when he vanished on Saturday afternoon. Since then, a desperate search has been underway to try and find the missing toddler. But this isn't the first time that the sleepy village has been struck by tragedy. Locals speaking to the media have said they are worried their village may be "cursed" as a result of the unfortunate tragedies which have taken place over the last 15 years. Speaking to La Montagne, Christian Mollet said: "The village has been hit by this type of tragedy three times. "There was the murder of Jeannette in 2008, 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..." Jeanette and Café du Moulin In 2008, the peace of the village was shattered when Jeanette, the owner of Café du Moulin, was murdered by a customer. At the time of the death, the mayor at the time François Balique told Provence that "the village will have a hard time recovering from it". Jeanette Grosos was regarded as a "local institution", according to Gilles Thezan speaking to L'yonne Relublicaine. She came to a tragic end after a customer, who was well-known in the village, savagely beat her to death. According to local reports, the man who attacked her was known as the "simpleton" of the village. Airwing disaster Years later in March 2015, another tragedy struck when Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 crashed into the Alps. Evidence obtained from the cockpit flight record and other information showed how co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, 28, brought down the Airbus intentionally. The flight took off from Barcelona Airport and was heading for Duesseldorf, Germany, with 150 people on board - which is also around the same size population as Le Vernet. At around 9.30, the captain told the co-pilot he was leaving the cockpit and asked him to take over radio communications. As soon as he left, the co-pilot altered the flight monitoring system to send the aircraft into descent and within 10 minutes the plane had plummeted into a mountain at 430mph - killing everybody onboard instantly. In the last few minutes of the black box recording, there is the sound of banging on the door as staff tried to enter the cockpit and also the sound of the terrified passengers screaming. It was revealed later that the suicidal co-pilot was asked to seek psychiatric treatment just two weeks before the disaster. Examination of his computer showed that he had researched suicide methods in the months before the disaster. The co-pilot was allowed to fly because of a "waiver” following a previous episode of depression in 2008-9. A report said he knew that this waiver would be revoked – removing his licence – if he reported his psychiatric problems to his employer. A commemorative plaque remains in Le Vernet for the tragedy. Émile The toddler's grandparents were getting him ready for the day when suddenly they noticed he had vanished. The two-year-old’s disappearance has sent shockwaves through the community, with locals describing Le Vernet as “safe” and “quiet.” “It’s a quiet little hamlet, you feel safe there, much more than in the city”, one resident told La Provence of the search. “We all know each other here, I don’t think that a foreign person who would have gone up to the top of the village would have gone unnoticed”, another added. On Monday, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence prefect Marc Chappuis announced that from Tuesday morning, the village would be closed to non-residents. “Nearly 800 people took turns almost without interruption for two days to try to find the child, within a radius of 5 km around the place where he was last seen”, Mr Chappuis told reporters, praising the “neighbours, hikers, walkers, hunters from the surrounding communes” who “showed an exceptional outpouring of solidarity.” “We don’t need new arrivals of reinforcements”, he added. When asked whether the village is cursed, François Balique, the current first magistrate, said: “No, you can’t say that. It’s the coincidences of life.” The search for the toddler continues. Read More Missing French toddler – latest: Police give update as helicopter teams use mother’s voice recording in search Desperate search for French toddler who vanished on holiday with grandparents European heatwave Cerberus brings searing temperatures as Italy could hit 48C Nato refuses to offer Ukraine timeframe on joining, after Zelensky hits out at delays Why are we so obsessed with world leaders’ heights? European heatwave Cerberus brings searing temperatures as Italy could hit 48C

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