Emile Soleil mystery: The oddball family and the haunting questions that swirl around the death of the little boy who vanished in just 15 minutes
Pretty much everyone in France knows the name Emile Soleil.
Pretty much everyone in France knows the name Emile Soleil. They recognise his lovely smiling face. They know that he was a gorgeous little boy with blond hair and brown eyes who loved to play in the sunshine outside his grandparents holiday house in the mountains.
They call him le petit Emile. And, over the past couple of years, they have followed every twist and turn of his monstrous story and counted their blessings that he wasnt their son. Because Emile is dead.
When he vanished on a sweltering July day in 2023, he was dressed in a bright yellow T-shirt, a pair of white shorts, tiny soft shoes and was just two-and-a-half years old.
According to wildly conflicting witness statements, he was last seen either playing in the garden of his wealthy grandparents holiday house in Haut-Vernet, while his grandfather, Philippe Vedovini, a former trainee Catholic monk-turned-physiotherapist, chopped wood nearby.
Or Emile was walking on his own down into the small village in the broiling heat. Or toddling up the mountain – again alone.
Whichever it was, he was never seen alive again.
The investigation into his death was one of the most comprehensive in French history. But it was nearly a year later, in March 2024, that Emiles tiny skull and a handful of his milk teeth were discovered by a female hiker, just over a mile from the family home.
There were reportedly bite marks on the skull, which, with the teeth, she scooped into a plastic bag and drove to the local police station.
Portrait of Emile Soleil, a missing boy, who disappeared in Le Vernet, southeastern France on July 8, 2023. The two-year-olds bones were found in the Haut-Vernet hamlet, the public prosecutors office, announced on March 31, 2024
Emiles grandfather Philippe Vedovini pictured at his grandsons funeral on February 8, 2025. Philippe and his wife, were taken into custody for intentional homicide and concealing a corpse in the case of the little boys disappearance earlier this week
Emiles grandmother Anne Vedovini shown at the little boys funeral last month. She was taken into custody alongside her husband on Monday in connection with his alleged murder but the couple were released today without charge
Soon after that, a pile of his bones was found beside a river in the Alpine hamlet.
And the day after that, as if by magic, his little yellow T-shirt, underpants and shoes turned up.
The whole village was closed off by forensic teams. Local and national speculation swirled and suddenly, everyone had a view.
Some people thought hed been killed by wolves – which they claimed tied in with the bite marks and the scattered remains.
A handful believed hed been murdered by a young farmer with whom Emiles grandparents had a grudge over horse- grazing rights.
But more were convinced it was an inside job. That members of Emiles extended hard-Right and devoutly Catholic family – at least ten of whom were on the premises when he vanished – knew far more than they were letting on.
Almost another year was to pass until Emiles funeral was held last month, with his stricken parents – neither of whom have ever been suspects – pushing his little sister in a pram and hundreds of mourners packing the church near their hometown of La Bouilladisse, near Marseille.
But still no arrests were made. Nothing. The investigation team were oddly silent – but, it turns out, working doggedly behind the scenes. Because on Monday morning this week, all hell broke loose in Haut-Vernet with a 5am raid and the arrest of four members of Emiles family – his grandfather, Philippe, grandmother, Anne Vedovini, and two of their ten children.
All four were facing charges of intentional homicide and concealing a corpse, according to a statement from Aix-en-Provence prosecutors.
The death of Emile has remained unexplained even after the discovery of his skull and teeth by a walker nine months after his disappearance 1.1 miles from the village
Pictured: Familys priest and long-term friend - 85-year-old Father Gilliot – took his own life with a drug overdose last weekend
French Gendarmes discuss with a resident of Le Vernet, on the road to the French southern Alps tiny village of Le Haut-Vernet, in Le Vernet on March 31, 2024, after French investigators found the bones of the toddler who had gone missing the previous summer
A witness saw Mr Vedovini cutting wood outside his house around the time Émile is thought to have wandered off from the property in Haut-Vernet
Aix-en-Provence prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon addresses a press conference at Aix-en-Provence court house after Police custody over the grandparents of Emile Soleil, a French toddler who went missing nearly two years ago, was lifted on March 27, 2025
Marie (L) et Colomban (4th L) 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
In a great flurry, they also removed the familys horse trailer from the property, swathed in protective plastic. And after months of detailed forensic work, yesterday they revealed shocking new evidence.
That the scars on Emiles skull were suggestive of violent facial trauma. That his body did not decompose in the clothes they later found and, instead, his remains could have been positioned and arranged in some sort of macabre staging.
This monstrous news followed the familys priest and long-term friend, ally and confidant – 85-year-old Father Gilliot – taking his own life with a drug overdose last weekend.
Before a recent falling-out with the Vedovinis, the family had relied on him heavily for their spiritual guidance, including celebrating Mass and hearing confessions. He is believed to have struggled under the pressure of Emiles disappearance.
So, to some, Emiles disappearance and death suddenly looked like it might be explained. But then at 5am yesterday, after being held and questioned for 72 hours, all four family members were released without charge.
(In France, suspects can be placed under arrest for questioning while police investigate. It does not mean that legal proceedings will necessarily be brought against them.)
Speaking outside the gendarmerie after her client was released, Mr Vedovinis lawyer Isabelle Colombani said: After 17 hours of questioning, today, the custody has been lifted.
Its a relief for them, and for their lawyers, too.
Two of Philippe and Annes adult children were also taken into custody this week in connection with the alleged killing of Emile, but were also released today. Pictured: A gendarme enters a vehicle outside the house of the grandparents of Emile Soleil amidst the propertys search as part of the investigation into the boys death, in La Bouilladisse, southeastern France, on March 25, 2025
Relatives and friends, including Emiles grandfather Philippe Vedovini (3rd R) arrive at the funeral of a French toddler Emile
A photo shows the house of the grandparents of Emile Soleil in the French Alpine hamlet of Le Haut-Vernet
Last year, French news outlets reported disturbing information about Mr Vedovin, with Le Parisien outlining details of a sex abuse scandal at a Roman Catholic school in the 1990s
I have never been too worried. I thought we could explain everything. There were maybe some grey areas to clear up, but thats it.
Of course, the arrest and subsequent release can be interpreted in several ways.
Firstly, that the family members are all completely innocent and were simply helping the police with their ongoing enquiries.
Or – and this is the view of many who have been following the case from the outset – there is not yet quite enough evidence against the family to secure convictions.
Whatever, the rumour mill – already febrile – has now gone into total overdrive.
There is one dominant theory that Philippe – Emiles grandfather – lost his infamously hot temper, killed his grandson, possibly by accident, and that his loyal wife and family members have been helping to cover up the crime ever since.
Of course, it is not our place to be judge or jury. But, instead, we can dig a bit deeper. Into this unusual family; this sad community; the heart-breaking disappearance of this sunny little boy; and look at some of the many unanswered questions surrounding his disappearance.
July 8 2023 was a sweltering hot day in the hamlet of Haut-Vernet where, that morning, Emile had been dropped off by his mother, Marie Soleil (the eldest of the Vedovinis ten children), to stay with his maternal grandparents in their holiday home – a sprawling country house with pretty green shutters and extensive gardens.
On the day of his disappearance, Emile had been dropped off by his mother to stay with his grandparents in their holiday home
French Gendarmes inspect a car on the road to the French southern Alps tiny village of Le Haut-Vernet, in Le Vernet on March 31, 2024, after discovering Emiles remains
The discovery of Emiles remains was the first major breakthrough in the case after he vanished
Many unanswered questions surrounding Emiles disappearance remain. Pictured: Volunteers take part in a search operation for two-and-a-half-year-old Emile
French gendarmes take part in a search operation for two-and-a-half-year-old Emile following his disappearance
Emile had plenty of company. Along with both grandparents, eight of his uncles and aunts, aged between seven and 18 years old, were all at the house.
But for about 15 minutes, at about 5pm, he was left alone playing in the garden. Fifteen minutes of inattention, is how his grandfather Philippe later described it: he was loading his car with metal stakes to build a fence for his horses at the time.
And then Emile was gone.
After searching frantically for 45 minutes, the family raised the alarm at 6.12pm, reporting his disappearance to the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence gendarmerie. Within an hour, this quiet spot, 4,000m up in the mountains, was crawling with hundreds of local volunteers.
The search went on for days. More than 500 people, police dogs, helicopters and drones equipped with thermal cameras joined in.
Marie, the toddlers desperate mother, flew in a helicopter across the mountains, calling out to her son from a loudspeaker.
According to the General of Gendarmerie Jacques-Charles Fombonne, specially trained bloodhounds spotted his track in two places, within a radius of 20m (66ft) around the house, then nothing.
French police have conducted more than 287 witness interviews and have combed vast swathes of land in the search for answers
But there remain so many more oddities in Emiles case
Investigators haul off a horse trailer from the property of the grandparents of Emile Soleil, a French toddler who was found dead after going missing in 2023, after its seizure as part of the investigation into the boys death, in La Bouilladisse, southeastern France, on March 25, 2025
Over the next few weeks, some villagers closed ranks. This was the third monstrous event to hit their tiny cursed community in recent years and theyd seen enough pain.
In March 2015, a Germanwings plane crashed into La Tete du Travers, a mountain peak two miles to the east – deliberately brought down by its co-pilot Andreas Lubitz and killing all 150 people on board, including teenagers on a school trip and two babies.
Seven years before that, Jeanette Grosos, who ran the local Café du Moulin, was brutally murdered by a mentally ill customer.
And now this. Perhaps its little wonder some of them started a group praying to the Venerable Sister Benoite Rencurel, a French shepherdess said to have seen apparitions of the Virgin Mary from 1664 to 1718.
Meanwhile, as the investigation went quiet, unsettling stories began to circulate about Emiles extended family.
It emerged that his grandfather, who gave up his religious calling to marry Anne, was rigidly Catholic. A real one like they used to be, with the Mass in Latin and children who dont sleep with anyone before they get married, according to reports.
He also reportedly held ultra-Right-wing views and was known to the police.
Back in the 1990s, hed worked at a boarding school in northern France run by Benedictine monks which had been targeted in an investigation into child sexual abuse.
Several of his former colleagues were indicted, and Vedovini, known then as Brother Philippe and described by former pupils as violent and authoritarian, was also questioned by police as an assisted witness.
While he admitted to administering somewhat harsh physical discipline, he was not charged and denied any wrongdoing.
Maries husband and Emiles father, Colomban Soleil, 27, an engineer, also had a backstory.
A member of Action Francaise, a far-Right nationalist and royalist group, he was arrested in 2018 for an attack on foreigners, but released after pledging to maintain the peace.
There is no doubt that the French police have poured resources into this case, conducting more than 287 witness interviews, combing vast swathes of land and using every expert available.
We still dont know how Emile died. But there remain so many more oddities.
For example, why on earth would the female hiker – who has never been named and is not a suspect – who discovered the skull and teeth near a steep bank leading down to a stream, not leave them exactly as they were – as we all know we should?
Instead, she scooped them up, put them in a plastic bag and drove them ten miles to a police station, destroying evidence in the process.
She claims she had no signal on her phone and thought she might not have been able to retrace her steps. But couldnt she have photographed them in situ?
Why did Emiles scent, detected by the dogs, extend to the garden, but no further? Was he – or his body – moved? Is that why the family horsebox was impounded on Monday?
Why were the eyewitness accounts so contradictory? Could a two-and-a-half year old boy possibly have walked that far, on his own, in the July heat?
What horrors could possibly have driven Father Gilliot, a devout Catholic priest – to take his own life?
And how on earth are Emiles parents and little sister bearing up under the scrutiny?
We might never know all the answers. But we do know that an innocent little boy, who loved the mountains and the sunshine and playing outside, lost his life somehow. And that the French gendarmes are not going to give up on him any time soon.