Remains of missing French toddler Emile Soleil found in French Alps

Bones were discovered near the hamlet of Le Vernet, close to where the little boy went missing in 2023

French investigators have found the remains of a toddler who went missing in 2023, in a case that shocked the nation.

Investigators are now working to determine how the boy died, a prosecutor said on Sunday.

Emile Soleil, aged two and a half, vanished on 8 July last year while staying with his grandparents in an Alpine village.

Two neighbours last saw him walking alone on a street in Le Vernet, 1,200 metres (4,000 feet) up in the French Alps.

“On Saturday, the police were informed of the discovery of bones near the hamlet of Le Vernet,” prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon said.

He added that genetic testing had shown they were the boy’s remains.