Frédéric Michel (on site), edited by Gauthier Delomez / Photo credits: CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP 6:09 a.m., April 1, 2024

It is time for contemplation in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet: bones corresponding to little Emile, this 2 and a half year old boy missing since July 8, 2023, were found on Saturday by a hiker. A new investigation begins to determine the contours of the boy's death.

“This heartbreaking news was feared”: these are the words of the family of little Emile, this young boy of 2 and a half years missing since July 8, and whose bones were found on Saturday by a hiker near the hamlet of Haut -Vernet, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. It is time for contemplation, and a tribute should soon be paid in the town.

“We will continue to make many people available to justice,” assures Darmanin

The emotion affects everyone, including the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin who wanted to react on Sunday. “A lot of sadness for this little boy, this little angel. As a father, I have children of the same age. We are all really touched each time a tragedy affects a child,” he said. he rocks.

The Minister of the Interior stressed that in recent weeks, "more than 100 gendarmes have mobilized to find the child alive, and now discover this skull (...) We will continue to make available to justice a lot of world. With the director general of the gendarmerie, we will accede to the request of the IRCGEN (Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie, editor's note), so that those who carry out the analyzes in the national gendarmerie, who have a very high level of technicality, go there to go faster and find out what happened.”

>> READ ALSO

- “We are waiting for the answer”: the questions persist in Haut-Vernet after the situation to elucidate the disappearance of little Émile

A hamlet sealed off and prohibited from access for several days

This macabre discovery puts an end to nine months of research, but does not end the investigation which must determine the cause of the toddler's death. Is it a natural, accidental or criminal death? Since the discovery of the bones, the hamlet of Haut-Vernet has been cordoned off and prohibited from entering for several days.

Before the arrival of men from IRCGEN, investigators from the Marseille Research Section were already in the area, notably at the place where a hiker said she had found the skull which turned out, after analysis, to be the one of little Émile.

Investigators hope to find other body parts

This is an area already searched during research last summer which is located approximately two kilometers from the house of the boy's grandparents. But over time, landslides or animals could have transported the bones. Investigators also hope to find the other parts of the body to try to find traces that can explain what could have happened, if death was due to blows, a weapon injury or if it followed a fall.

>> Find Europe 1 Matin in replay and podcast here

No lead is ruled out

In this last hypothesis, shreds and fibers of clothing worn by the child would have to be discovered. Otherwise, the criminal trail would emerge without being completely certain. So far, investigators are studying all possibilities, from an accident to the voluntary or involuntary act of a third party.