The grandparents of a toddler who vanished in the French Alps two years ago have been arrested on suspicion of his murder.
Émile Soleil had been staying with his maternal grandparents in their Alpine home in Haut-Vernet when he disappeared in July 2023.
In a dawn raid on Tuesday, police searched a home in the Provence village of La Bouilladisse and the hamlet of Haut-Vernet and arrested Emile’s maternal grandparents and two of their adult children on suspicion of “voluntary homicide” and “concealing a corpse”, French media reported.
Police did not immediately say who the two other family members were, but Le Parisien reports they were two of Emile’s uncles or aunts.
Two neighbours last saw Émile walking along the street by himself, according to Le Monde. Despite a massive effort from volunteers, police, the military and sniffer dogs, he was not found until a hiker stumbled across the toddler’s skull and clothing in March 2024, less than 2 kilometres from his grandparents’ home.
Forensic examination of Émile’s remains showed he was not buried but left exposed to the elements, the prosecutor said shortly after the discovery.
When Émile’s funeral was finally held in February this year, his maternal grandparents Philippe and Anne Vedovini, made a rare public statement about his disappearance and death.
"The time for silence must give way to the truth," they said at the time, adding: "Nineteen months without the slightest certainty. We need to understand, we need to know."
Unbeknownst to the family, investigators have spent the last few months listening to phone conversations between Émile’s parents and maternal grandparents, according to Le Parisien, which reported that those phone taps formed part of the move on Tuesday to make the arrests.
The Aix-en-Provence prosecutor said in a statement, reported in Le Parisien, that investigations were ongoing.
“These police custody placements are part of a phase of verification and comparison of the evidence and information gathered during the investigations carried out in recent months,” the prosecutor said.
Investigators were also “conducting forensic operations in various locations across the country”, the prosecutor added.
The grandparents’ car will be seized by police, Le Parisien said, and one of Emile’s great-grandfathers will also be interviewed. Images showed police towing a horse trailer away from the scene on Tuesday.
The grandparents' lawyer, Isabelle Colombani, confirmed to AFP that they were being held in police custody.
