image source, @Gendarmerie
Emile Soleil was dropped off at his grandparents' house hours before he went missing.
Almost nine months after a two-and-a-half-year-old boy went missing from a small village in the French Alps, his body was discovered by a hiker in an area that had already been subjected to an extensive search.
Detectives now need to find out whether Emile Soleil's death was an accident or the victim of a crime.
Last July, the unexplained disappearance in Haut Vernet shocked France.
His body was discovered more than a kilometer away several days later when police returned to reconstruct what had happened.
Local mayor François Balik said he was deeply saddened by the discovery and his thoughts were with Emile's parents. “It will take a long time to recover from this disappearance and death,” he told French radio.
Emile had just been left in his grandparents' summer home when he disappeared in an Alpine hamlet on the slopes of the Trois-Evechets. Just 25 people live in Haut Vernet, which is 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level, and his parents were not present at the time of his disappearance.
The child, wearing a yellow T-shirt and white shorts, was last seen at 17:15 local time on July 8, when two neighbors saw him walking alone. After that, he said, “I lost track of it.''
Immediately afterward, her grandmother called the police. The next day, hundreds of people joined police with sniffer dogs in the search, two trial judges were quickly appointed to the case, and the case now became a national headline.
Emil's disappearance quickly led to a criminal investigation into possible kidnapping, but detectives had no further clues as to what had happened.
The boy's parents, who are devout Catholics, said they feared the worst but remained hopeful that the boy would be alive.
His mother made a public complaint in November, which would have been Emile's third birthday. If he was alive, she appealed for his safe return, but if he was dead, she asked that he be handed over for her burial.
image source, Nicholas Tucat/AFP
Only 25 people live in Haut Vernet, where Emile disappeared.
Last Thursday, investigators returned to Haut-Venay and summoned 17 people, including Emile's family, neighbors and witnesses, to reconstruct the boy's last sighting.
While French reports have focused on the boy's 58-year-old maternal grandfather, the boy's lawyer has warned investigators not to “waste too much time on the boy to the detriment of other investigative branches.” He said he wanted to.
And on Saturday, a woman discovered the bones in an area that police said had been searched several times by local residents, police and a helicopter equipped with a thermal camera. Forensic scientists announced Sunday that the DNA matched Emile's.
The boy's parents said in a statement: “While this heartbreaking news was concerning, it is now a time to grieve, reflect and pray.”
Police are investigating why the bones appeared after so long. According to the latest reports, the woman found the skull in a rugged location that is not easily accessible and handed it over to the local military police (military police).
Marie-Laure Pezin, a spokeswoman for the gendarmerie, told French television that the bones could have been placed there by people or animals, or even moved due to changing weather conditions. Told.
“Is that where he disappeared? That's where he took his last breath, no one knows,” Mayor François Balik said. “In any case, I don't know, but a judicial investigation will definitely find out.”
Sniper dogs are searching the area for more remains, and dozens of police are guarding the site to prevent disturbances by visitors.
