French police have 'no clue' what has happened to toddler missing since Saturday

French police searching for a two-year-old boy who went missing from his grandparents' garden in the French Alps on Saturday have said they still have no clues as to what has happened to him.

The boy, named only as Emile, was last seen walking down the street near his grandparents' house by two witnesses on Saturday afternoon, according to authorities.

They live in a remote mountain village with only two dozen inhabitants just outside Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence between Grenoble and Nice.

Police and gendarmes have entered every building in the settlement and some 500 volunteers have also helped with the search, looking for Emile in the forests and fields that surround the village, the local prefect's office said on Twitter.

Remy Avon, prosecutor of the Digne-les-Bains said that "the area has been cordoned off and forbidden access to anyone outside the hamlet".

"Searches will continue tomorrow. The gendarmerie is stepping up the investigation," he added.

"More than 1,200 calls have been received and will now undergo checks."

He explained that teams have searched through 12 hectares of land, and they have used specialised metal detectors, focussing exclusively within the hamlet which has been locked down since 8am today.

So far 30 buildings have been searched, 25 people have been interviewed, 12 vehicles have been checked and 12 hectares have been meticulously searched.

The search will continue on Wednesday using a snail shell pattern to search outwards from the small hamlet.

"At this point, we don't have any clues allowing us to follow any particular theory (on his whereabouts)," Mr Avon told France Info Radio.

At the time he disappeared he was wearing white shorts and a yellow top.

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The local mayor, Francois Balique told French TV: "The family was getting ready to leave the house to go on an outing. He took advantage of this fleeting moment to leave.

"His grandparents realised he was no longer there when they went to put him in the car."

BFM TV said authorities were using a recorded voice message by Emilie's mother, broadcast over loudspeakers from a helicopter, in the area of the search.