France: Death of little Émile remains a mystery despite bone discovery

France
Missing Émile is dead: bone discovery presents investigators with several puzzles

More than eight months after his disappearance, the remains of two-year-old Émile have turned up in France – in a location that had previously been searched several times. The fact that the finder took the skull with her doesn’t necessarily make the investigation any easier.

The sad news no longer came as a surprise: two-year-old Émile, missing since last summer, is dead. A walker came across bones near the southern French mountain village of Le Vernet on the Easter weekend. The investigators’ genetic analysis revealed that these were the bones of Émile, who had been missing since the beginning of July, according to the public prosecutor’s office Aix-en-Provence announced. “Even if this heartbreaking news was feared, now is the time for mourning, devotion and prayer,” the little one’s parents said through their lawyer. “Pain and sorrow remain.”

Two and a half year old Émile had been on holiday with his grandparents in the southern French town of Le Vernet when they lost sight of him towards the evening on July 8th. A number of other relatives were also staying with the grandparents at the time. Two witnesses said they saw the toddler running down a street.

In the days and weeks after the boy’s disappearance, the police repeatedly searched the area with a large number. People from Vernet and the surrounding area helped with the search. Corpse detection dogs also combed the area. The investigators searched apartments in the small village with just 125 residents. It was only on Thursday last week that the remote location was cordoned off in order to recreate the day of the disappearance. The investigators are investigating kidnapping and deprivation of liberty, but have not ruled out an accident.

Missing person case moves France

The whole of France took part in the missing person case. In the meantime, a young farmer was suspected of having run over little Émile with his tractor and then hiding the body. The investigators have also been interested in Émile’s grandfather since the boy’s disappearance – and not just because he was supposed to look after him that day. Because in the early 1990s, Émile’s grandfather was according to “TF1 Info” Caregiver in the religious community of Riaumont, a boys’ boarding school. Former residents described to the station an atmosphere of violence and sexual assault in the facility: “It was about abuse of authority, people who thought they could get away with anything,” says a former resident. “It could range from simple harassment to beatings: slaps, kicks, punches, hammering, belts. That was the type of punishment we had.” Émile’s grandfather was heard as a witness in an investigation into this in 2018. However, “TF1 Info” also writesthat investigators saw no connection between the Riaumont case and Émile’s disappearance.

At his press conference after the bone was found on Tuesday, the public prosecutor in Aix-en-Provence also made something astonishing public: the hiker took the skull before entrusting it to the authorities. “Confused by her discovery,” she put the skull “in a plastic bag,” said the prosecutor. She then took the skull home and then contacted the police. According to the regional newspaper “Midi Libre” The woman had no cell phone service at the site. Not surprising quotes “Le Figaro” an investigator: “We would have preferred if she hadn’t touched anything.”

Mystery about where Émile was found

The location near the village is a mystery. The area had been searched several times in the past few months. The area is difficult to access and there is a small chance that the bones were missed, said Gendarmerie spokeswoman Marie-Laure Pezant the station CNews. However, it is also conceivable that the bones only arrived at the site later, perhaps due to a person, an animal or the weather – perhaps even shortly before they were discovered. At a stream not far from the skull, the emergency services also found the T-shirt, shoes and underpants that Émile was wearing on the day he disappeared. The clothing was not in one and the same place, but was somewhat spread out.

The analysis of the bones brought a disappointing result for the investigators: “These bones alone do not make it possible to say what was the cause of Émile’s death,” said public prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon on Tuesday in Aix-en-Provence. “Between a fall of the child, manslaughter and murder, we still cannot consider any theory to be more likely than the others to explain the disappearance and death of the child Émile.” The public prosecutor admitted: “I know that this is not satisfactory for anyone, neither for the family, nor for the investigators, nor for the investigating judges.”

No injuries before death

Investigators found small cracks and fractures on the bone that appeared after death. Bite marks, presumably from animals, were also visible. No injuries were found before the boy’s death.

The bones were not buried and were exposed to various weather conditions for a long time. They are still checking whether the bones could have been in different biotopes. It could be the last chance to clarify whether Émile was the victim of a crime or whether his death was an accident.

Sources: DPA, AFP, “Midi Libre”, “CNews.fr”, “LeFigaro.fr”, “France Information”, “Le Parisien”, “TF1 Info”.