Bones of emile, 2, found in area already searched near alps hamlet

A HIKER MADE THE DISCOVERY AND TOOK THE PARTIAL REMAINS TO A POLICE STATION Police say bones of two-year old Emile Soleil, which were found by a hiker near the hamlet where he went missing

in the French Alps, were discovered in an area which had been extensively searched last year. The discovery was made on Saturday (March 30) around one kilometre from where the toddler went

missing. The hiker reportedly took the remains to a local police station and genetic testing concluded that they belong to Emile. It has not been clarified why she chose to do this and not

call police to the scene. The boy was last seen by neighbours walking along a path in the 125-resident commune of Le Vernet, near Digne-les-Bains (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) 1,200 metres high

in the Alps at around 17:15 on July 8, 2023. He had been staying with his grandparents for a family reunion at their holiday home there. It was not viewed as unusual [that Emile was walking

alone] as children would often be seen in the village, the local mayor said at the time. “This heartbreaking news was feared,” said his parents in a statement released by their lawyer,

Jérôme Triomphe. POLICE NOW STUDYING DIFFERENT HYPOTHESES Colonel Marie-Laure Pezant, spokeswoman for the national gendarmerie, said the area where the bones - thought to include the skull -

were found had been extensively searched at the time of the boy’s disappearance. She told _FranceInfo_ that there was only "a very small chance" that the gendarmes could have

missed his body. She said investigations were now concentrating on different hypotheses, including: * the body had somehow been missed during police searches * severe weather conditions had

modified the soil and moved the remains * the bones had been brought to the area afterwards, whether by a person or by an animal. On Thursday (March 28), 17 people were summoned by the

courts to take part in a RECONSTRUCTION OF THE MOMENT WHEN THE BOY WAS LAST SEEN although there is not thought to be any link with the discovery. AREA SEALED OFF FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION

The area has been sealed and specialist dog teams have been deployed to search again where the remains were found. Colonel Pezant said that elements in the soil may allow them to determine

whether a body has been on the ground for a certain length of time. PREVIOUS ARTICLES BOY, 2, MISSING IN FRENCH HAMLET: WHERE IS INQUIRY SIX MONTHS ON? PROPERTIES IN SIX DEPARTMENTS SEARCHED

OVER MISSING BOY, 2, IN FRANCE A DRONE AND DOGS ARE BACK TO SEARCH FOR MISSING BOY, 2, IN FRANCE BOY, 2, MISSING IN FRENCH ALPS: SNIFFER DOGS SEARCH FOR HUMAN REMAINS