Police issue fresh update after bones of missing two-year-old discovered almost nine months after disappearing

Police have issued a fresh update on the chilling case of the two-year-old toddler who disappeared from his grandparents' home in France last year.

Émile Soleil vanished in the tiny village of Haut-Vernet in the French Alps, which has just 25 residents, in July 2023.

An urgent search was launched to find the missing boy, but police abandoned the 'large-scale' hunt after five days while continuing the investigation into his whereabouts.

Officers, soldiers and volunteers headed out on foot to try and find the youngster, while drones and helicopters were also deployed in the search, but to no avail.

A recording of his mother's voice was even blasted from speakers to try and track down Émile, but the trail then suddenly went cold for almost nine months.

The remains of the toddler were found by a hiker on 30 March (Police Handout)

Heartbreakingly, a hiker found a skull and bones - which forensic scientists later confirmed belonged to the boy - near the hamlet of Le Vernet on 30 March, close to where he was last seen.

Following the breakthrough in the case of Émile's disappearance, it then emerged that the two-year-old's clothing had been found, almost 500ft from the spot where his remains were discovered.

According to French prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon, who is leading the criminal investigation into Émile's disappearance, his 't-shirt, pants and shoes' weren't 'gathered in the same place', but were spread out over a few metres.

The sudden rapid developments have continued to baffle investigators, who have insisted that the police and locals have already combed these areas with a fine 'tooth comb' over the last nine months.

And now, the case has took another strange turn as authorities announced that a new bone fragment has been discovered near the area where Émile's remains were first found.

This has baffled investigators, who can't understand why the remains weren't found sooner.

Jean-Luc Blachon is leading the investigation into the baffling case (CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

Blachon suggested that wild animals may have moved the little boy's remains and may also be responsible for the 'small fractures' and 'bite marks' on his skull, which he initially presumed may have been due to a fall.

Cops have cordoned off the area, according to Le Parisien, following the latest find and locals have been told to expect access to be restricted until at least 15 April.

A source close to the investigation told the publication: "The investigation is progressing well and is still continuing."

Officials said they were no closer to solving the mystery of Émile's disappearance and subsequent death, but Blachon insisted theories including 'murder or manslaughter' have not been ruled out.

"Between the child falling, the manslaughter and the murder, we still cannot favour one hypothesis over another," he previously told a news conference.

In wake of the horror discovery of Émile's remains, his parents released a statement saying: "This heart-breaking news was feared, and the time has come for mourning, contemplation and prayer."