Haut-Vernet, French Alps. A summer morning turned into a nightmare for an entire alpine community, and today, that wound has reopened with the most unexpected twist in the case.
Philippe and Anne Vedovini, grandparents of Émile Soleil, the French boy who was just two years old when he mysteriously vanished in July 2023, were arrested this Tuesday for their alleged involvement in his death. The child was last seen at the Vedovinis’ remote holiday home in the mountain village of Haut-Vernet, south of Grenoble, where he was spending the summer with relatives.
For nine months, specialized search teams combed the rocky trails, forests, and steep terrain relentlessly, but no trace of the boy was found. That changed recently when his remains, including a fractured skull, were discovered in an area near where he was last seen, giving new momentum to the investigation.
At dawn today, a coordinated police operation raided the grandparents’ permanent residence near Marseille and arrested them. Simultaneously, two other adult relatives were detained in nearby locations.
Although their names have not been released, all four detainees are under suspicion of “intentional homicide” and “concealment of a corpse”, according to an official statement by the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor’s office.
Authorities have yet to disclose details about the motive, possible method, or whether there was a prior pattern of abuse. Émile Soleil’s case had shaken the nation from the moment of his disappearance, sparking intense media coverage and drawing volunteers from across France. Today, national attention returns to Haut-Vernet with a mix of grief and disbelief.
With this judicial move, the investigation takes a decisive turn, opening a new phase where the main suspects are no longer strangers or neighbors—but members of the child’s own family.