French cops fear Little Emile’s body could have been stored in a FREEZER before his remains found in Alpine wilderness

French detectives believe the remains of little Emile Soleil were likely preserved in a protected, almost sterile environment like a freezer before being moved and found.

Analyses of bones found near a river in the sleepy French hamlet of Haut Vernet early last year suggest they had moved before they were discovered, which experts believe could suggest a deliberate staging.

Based on the decomposition of the remains, they believe they had been carefully preserved before being exposed to the open air, where they were found.

The analyses also suggested that the two-year-old’s skull, recovered late last March, was deposited only just before it was stumbled upon by a walker less than a mile from his grandparents’ house, from which he disappeared on July 8, 2023.

Police said they had already scoured the area during intensive searches.

According to the investigation, clothes found near the remains last April were not in a state of decomposition – which they believe suggests he did not get lost alone and did not die where his bones and clothes were found.

‘The expert reports suggest the likelihood of third-party involvement in the disappearance and death of Émile Soleil,’ prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon told a press conference late last week. 

French gendarmes take part in a search operation for missing Emile Soleil in July 2023

A gendarme stands outside the house of the grandparents of Émile Soleil on March 25

The skull was found with signs of ‘violent facial trauma’ on one side, Mr Bachon said at the press conference on Thursday.

They are yet to establish whether the blow was carried out by an object or a fist, according to Le Parisien, but suggestion of third party involvement has become a major line of inquiry.

Investigators have already carried out 287 witness interviews, combed 285 hectares of land and pulled together more than 60 expert missions to analyse the findings, it was revealed last week.

Colonel Christophe Berthelin assured some 15 investigators have been working every day since the July 2023 disappearance to understand what happened to the child.

But they have not yet conclusively established what happened to little Emile Soleil, or why he was killed.

Émile’s grandparents, who were looking after him when he vanished from their holiday home in summer 2023, were released from custody last week having been detained on suspicion of voluntary homicide and concealing a corpse this week.

Mr Bachon that the line of inquiry involving the family was just ‘one among others’, while noting that the family trail has ‘not yet been closed’.

He said that the investigation had reached a stage ‘where it became necessary to confront and enlighten the people most affected’ by the tragedy.

Grandfather Philippe Vedovini at the funeral of little Émile in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume on February 8, 2025

Anne Vedovini, 59, was arrested with her husband on Tuesday. Émile Soleil had been staying with his grandparents at the time of his disappearance

Investigators haul off a horse trailer from the property of the grandparents of Emile Soleil on March 25

The grandparents and two of their 10 children were arrested ‘in light of the results of the expert reports’, he said.

All faced charges of ‘intentional homicide’ and ‘concealing a corpse’, said a statement released by Aix-en-Provence prosecutors. 

In France, people can be placed under arrest for questioning while police investigate. It does not mean that legal proceedings will necessarily be brought against them. 

The arrests, made last Tuesday, were the result of fact-finding ‘over recent months’, he told reporters at the time.

He said forensic police were still examining ‘several spots in the area’ and carrying out wide forensic work across the country.

Enquiry sources also confirmed that the Vedovinis, who were looking after Émile when he went missing, were arrested following months of police wire taps. 

Conversations between them and other family members were all secretly listened to, while enquiries were conducted around their lives. 

Mr Bachon also revealed a set back in the investigation, as a blood-coated planter found near the Saint Martin chapel the Sunday prior ‘did not contain any evidence likely to advance the investigations’. 

Investigators were looking to determine whether the blood was human, and whether it might shed any more light on Emile’s story.

Émile (pictured) was last seen wearing a yellow T-shirt and white shorts, investigators said at the time 

Aix-en-Provence prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon addresses a press conference, March 27

Marie and Colomban Soleil, parents of Emile, who went missing in 2023 and whose remains were found in March 2024, arrive at the funeral ceremony in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, southern France, on February 8, 2025

The mystery deepened as it emerged last week that the family’s Roman Catholic priest who baptised Émile before he went missing had ‘taken his own life’, according to reports.

Father Claude Gilliot, 85, is said to have died from a ‘massive overdose’ at his home in Aix-en-Provence, French media reports. Claims have been made that he fell out with the Vedovinis before his death.

 Father Gilliot had frequently expressed his emotional angst during the saga.

The priest was once very close to Émile’s grandparents, along with two of their 10 adult children.

The Vedovini family are all devout Roman Catholics, and at one stage relied on Father Gilliot for their spiritual guidance, including celebrating Mass and hearing Confessions.

But they fell out after Father Gilliot provided a photo of Émile to the media, in an attempt try and find the little boy.