Grandparents of French toddler Emile Soleil, who vanished in 2023, arrested on suspicion of his murder: reports

The grandparents of French toddler Emile Soleil, who vanished from the French Alps in 2023, have been taken into custody on suspicion of the child’s murder, according to reports.

Philippe and Anne Vedovini were arrested Tuesday in a dawn raid on suspicion of “voluntary homicide” and “concealing a corpse” stemming from the mysterious disappearance of their 2-and-a-half-year-old grandson Emile, whose remains were found last year, Le Parisien reported.

Two other family members were also taken into custody but were not identified by authorities — though it is speculated that they are the deceased boy’s aunts or uncles, the report stated.

“These police custody placements are part of a phase of verification and comparison of the evidence and information gathered during the investigations carried out in recent months,” an Aix-en-Provence prosecutor said in a statement to the outlet.

In France, authorities can arrest a person of interest for questioning and decline to file charges. 

Police stormed the couple’s homes in Provence and seized a car and a horse trailer. Cops also raided their home in Haut-Vernet, where their grandson disappeared and was later found dead about a mile away.

Emile was last seen on July 8, 2023, when neighbors saw the young boy walking by himself on a street in the small French Alps hamlet of Haut-Vernet, where he was spending the summer with his grandparents, according to the BBC.

On the day in question, Emile’s parents were gone, but the house was filled with nine aunts and uncles, who were refurbishing the property. 

The boy was missing for less than an hour when the Vedovinis reported him missing to the local gendarmerie and a search commenced in the tiny town. 

Over 800 volunteers and military personnel scoured the area in the first 48 hours — with authorities even making use of ten blood sniffing dogs, according to Paris Match. The fruitless search continued for days before eventually being called off.

Several months later, Emile’s remains were found on March 30, 2024 by a hiker in an area of Haut-Vernet about one mile from his grandparents’ home — an area that had previously been searched, according to reports. 

The partial skeletal remains were provided to the local gendarmerie. The Forensic Science Department of the French National Gendarmerie determined through genetic testing that the remains — including a piece of skull — were those of little Emile, Le Point reported.

Three days later, investigators found clothing and shoes just feet from where the bones were discovered.

Earlier this month, forensic investigators continued to search the area around where Emile’s remains were found, according to CNN.

Investigators were unable to determine the boy’s cause of death based on the partial remains. Prosecutors at the time said he could have died from a result of “a fall, manslaughter or murder,” BBC reported.

Last month, the family held a funeral for Emile in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, near their home in Aix-en-Provence.

It is not yet known if the grandparents and two others will be formally charged with the murder of Emile.