The unrest continues in Haut-Vernet. Saturday July 8, 2023, the French discovered for the first time the face of little Emile, a blond boy of two and a half years old. While he was playing in his grandparents’ garden, he escaped their vigilance for a few seconds and disappeared. Everyone thinks that the boy will be found quickly, having not been able to travel several dozen kilometers without getting tired. In vain. Several hundred gendarmes are mobilized to search the surrounding area and try to find even a trace of Emile. Dog teams and drones were used but to no avail. Several witnesses, residents and some suspects were questioned for long hours. Thursday March 28, 2024, a scenario was organized in the region with the presence of several witnesses to retrace the entire day of July 8, 2023 and thus highlight inconsistencies in the declarations or in the schedules. But by chance of the calendar, the case experienced a major turning point on Saturday March 30, 2024. A hiker discovered bones belonging to the little boy. During her walk, she came across a skull and teeth which she collected to take to the gendarmerie. They were then sent by helicopter to the Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie (IRCGN) in Pontoise (Val d’Oise) and it is here that the DNA spoke.
Several trades present on site
It is therefore an imposing device of more than a hundred gendarmes which has been deployed but not only that. Several experts have been commissioned to shed light on this tragedy. This is particularly the case for the forensic anthropologists of the IRCGN. They are present on site with the aim of making the bones speak by looking for traces of blows, bites or even injuries as announced by the spokesperson for the national gendarmerie, Colonel Marie-Laure Pezant on BFM TV on Monday April 1 2024.
Also on site is a canine team, with highly trained dogs capable of detecting specific odors. Even if there are no clothes or bones left, dogs are able to smell if a body has been left in a certain place. There are also entomologists, namely insect specialists. For good reason, certain insects are present on decomposing bodies. They can thus find empty pupae, which would prove that the body passed through this place and therefore give clues as to what could have happened to the little boy.