On Friday, January 30, 1976, in Troyes, France, 7-year-old Philippe Bertrand left school, ecole pont-saint-marie at midday. He walked a short distance with his friends before they parted ways.Every day, Philippe would pick up his younger brother, Christophe, from a nearby school just around the corner, and together they would wait at a florist just 50 meters away for their father, Gérald Bertrand, to pick them up for lunch.But on this day, something was wrong.When Gérald arrived at the florist, expecting to see both boys, they were nowhere to be found. The florist told him they had never arrived. Rushing back to the school, he found Christophe—but there was no sign of Philippe.

Concern quickly turned to fear. Gérald took Christophe home, hoping for answers. Just minutes later, the phone rang.On the other end of the line was a man demanding a ransom of 1 million French francs. His chilling instruction: Do not contact the police.In the span of just 20 minutes, Philippe Bertrand had vanished without a trace.