On 8 July 2023, two-year-old Émile Soleil went missing in the French commune of Le Vernet, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. On 30 March 2024 remains of the boy were found, confirming his death.
Émile Soleil | |
|---|---|
 Émile Soleil before his death. | |
| Disappeared | 8 July 2023, Le Vernet, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence |
| Body discovered | 30 March 2024, Haut-Vernet, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Known for | Victim of unsolved death |
| Parents |
|
| Family | Alaïs Soleil (sister) |
Victim
editÉmile is the eldest son of Marie and Colomban Soleil. The family resided in La Bouilladisse, a small town located 30 km from Marseille.[1] Soleil was a little blond boy with brown eyes, at the time of disappearance he was two and a half years old.[2][3]
Disappearance
editOn the morning of July 8, 2023, Marie Soleil brought Émile to his maternal grandparents — Philippe and Anne Vedovini[4] — who were spending their summer vacation in a house, purchased in the early 2000s,[5] in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet, perched on a green peak in the commune of Vernet, at the foot of the Massif des Trois-Évêchés.[6][7]
That day, the grandparents were at home with eight of their ten children, aged 7 to 18 years old. Émile's mother Marie, the oldest of the ten, left after dropping off the boy. Bathilde, the second born, joins the family every Sunday. In the morning, Émile's young uncles and aunts were busy building a cabin higher up than the house, towards the Labouret pass.[7]
Around 5pm, Émile played in the garden waiting to be taken for a walk.[8][9] The grandfather loaded stakes and electric wire into the trunk of his car to fence a meadow intended for his horses. At the same time, Émile walked down the street leaving the house. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt and white shorts.[1] It was thought that he wanted to return to the cabin his uncles were building that morning.[7]
According to the formal statements of two witnesses - a teenager and a sixty-year-old - the boy was last seen around 5:15 p.m. approximately 20 metres from the family home.
At 6:12 p.m., after searching in vain for Émile for around 45 minutes,[1] the grandparents reported his disappearance to the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence gendarmerie, who immediately began a search.[10]
Initial search
editSaturday, July 8
editUnder the authority of the fire brigade, about a hundred people from the town and neighbouring villages mobilized. A helicopter flew over the area and three gendarmerie dogs scoured the area. The investigation lasted from 6:40 p.m. to 3 a.m. and combed 12 hectares of land in the immediate vicinity of the disappearance site. But they are in vain and the investigation focuses on the hamlet, where Émile was last seen.[1][9]
Sunday, July 9
editThe day after the disappearance, Rémy Avon, public prosecutor of Digne-les-Bains, launched an appeal for witnesses.[11] Not all legal criteria are met to initiate a kidnapping alert procedure,[12] this call collects more than 1,400 reports, most of which will lead to nothing.[13]
An investigation into flagrance has been opened "to look for the causes of disturbing disappearance". The grandparents are interrogated. The search resumes with the support of 200 volunteers. The gendarmerie uses drones and helicopters equipped with thermal cameras. Search and rescue dogs of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS) are mobilised. In particular, they employ bloodhounds, which have a strong sense of smell. According to the General of Gendarmerie Jacques-Charles Fombonne "the dogs spotted his track in two places, within a radius of 20 m around the house, then nothing, which may mean that at that moment the child got into a vehicle."[9]
In the evening, during a press conference, the prefect and the public prosecutor confirmed that two witnesses had seen the child in a steep street in the village,[14] but they didn't worry about it because it is common to see children playing alone in this small hamlet. The prosecutor clarifies that at this stage, no hypothesis is privileged or ruled out, "We don't have any clue to this, we are on the search operations which are the vital priority for this child".[15][16][17]
Monday, July 10
editOn Monday, the search resumed with the help of 500 volunteers. In the evening, during a press conference, the prefect of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Marc Chappuis said that for two days, nearly 800 volunteers would help the institutional services within a 5 km radius. He adds that the system will be adapted the next morning. He thanked the volunteers who had committed themselves in the last few hours but asked them to make way for a more suitable system, assisted by soldiers. He considers that at this stage "the child's vital prognosis is engaged" due to the circumstances, age, temperatures and topography. According to Rémy Avon, "research is still ongoing, with no progress".
In the afternoon, a Facebook group published a call to prayer: "Please pray to Venerable Sister Benoîte Rencurel, mystic of the apparitions of Laus. The devil regularly took her to the mountain to persecute her, and the angels brought her back. Emile's mom ».
In accordance with the procedure, the investigation of flagrance is converted into a preliminary inquiry.
Tuesday, July 11
editUntil July 13, 2023, the gendarmes carried out "sweeping operations" which remained in vain. In the evening, the prosecutor Rémy Avon declared that all the 30 buildings making up the hamlet of Haut-Vernet had been searched, 12 vehicles visited, the 25 inhabitants of the town questioned and 12 hectares of land "meticulously combed."[18] A total of 97 hectares have been explored. According to Le Monde, it is "undoubtedly one of the most important judicial sweep operations ever conducted".[19]
Insisting on the fact that "no scenario is more likely, no scenario is excluded", prosecutor Rémy Avon confirms that the investigation is entering a second phase.[19]
Remains discovered
editDiscovery of a hiker
editOn Saturday, March 30, 2024, a hiker brought a plastic bag containing bones she discovered below the hamlet of Haut-Vernet to the gendarmerie.[20] The bones consist of a skull and teeth, which the hiker claimed to have found on a narrow forest road, in the vicinity of the place called Les Auches, a wooded and rather steep area 1.7 kilometres and a 25-minute walk from the hamlet, which has already been searched previously.[21]
The next day, the public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence announced that investigators from the Forensic Science Department of the French National Gendarmerie had established by genetic identification that these were the bones of Émile, thus confirming his death.[22] Initial analyses of the skull, which is missing the maxilla and a tooth,[23] show post-mortem cracks, bites and small fractures, probably of animal origin.[21]
Resumption of the search
editThe search was then relaunched near the site of the discovery. On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the prosecutor announced that clothing (a T-shirt, shoes and panties) was found 150 m below the place where the skull was discovered, scattered over about ten meters.[24] Soon after, a small bone fragment was found nearby.[25]
These discoveries have not yet made it possible to determine whether the body could have been moved, either by a third party or by natural elements, or the cause of death, but analyses are ongoing.[26]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Chancel, Par Eve; à 21h10, envoyée spéciale au Haut-Vernetet Vincent Gautronneau Le 8 août 2023; À 06h57, Modifié Le 9 Août 2023 (2023-08-08). "Disparition d'Émile : 8 juillet, 18h12, un appel retentit à la gendarmerie… Récit d'un mois d'enquête". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Disparition d'Emile : où vivent le petit garçon et ses parents ?". Yahoo News. 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
- ^ "VIDÉO - Le petit Émile toujours introuvable : fin des recherches sur le terrain, mais l'enquête continue". TF1 INFO. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile : comment va se poursuivre l'enquête après la fin des recherches ?". Europe 1. 2023-07-14. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile : retour sur une affaire ténébreuse". parismatch.com (in French). 2023-07-20. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Disparition d'Emile : pas d'indice, 1 600 appels, village isolé... pourquoi l'affaire est "complexe" pour les enquêteurs". ladepeche.fr. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
- ^ a b c "Disparition d'Émile : retour sur une affaire ténébreuse". parismatch.com (in French). 2023-07-20. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile au Vernet : 97 hectares ratissés, l'enfant reste toujours introuvable". ici, par France Bleu et France 3. 2023-07-14. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
- ^ a b c "Disparition du petit Émile : l'enquête passe entre les mains de deux juges d'instruction". Franceinfo. 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile au Vernet : ce que l'on sait de la disparition de l'enfant de deux ans et demi - France Bleu". ici, par France Bleu et France 3 (in French). 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile au Vernet : le procureur de la République lance un appel à témoins - France Bleu". ici, par France Bleu et France 3 (in French). 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "L'info en + - Un appel à témoins lancé. Un appel à témoins lancé". www.ledauphine.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile : "Il y a forcément un tiers impliqué", les pistes criminelles envisagées et les investigations en cours". midilibre.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ AFP (2023-07-10). "Disparition d'Emile : pourquoi les deux témoins qui l'ont aperçu seul ne sont pas intervenus?". La Voix du Nord (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile : une information judiciaire ouverte par le parquet". www.rtl.fr (in French). 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Disparition d'Émile : une information judiciaire ouverte". www.ledauphine.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile au Vernet: deux témoins disent avoir aperçu l'enfant, selon le procureur". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Disparition d'Émile au Vernet : "Une ultime opération de ratissage" a été conduite par les gendarmes - France Bleu". ici, par France Bleu et France 3 (in French). 2023-07-12. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ a b "Disparition du petit Emile : après cinq jours de « ratissages judiciaires », l'enfant reste introuvable". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Mort d'Émile : des vêtements retrouvés, la cause de la mort toujours inexpliquée". Le Point (in French). 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ a b "REPLAY. Disparition d'Emile : morsures et fractures sur le crâne, vêtements éparpillés, os manquants… Les dernières avancées de l'enquête". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Disparition du petit Emile : les ossements de l'enfant ont été retrouvés dans « une zone déjà inspectée »". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2024-03-31. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Mort d'Émile : des vêtements retrouvés, la cause de la mort toujours inexpliquée". Le Point (in French). 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "Mort d'Émile: vêtements retrouvés, morsures sur le crâne... Ce qu'il faut retenir des annonces du procureur". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ Folgoas, Par Ronan; à 20h46, Vincent Gautronneau et Jérémie Pham-Lê Le 8 avril 2024; À 08h23, Modifié Le 9 Avril 2024 (2024-04-08). "Mort d'Émile : un nouvel ossement appartenant au petit garçon retrouvé". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Décugis, Par Jean-Michel; à 12h26, Louis Valleau et Ronan Folgoas Le 31 mars 2024; À 06h41, Modifié Le 1 Avril 2024 (2024-03-31). "Mort d'Émile : ce que l'on sait de la découverte des ossements du petit garçon au Haut-Vernet". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)