It’s a tragedy. A drama which had a tragic outcome on March 31. On July 8, 2023, little Émile S., 2 and a half years old, disappeared from the hamlet of Haut-Vernet (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), after having escaped the vigilance of his grandparents. A major search system was quickly put in place. Unfortunately, the little boy had not been found at that time.
A hiker found the little boy’s bones more than a week ago. A tragic and trying end for little Émile’s family. The gendarmes who have been devoting their efforts to solving this case for many months have been totally overwhelmed since this discovery was made. “They are demoralized and they blame themselves”confided a senior gendarmerie officer to Marianne. He further specified: “It’s still a shock to think that we could have missed out…”
A privileged thesis
Prosecutor Blachon told our colleagues that the little boy’s skull had been found by the hiker “twenty-five minutes walk from the village”In “a path without much difficulty”. He also mentioned the fact that he does not rule out “no hypothesis” regarding the causes of the little boy’s death at the moment. Several sources, however, indicated Marianne that the most probable cause of the death of Émile S. (at “90%”) was a “accident”.
Sadness and anger are strong among some investigators. One of them regretted that they had not managed to find the child “so close to the village” after his disappearance. François Balique, the mayor of Vernet, recalled: “The area is supposed to have been covered, but we missed it.”
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias
Photo credits: BFMTV screenshot