French investigators have discovered the body of a toddler who went missing in 2023, shocking the country.
Prosecutors said Sunday that investigators are now working to determine how the boy died.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Emile Soleil went missing on July 8 last year while staying with his grandparents in a village in the Alps.
He was last seen by two neighbors walking alone down a street in Le Vernet, 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level in the French Alps.
“On Saturday, the police were informed that bones had been found near the village of Le Vernet,” prosecutor Jean-Luc Brachon said.
He added that genetic testing revealed that they were the remains of a young boy.
“This heartbreaking news was concerning,” the boy’s parents said in a statement released by their lawyer, Jerome Triomphe.
Her parents are both devout Catholics, and she said, “On this Easter Sunday, I knew that Emile was watching over them in the light and kindness of God.” “But the pain and sadness remain.”
“The time has come to mourn, reflect and pray,” the statement said, asking for privacy for the family.
Prosecutors did not give a cause of death, but said forensic investigators were continuing to analyze the bones found by Walker.
On Sunday, barricades were in place on the only road into Le Vernet, and the prosecutor added that police were carrying out a new search in the area where the body was found.
Emir disappeared the day after he arrived in the village to stay with his maternal grandparents during the holidays.
Investigators said the man was wearing a yellow T-shirt, white shorts and small hiking shoes.
A massive search using police, soldiers, sniffer dogs, helicopters and drones was carried out, but no trace of the boy was found.
Police have launched a criminal investigation into possible kidnapping, but are also considering an accident or fall as possible causes of the toddler’s death.
Officers returned to the village on Thursday, cordoned off the area and summoned 17 people, including family members, neighbors and witnesses, to re-enact the last moments before her disappearance.
Drones flew overhead in the drizzle to capture footage of the reenactment, but there was no news of any major developments.
