For nine months there was no trace of Émile Soleil, a two-year-old boy who vanished from his grandparents’ house in a village in the French Alps.
Dogs, drones and dozens of volunteers – even a helicopter – scoured the slopes and woods around Haut-Vernet, where ‘Little Émile’ was last seen in July 2023.
It took a hiker accidentally stumbling across Émile’s bones in a nearby ravine last March for the question of where he was to be answered.
‘Now that we have found little Émile, the police will be able to speed up their investigation’, local resident Gilles Thézan said at the time, determined to ‘find the culprit’.
But although Émile’s grandparents were this week arrested on suspicion of murder – later to be released without charge – what happened to two-year-old Émile remains a mystery a year after he was found.
Wondering how such an extensive search could have missed him, some locals are convinced the killer returned to dump Émile’s remains when the world’s attention was turned elsewhere.
That became the view of public prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon. In only the second press conference of the investigation, on March 27, 2025, he said: ‘The clothes and bones discovered were transported and deposited shortly before their discovery.’
Others believe he fell victim to an animal attack, or died of hunger, thirst or exhaustion.
François Balique, the Mayor of Haut-Vernet, said 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. Émile 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 Émile.
After a public appeal has still yielded no results, the area being examined is made wider. Police search Émile’s parents’ home near Marseille, 200 miles away, where they are staying for the summer holidays.
A recording of Émile’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 Émile, shortly after detectives used a jackhammer to break apart a slab at a home close to where Émile’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.
Police summoned 17 family members, neighbours and witnesses to Haut-Vernet to re-enact the last moments before Émile disappeared.
A hiker discovers a skull and other remains while walking in the Alps, just over a mile from where Émile was last seen. They are passed to police
Genetic analysis confirms that the bones found are those of Émile. 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.’
Hundreds of people attended Émile’s funeral on February 8.
Among them were his entire family, including little sister Alaïs, nearly three years old, and his brother Vincent, who was born in October.
Father Claude Gilliot, the 85-year-old Catholic priest who baptised Émile and later fell out with the toddler’s grandfather, killed himself.
His sister said: ‘Claudine Vandenbroucke, said: ‘I’m very angry with Émile’s family, because I think it all started with them.’
Philippe and Anne Vedovini, the grandparents who were minding Émile when he disappeared, were arrested in dawn raids near Marseilles.
They, along with two of their children – Émile’s aunts or uncles – were held on suspicion of murder and concealing a body.
After two days of questioning, police released Émile’s relatives without charge.
In only the second press conference since the investigation began in July 2023, public prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon said: ‘The clothes and bones discovered were transported and deposited shortly before their discovery.’
Evidence on Émile’s skull suggested a ‘violent facial trauma’.
Blachon said: ‘The expert reports introduce the probability of the intervention of a third party in the disappearance and death of Emile Soleil.’
When did Émile Soleil go missing?
Neighbours last saw Émile walking Haut-Vernet’s only street around 5.15pm on Saturday, July 8, in 2023. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt and white shorts.
His grandmother, Anne Vedovini, now 59, said there were ‘fifteen minutes of inattention’ when Émile disapeared while under her care.
A witness claims to have seen grandfather Philippe Vedovini, also 59, cutting wood outside the house around this time.
Where was Émile found?
The remains were found in the Auches Ravine, just over a mile from where Émile was last seen playing.
This area had been part of the massive search for Émile, although the prosecutor said he could not confirm that exact area had been scoured.
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.
Jean-Luc Blachon, the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor, said he could confirm that area was searched ‘but not using drones or specialised dogs.’
He added: ‘At this time, we cannot say whether Émile’s body was already in the searched area. I cannot say that every square meter was searched.
‘The topography there is difficult with steep slopes making observation and excavation difficult.
‘It was also very hot in July 2023, with temperatures of more than 30°C in the shade. which could have affected the effectiveness of the tracking dogs and infrared cameras’.
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 picked up the skull and took it away in a plastic bag to alert police, thus disturbing a potential crime scene.
‘It would have been better if she hadn’t touched anything,’ a source told Le Figaro.
Why were the grandparents been arrested?
Philippe and Anne Vedovini were arrested, along with two of their children, Émile’s aunts or uncles – during dawn raids of their home in Marseilles on Tuesday, March 25.
Held on suspicion of murder and concealing a body, their arrests reportedly followed months of wiretaps that allowed police to listen into the family’s conversations.
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They were released without charge two days later.
Investigators have conducted 287 witness interviews, carried out 50 searches, followed up 3,141 reports and combed around 285 hectares, the public prosecutor said on Thursday, March 27.
It was only the second press conference they have given since the search for Émile began in July 2023. The first was when his body was found last year.
Police could take the Vedovinis back into custody at any point in the investigation.
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