Was little Émile Soleil murdered? Mystery over how missing French toddler's ... trends now
The discovery of French toddler Émile Soleil's remains close to his home this weekend in an area of an Alpine village 'already thoroughly searched' by police has led locals to believe he was murdered.
Ramblers found the bones of two-year-old Émile on Saturday in the idyllic Alpine hamlet of Le Vernet where he went missing last July.
A source close to the investigation told MailOnline that only part of the body was found, with some bones and the skull being recovered.
Le Vernet's mayor François Balique told Le Figaro newspaper the remains were located 'on a path between the Church and Chapel' of the village - an area he said had previously 'been thoroughly searched by gendarmes' with a 'tooth comb'.
He said it was 'absolutely incomprehensible' that Émile got into trouble by himself.
'I can't help but believe that an adult is involved in this matter. Émile would never have gone alone to where he was found,' Mr Balique said.
This adds an extremely disturbing element to the progress of the investigation, said the source, suggesting the remains had been deposited there some time after Émile's disappearance.
'It's unlikely animals would bring human remains back into the village where someone went missing.
'This leads to the theory that a person has brought Émile's remains back, and potentially very recently,' the source said.
Meanwhile, Émile's parents, Marie and Colomban Soleil, told of their 'pain and sorrow' in a statement provided to press on Easter Sunday via their lawyer Jerome Triomphe.
'This heartbreaking news was feared... (They) know on this Resurrection Sunday that Émile watches over them in the light and tenderness of God.
'Marie and Colomban would like to thank all those who helped and supported them as well as the investigating judges and investigators for their work, their professionalism, their personal commitment and their humanity which were of great comfort to them, in recent months and in particular on this day... But the pain and sorrow remain'.
'The time has come for mourning, contemplation and prayer.'
Ramblers discovered the remains of two-year-old Émile Soleil (pictured) close to the home
The road to Haut-Vernet is blocked by a gendarmerie checkpoint at the village of Le Vernet, France, picturedon Sunday
The Alpine hamlet of Le Haut-Vernet in France pictured on Sunday, after French investigators found the remains of the toddler who went missing last summer
The entrance of the French southern Alps village of Le Vernet, near where Émile went missing
Speaking this morning, Le Vernet mayor Balique said he could not understand why the remains hadn't been found sooner.
'There are people who regularly use the path nearby. I used it last week. The volunteer searchers have been there, I'm sure.
'I was there during the beatings [on the ground by those searching for Émile] and the gendarmes couldn't have missed him with the dogs.
'There was even a logging there in the Autumn. The wood cutters didn't see anything either. It's incomprehensible.'
Gilles Thézan, another resident of Haut-Vernet, told Le Parisien: 'There's a trick going on.
'The body was found only one or two kilometers from Haut-Vernet, in a place which had already been searched and re-searched, notably with dogs.
'Everything was raked from top to bottom. There's no way anyone wouldn't have seen it before.
'It's an unclear story. I say that the little one died and that somone went to hide him there much later.
'We're going to have to find the culprit. Now that we have found little Émile, the police will be able to speed up their investigation, even with what remains of the body.'
Le Vernet is made up of Haut-Vernet (High Vernet) and Bas-Vernet (Lower-Vernet) and there is a Saint Pancras Chapel, as well as two Roman Catholic churches - Saint Martin's in Haut Vernet and Saint Martha's Bas-Vernet.
On Sunday, the whole of Vernet was blockaded by police, with nobody allowed in or out.
The macabre discovery on Saturday was today described as a key breakthrough in a criminal enquiry that has baffled detectives since they launched a frantic search in the Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence back on July 8.
The mysterious case has drawn comparisons with hit BBC drama The Missing, in which a young boy vanishes while on holiday with his Family in France.
A statement released by public prosecutors in Aix-en-Provence on Sunday said 'genetic analysis identifies' the bones as belonging to Èmile.
It added that 'criminalistic analysis' was also underway, and that gendarmes were carrying out 'additional research' in the area where they were found.
Police closed off the village on March 27 to everyone except
