Remains of missing French toddler Emile Soleil found in French Alps
French investigators have located the remains of a toddler who disappeared in 2023, a case that deeply affected the nation.
A prosecutor stated on Sunday that investigators are now focused on determining the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death.
Emile Soleil, aged two and a half, disappeared on July 8 last year while under the care of his grandparents in an Alpine village.
According to reports, two neighbours last spotted him walking alone on a street in Le Vernet, situated 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) high in the French Alps.
Prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon announced, “On Saturday, authorities were alerted to the discovery of bones near the hamlet of Le Vernet.” He further disclosed that genetic testing confirmed the bones to be those of the missing boy.
Emile Soleil missing: remains found in French Alps – video
“This heartbreaking news was feared,” the child’s parents said in a statement released by their lawyer, Jerome Triomphe.
The parents, both devout Catholics “now know on this Resurrection Sunday that Emile watches over them in the light and tenderness of God,” it said. “But the pain and sorrow remain”.
“The time has come for mourning, contemplation and prayer,” the statement said, asking the family be accorded privacy.
The prosecutor did not give a cause of death, but said that forensic investigators were continuing to analyse the bones, which were spotted by a walker.