Mystery surrounding two-year-old’s death after toddler’s skull found by hiker half a mile away from family home

The death of a two-year-old boy who went missing in France continues to prove a mystery to authorities, following the harrowing discovery of a human skull half a mile away from the youngster’s family home.

Émile Soleil disappeared last July while staying with his grandparents in a tiny village in the French Alps.

Two neighbours said they last saw the boy walking alone on a street in Le Vernet, located at an altitude of 1,200m in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

At the weekend, French police were informed of the ‘discovery of bones’ near the hamlet, prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon said.

He added that genetic testing later allowed forensic investigators to ‘conclude on Sunday that they were the bones of the child Emile’.

The bones - which are understood to include a skull and some teeth - were found by a hiker, who handed them in to the police.

Gendarmerie Nationale

Blachon did not provide a cause of death for Soleil, but said investigators were continuing to analyse the bones.

"The police is deploying means to carry out additional searches in the area where they were found," he said.

Soleil’s parents, Marie and Colomban Soleil, released a statement on Easter Sunday via their lawyer Jerome Triomphe, saying that the ‘heartbreaking news’ was a development they ‘feared’.

“(They) know on this Resurrection Sunday that Émile watches over them in the light and tenderness of God,” they said.

"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."

Gendarmerie Nationale

The statement added: "The time has come for mourning, contemplation and prayer."

While the discovery marks a huge breakthrough in the case, officials say there are still many question marks surrounding what happened.

Mayor François Balique said: "Is that where he disappeared? Is that where he took his last breath, nobody knows.

"In any case I have no idea, but the judicial inquiry will no doubt be able to find that out."

He also said it would take a ‘long time’ for Soleil’s parents to ‘recover from this disappearance and death', and that his thoughts were with them.

Police commander Pierre-Yves Bardy told reporters on Monday the search would continue for as long as necessary, adding: "We're looking for any trace and any clue."

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.

• Parents of two-year-old boy who went missing in France speak out for first time after human remains found