Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of crime in Emil’s case. The skeleton will be restored and the village isolated.

“The remains of little Emile have just been found. If this sad news was feared, then it is time for mourning, contemplation and prayer,” said Jerome Triomphe, the parents’ lawyer, who never made a statement to the press.

However, this discovery does not dispel doubts about this case, which has been compared to Maddie McCann’s: what happened to the child? After eight months of investigation and searching, it is surprising that the bones were not discovered sooner. “There may have been human intervention, someone who placed the bones in this area after the search,” admitted police spokeswoman Marie-Laure Pezan, adding, however, that other lines of investigation remain open.

“It’s also possible that an animal brought them there,” he said. He also recognized that the presence of bones at this site was a consequence of climatic conditions that changed the configuration of the land over time. “Nothing indicates that these bones were present at the time of the investigation,” Marie-Laure Pezan emphasized. He also added that authorities will remain in place.

“We will continue to be present as long as there is a need to explore the area,” he said. “In the future, I will look with my family and society to see what measures should be taken,” he concluded.

In La Bouilladis, the town where the child’s parents live, the population is in shock. “We thought there was still hope, the police were still searching. This is a tragedy,” one resident told BFMTV.

Authorities are reconstructing the skeleton
The authorities’ next step will be to reconstruct the child’s skeleton, since it is not complete. It is necessary to look for missing parts. From this point on, it will be possible to determine whether Emil’s death was the result of an accident, for example, a fall that revealed natural fractures, or caused by the actions of third parties.

Isolated village for a week
Access to the village of Upper Verne, where the child disappeared and the remains were found, is closed to nonresidents until noon next Sunday, April 7. The goal is to ensure peace of mind in the investigation. A tourist found the skull, picked it up and took it to the police.