French authorities find skeletal remains of a two-year-old boy who disappeared in July

His disappearance nine months ago shocked the country. Little Émile Soleil, two and a half years old, was spending the summer at his grandparents' house when he was lost at the beginning of July, in a town in southeastern France. Despite combing the area exhaustively, investigators had not found any evidence to explain his sudden absence. His remains were found on Saturday, the Aix-en-Provence Prosecutor's Office reported. A new phase of the investigation must now clarify the causes of his death.

Émile's skeletal remains, including a skull, were found by a hiker near the town of Haut-Vernet, where he disappeared on July 8, the Gendarmerie reported, cited by local media. The town, with just 25 inhabitants, is located in a steep and mountainous area in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, in the southeast of the country.

The “genetic identification analyzes” have allowed us to conclude that “they were the bones of the child,” the prosecutor reported in a statement released on Sunday. The gendarmerie will carry out additional investigations at the scene and will continue analyzing the skeleton, he added.

The village, located at 1,200 meters above sea level, has been cordoned off since Sunday. A hundred gendarmes will once again comb the area in search of signs – DNA fingerprints, fragments of fabric, etc. – that will help clarify the causes of his death. The authorities do not rule out any hypothesis. The questions persist. It was an accident? A criminal act? Security forces will also look for evidence to know if the bones have been displaced.

The mayor of Le Vernet, François Balique, decided to close access to the town until next Sunday, except for its own inhabitants. “I think about him, I'm shocked, and I also think a lot about his parents,” he told the BFMTV network, while asking to wait for the results of the investigation. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, for his part expressed his “deep sadness” and thanked the gendarmes for their work. “We are all, I think, deeply affected,” she added.

The case had not been closed. A few days before the discovery of the bones, on March 28, the police returned to the town to reconstruct the moment of the minor's disappearance, with the presence of the 17 people who were there at the time of the events. Saturday's discovery, however, has no link with this reconstruction, sources close to the case have insisted to the media.

Two neighbors were the last to see Émile

The last people to have seen Émile on July 8 were two neighbors, who stated that he was walking alone on a street in the town around 5:15 p.m. In his maternal grandparents' house, where he spent the summer, other members of the family were also present, with the exception of his parents. “This heartbreaking news was to be feared. Now is the time for mourning, meditation and prayer,” said Marie and Colomban Soleil, the parents, in a statement released to the media through their lawyer, Jérôme Triomphe.

Émile, from blonde hair and brown eyes, was wearing shorts, a yellow t-shirt and hiking shoes when he lost track. After his disappearance, extensive search operations were organized, with the help of about 500 volunteers. Investigators combed the area, questioned all the inhabitants and searched the 30 houses in the town, as well as the 12 vehicles parked in the town.

The investigations were extended shortly after and mobilized some 80 gendarmes, as well as a dozen specialized soldiers, sniffer dogs, drones and a support helicopter. The mobile telephone network was also investigated. The searches kept the country in suspense. But after several days, not even a fragment of cloth from his clothing had been found. What has happened to little Emile? The question, for now, remains unanswered.

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