The inhabitants of Vernet are in shock after the discovery of the bones belonging to the body of Émile who had disappeared on July 8, 2023. But the local residents who are very regularly contacted as part of the investigation carried out to try to understand what it had happened to the young boy are even more so by the behavior of the hiker who made the macabre discovery.
The hamlet of Haut Vernet is once again closed to the public since the discovery of human bones on Saturday March 30 and immediately identified: these are the remains of the skull of young Émile. The discovery caused fear at the same time as it put an end to an unbearable wait for his family who had reported his disappearance in July 2023. The boy, then two and a half years old, had escaped the surveillance of his grandparents who own property in this commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and significant resources had been deployed to try to find him. Several avenues had been followed, and neither the accidental nor the criminal theory had been favored until now.
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The press conference given by the public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence on Tuesday April 2, following the first analyzes of bonesdid not allow determine the causes of the little boy’s death For now. But there remain many gray areas to be clarified, such as the discovery of clothes that belonged to Émile near the place where the bones were found, and also the fact that the dog teams once again mobilized had not covered said area since the investigation was opened nine months ago.
The profile of the hiker questions
The profile of the hiker who made the macabre discovery on Saturday March 30 also raises questions, particularly within the Vernet community, on which the hamlet inhabited by around twenty people depends. This woman whose identity remains secret was already been in the area a month ago and hadn’t noticed anything. What’s more, she made the choice to recover the remains of human bones herself to transport them to the gendarmerie, after having taken them elsewhere according to certain sources without this being confirmed at the moment (RTL). His gesture would, according to a specialist, have had no “impact on expertise”.
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What does it matter! “It’s totally crazy”proclaims a local resident to Provence. “She brought the skull back to the gendarmerie! But who does that?”he added, visibly very upset with this hiker who, according to one of his neighbors, is not from the area contrary to what some media suggest. “The hiker is not from the village because otherwise I would know.”he said in the April 2 edition of the daily, before clarifying his remarks. “She didn’t take the hiking trail in the logical direction that the locals know. So that’s why I think she doesn’t come from Vernet”he reported.
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The area not covered by the telephone network
L’AFP had tried to explain her decision because the hiker would not have been able, at the time of the discovery, to warn anyone with her phone. The area located “in the middle of nature, steep and not always easy to access”, do not – a priori – benefit from any telephone coverage. This is why the witness collected the bones so as not to lose the benefit of his find.
For his part, the mayor of Vernet François Balique shows resignation for our colleagues in Provence. “It’s heavy but that’s how it is. It’s life… But given the age I am, I know that we don’t always do what we want. We have to cope. “is a test that the village will overcome”he wanted to make it known, he who has always taken care to ensure the tranquility of his constituents in the face of the media coverage of this affair which is still far from finding its outcome.
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