Mystery of how little Émile’s bones found in area ‘thoroughly searched’
CHILLING theories have emerged after the remains of a missing toddler were found in an area ‘thoroughly searched’ with a ‘tooth comb’ by French police.
Walkers discovered bones and a skull belonging to Émile Soleil, who has been missing since July, on Saturday.
They were found on a path between a church and chapel in Alpine hamlet Le Vernet, where the boy was staying with his grandparents at their holiday home.
It has sparked speculation the two-yearold was murdered and his body disposed of after the police search.
‘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,’ said mayor François Balique.
He said he could not understand why the remains hadn’t been found sooner. ‘People regularly use the path. I was there during the initial search and the gendarmes couldn’t have missed him with the dogs.
‘There was even a logging there in the autumn. The wood cutters didn’t see anything either. It’s incomprehensible.’
And a source close to the investigation told MailOnline: ‘It’s unlikely animals would bring human remains back into the village. This leads to the theory that a person has brought Émile’s remains back – and potentially very recently.’
Resident Gilles Thézan added: ‘There’s a trick going on. The body was in a place which was raked from top to bottom. There’s no way anyone wouldn’t have seen it before. I say the little one died and someone hid him there much later.’
Meanwhile, Émile’s parents, Marie and Colomban, told of their pain and sorrow in a statement.
Prosecutor Rémy Avon, who heads the inquiry into Émile’s disappearance, said a cause of death had not been established.
The tragedy comes nine years after a plane crash over the village, in which 150 people died. One villager said: ‘Everybody is saying it – Le Vernet feels like a village of the damned.’
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