Missing 'two-year-old's skull found by hiker and handed in to police' after he vanished almost nine months ago

The remains of a two-year-old who disappeared in the French Alps have been found almost nine months after he went missing.

Emile Soleil disappeared from his grandparents' holiday home in Haut-Vernet last July. The toddler had been last seen walking down a street in the village on his own.

Police handout

Nine months later and a hiker in the area has discovered the child's skull.

Forensic scientists explained on Sunday (31 March) that the DNA was a match for Emile.

The walker - who remains unnamed - took the remains to a local police station, according to reports.

A source close to the investigation told BFMTV how the remains could have provided vital information on what happened to the child.

Meanwhile, police told Le Figaro that they would have 'preferred that she didn’t touch anything'.

A spokesperson has said that the area where the skull was found is now being forensically analysed, despite it having already been thoroughly searched at the time of Emile's disappearance.

"We're looking for any trace and any clue," police commander Pierre-Yves Bardy told reporters.

Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images

Last July, hundreds of people joined police and sniffer dogs to search for the toddler.

The area in which the skull was discovered is believed to be over 1km away from where he disappeared.

Due to the remains being found in an area already searched, some believe they could have been later moved.

Local Mayor François Balique said: "It will take a long time to recover from this disappearance and death.

"Is that where he disappeared? Is that where he took his last breath, nobody knows.

"In any case I have no idea, but the judicial inquiry will no doubt be able to find that out."

Meanwhile, the child's parents said in a statement: "This heart-breaking news was feared, and the time has come for mourning, contemplation and prayer."

NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images

Emile was last spotted wearing a yellow t-shirt and white shorts at 5.15pm local time on 8 July by two neighbours.

They said he had been seen walking along the street in the village on his own.

Emile had been dropped off that day at his grandparents' holiday home on the slopes of the Massif des Trois-Evêchés mountain range.

The police were alerted that he had gone missing when his grandmother contacted them shortly afterwards.

Following his disappearance, hundreds joined a search and a criminal investigation was launched.