In a press release released this Sunday, March 31, the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor announced that bones were found near the hamlet where the little boy had disappeared. A genetic analysis allows us to conclude that these are indeed those of Emile.
The mystery had lasted since last summer. Part has been lifted. In a press release released this Sunday March 31, the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor announced that the bones of little Emile, aged 2 and a half, were discovered on Saturday “near the hamlet Vernet”, where he had disappeared on July 8, 2023, without leaving the shadow of a trace behind him.
“On March 30, 2024, the national gendarmerie was informed of the discovery of bones near the hamlet Vernet, announces the press release. The investigators took possession of the bones immediately transported to the IRCGN [Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie, editor’s note] in order to carry out genetic identification analyzes which made it possible to conclude on March 31 that these were the bones of the child Emile S.”
The IRCGN of Pontoise “continues the forensic analyzes on the bones and the national gendarmerie is dedicated to deploying means to undertake additional research in the geographical area where they were found”, continued the prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence , Jean-Luc Blachon, without giving any information on the cause of the child’s death. The bones were found “very close to Haut-Vernet”, indicates a source. Excavations and searches had been carried out at this location.
“If this heartbreaking news was feared, the time has come for mourning, contemplation and prayer,” reacted Emile’s parents, via a press release from their lawyer, Jérôme Triomphe, specifying that “there will be no further statements” from them. The lawyer for Emile’s grandparents, Me Isabelle Colombani, does not communicate “out of respect for the family, especially on Easter weekend”. Emile’s relatives are fervent Catholics. “We’re going to let this Easter weekend pass and then we’ll see,” she said simply. His clients learned of the discovery this Sunday, directly from the investigators.
A hamlet turned upside down
The investigation has been going on for almost nine months. The searches tirelessly return to the same steep street. The same one where the little boy vanished on July 8. Emile was starting his summer vacation. He was dropped off a few hours earlier by his parents at his grandparents’ house. Haut-Vernet is the rallying point. This is where the family spends the good times. There is the secondary stone residence. There is a chapel for prayers. There is the tennis court, the municipal swimming pool and the two wooden cabins for entertainment. Emile wakes up from his nap. He’s walking down this alley. Two witnesses saw him for the last time around 5:15 p.m., between the family home and the small wash house. After 6 p.m., the grandmother called for help. Emile has disappeared.
Family, neighbors and witnesses replayed this day of July 8. Everyone participated in a simulation on Thursday. Only two days before the discovery of the body, 17 people were summoned by the courts in Haut-Vernet. In the snow and rain, they had to recount, minute by minute, step by step, this summer day. Was it this “transport to the scene” that was decisive? Is it the coincidence of a hike? An animal that scavenged? Or is it the bad weather of recent days that has caused the bones to gully?
The Vernet had however been returned. Thorough research. In the first hours, the authorities dispatched a helicopter and expert dogs. No trace of Emile. The first days, the inhabitants took part in immense searches. For many weeks, mediums kept their clocks ticking. For endless months, searches were carried out, ponds searched, slabs dug. A judicial investigation for “kidnapping and sequestration” has been opened. Always nothing. Until this Easter weekend when bones were found near Haut-Vernet. If the discovery of the body is a turning point, it is not yet the outcome. It remains to be seen how Emile died. And who is involved.
“We still don’t know who”
The hamlet lives behind closed doors. Only one street leads to Haut-Vernet, and it ends in a dead end. During the investigation, no police custody was taken. Only the grandfather’s profile was leaked to the press. According to Le Canard chainé, Philippe V. was involved in a case of abuse in a Catholic community in Pas-de-Calais around thirty years ago. He had custody of the boy on July 8.
Joëlle is the wife of the mayor of Vernet. All summer, she welcomed volunteers who were looking for Emile. She cleared up every doubt: she was the one who went to look in the basement of the church, she was the one who checked the graves in the cemetery. You had to look everywhere. “I just want to cry. It’s been eight months of tension, she said after the discovery of the bones. We still don’t have the answer to what happened. Must wait. Maybe something happened during the scenario? She continues: “I am relieved for the family. But we still don’t know who.” This is the second enigma of Vernet.
The village lived to the rhythm of the investigation. At each search, at each interrogation, the press arrived at Le Vernet. The last time, it was for the scenario: 40 journalists made the trip. Even German TV: “The disappearance of a child affects people. This feeling does not stop at the borders,” analyzed Me Isabelle Colombani. This Sunday, at the reception of the only hotel in the town, the phone calls kept coming. “I just learned about it because journalists are calling to reserve rooms, it’s unfortunate, there’s not much to say, they say. With that, we can have hope of an outcome.” The few residents who live all year round are silent. What is left to tell? What is the legitimacy for commenting? What hypothesis should we consider? The investigators studied the trail of the collision with a tractor, the domestic accident, the family drama, the villainous kidnapping and even animal appetite.
Le Vernet could be a quiet corner. Wedged between a departmental road and a rocky ridge, the village has 300 second homes. You can hike on the GR69 trails, take donkey rides and sleep at the campsite. There are rabbits running around in the hotel parking lot. In summer, we celebrate pastoral activities: transhumance and fishing. In winter, snow envelops meadows and gardens. The village goes dormant. On Wednesday, Thierry nuanced this apparent calm. “In the village, there was also the crash of the Germanwings [149 people died in March 2015, editor’s note], there was the assassination of the lady who runs the restaurant, recalled the 62-year-old retiree, who He doesn’t live there all year round. It’s a succession of misfortunes.” In September, a resident wondered: “Is Le Vernet cursed?”
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