More than 100 French police are desperately trying to trace Maëlys de Araujo after she disappeared at around 3am during a family wedding on Sunday in Isère, France.
Officers have found a hair clip and a balloon in a forest close to where the girl was last seen with officials now searching through caves, rubbish bins and abandoned buildings in a bid to find her.
But it has not yet been confirmed that the items found belonged to the girl.
Maëlys was last seen at around 3am (local time) on Sunday at a village hall in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, Isère, southeastern France.
The 9-year-old was at the event with her mother, who is the bride’s cousin, her father and her older sister.
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Initially her family thought she may have just fallen asleep in a corner during a game of hide and seek with friends and guests searched for the girl after a DJ announced she had vanished.
But after an hour the police were called and a formal kidnapping investigation was launched.
A wedding guest called Grégoire said: “The DJ for the evening announced on the microphone that a child had disappeared.
“Suddenly everyone started searching in the main hall and outside.
“It was anguish.
“To see the disappearance of a nine-year-old – that’s not nothing.
“We initially thought she must be asleep in a corner after a game of hide-and-seek.
“After an hour as we’d found nothing the police were alerted.”
Officers suspect a criminal act may have taken place as three sniffer dogs reportedly found Maëlys’ scent – using her cuddly toy – both in the hall and out in the car park but the trail then went cold, giving rise to the suspicion she may have been bundled in a vehicle and driven off by kidnappers.
About 180 guests were present at the wedding and all have now been interviewed, police said.
Officials hope to speak to a further 70 people who were at a nearby community hall and bar.
Police have issued an appeal with a photo of Maëlys to ask for help in finding her.
They have said she is about 130cm tall, she weighs 28kg, has brown hair and hazel eyes, and was wearing a white sleeveless dress.
Regional police chief Yves Marzin said: “One of the possible theories is that little Maelys left in a car, one way or another.”
Local prosecutor Dietlind Baudoin warned against “making hasty conclusions” but said with “each passing hour” it was more likely the youngster had been a victim of crime rather than involved in an accident or running away.
She said: “Given the time that has elapsed since the disappearance of the young Maelys and given the resources that have been sadly deployed in vain to find her, the criminal possibility can no longer be ruled out.”