How Emile Soleil mystery unfolded after body was found near where he vanished
Some are convinced he was killed by someone who returned to dump the remains when the world's attention was elsewhere.
Dogs, drones and even a helicopter joined police and rescue workers in the search for toddler Emile Soleil, who went missing from a village in the French Alps last year.
Despite the massive search, no trace was found: until this week, when a hiker came upon his bones by accident while walking in the mountains, in a ravine close to where he was last seen.
What happened to two-year-old Emile remains a mystery, with locals asking how it is possible that he would not have been found despite such an extensive search of that area.
Some are convinced he was killed by someone who returned to dump the remains when the world’s attention was elsewhere.
François Balique, the Mayor of Haut-Vernet, near Grenoble, said on Monday it was ‘absolutely incomprehensible’ that Émile got into trouble by himself.
‘I can’t help but believe that an adult is involved in this matter. Émile would never have gone alone to where he was found,’ Mr Balique said.
How the search unfolded
The toddler is dropped off at his grandparents’ house near Le Vernet, a small village in the French Alps, where a family reunion is being held. Emile is last seen playing in the garden and is reported missing at 5.15pm.
A massive search is underway in the mountains, including a helicopter, drones and sniffer dogs. They take in a 1,200 acre area but there is no trace of Emile.
After a public appeal has still yielded no results, the area being examined is made wider. Police search Emile’s parents’ home near Marseille, 200 miles away, where they are staying for the summer holidays.
A recording of Emile’s mother’s voice is given to pilots to play ‘as loud as possible’ from speakers on the aircraft to try and reach the toddler and find where he is. Local houses are also examined.
A potential lead comes to nothing after blood found on a car the previous day is analysed as coming from an animal. The search is wound down with still no answers about what happened.
A restriction on those who are not local entering Le Vernet is renewed, to stop ‘malicious tourism’ after the case generated a lot of media interest.
Local prosecutor Remy Avon says authorities are still looking at all possibilities, including murder, kidnap or an accident such as being run over by a tractor or combine harvester.
Divers search a lake near Grenoble again in a bid to find Emile, shortly after detectives used a jackhammer to break apart a slab at a home close to where Emile’s family lived.
Le Vernet mayor François Balique says it seems the boy must have been moved from the area by ‘a madman, or someone Machiavellian’, as no trace has been found.
A hiker discovers a skull and other remains while walking in the Alps, just over a mile from where Emile was last seen. They are passed to police
Genetic analysis confirms that the bones found are those of Emile. The discovery sparks renewed press interest, and also questions about why they were not found before given the large search in the area.
Mayor Balique said: ‘The gendarmes couldn’t have missed him with the dogs. There was even logging there in autumn. The wood cutters didn’t see anything either. It’s incomprehensible.’
His parents speak of their grief via their lawyer, who said: ‘This heartbreaking news was feared… (They) know on this Resurrection Sunday that Émile watches over them in the light and tenderness of God.’
Where was Emile found?
The remains were found in the Auches Ravine, just over a mile from where Emile was last seen playing.
This area had been part of the massive search for Emile, including with sniffer dogs.
Gilles Thézan, a resident of Haut-Vernet, told Le Parisien: ‘There’s a trick going on.Everything was raked from top to bottom.
‘I say that the little one died and that someone went to hide him there much later.
‘We’re going to have to find the culprit. Now that we have found little Émile, the police will be able to speed up their investigation, even with what remains of the body.’
Marie-Laure Pezant, a spokeswoman for the local gendarmerie (police) told French TV that it was possible the bones had been placed there by a person, but it could also have been by an animal. Or they could even have ended up there due to changing weather conditions.
It is also possible that they were simply missed during the search last year, when undergrowth during the summer was thicker.
Police commander Pierre-Yves Bardy told reporters yesterday: ‘We’re looking for any trace and any clue.’
However, their investigation may be hampered by the fact that the woman who found the remains, understood to be a skull and teeth although police have not confirmed this officially, picked up parts before alerting police, thus disturbing a potential crime scene.
‘It would have been better if she hadn’t touched anything,’ a source told Le Figaro.
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