The remains of a two-year-old boy, who went missing in the French Alps in July, have been found near where he disappeared, according to local media reports.

Bones, including a skull, were discovered by a walker near Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday.

Forensic tests showed they belonged to the boy, known only as Emile, French broadcaster BFMTV said, quoting prosecutors.

Some reports named him as Émile Soleil.

Prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon said: “On Saturday, the police were told of the discovery of bones near the hamlet of Le Vernet.”

After testing them, police concluded on Sunday that “they were the bones of the child Emile,” he added.

Mr Blachon, who was quoted by France24, did not give a cause of death, but said that forensic investigators were continuing to analyse the remains, while police carried out further searches.

The boy was last seen by two witnesses walking down a street near his grandparents’ house on 8 July last year, according to authorities at the time.

He had arrived in the area the day before to stay with his maternal grandparents for the summer holidays.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Francois Balique, the local mayor, said at the time that the couple “realised he was no longer there when they went to put him in the car”.

They live in a remote mountain village with only two dozen inhabitants just outside Le Vernet, between Grenoble and Nice.

The little boy was less than 3ft tall and was wearing a yellow T-shirt and white shorts when he was last seen.

A massive ground search involving dozens of police officers and soldiers, supported by sniffer dogs, a helicopter and drones, failed to find him, as did a reconstruction in which his family took part.

Police admitted they had no idea what had happened to him.

Read more from Sky News:
Netanyahu to have hernia surgery
French town partially submerged after heavy rain
Germany legalises home-grown cannabis

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

A prosecutor said after several days it was unlikely such a young child would have survived in the summer heat.

The case, which began as a missing person investigation, soon became a criminal inquiry into a possible abduction, although police did not rule out murder, an accident or a fall.

In late November, a day before Emile would have turned three, his parents published a call for answers in a Christian weekly publication, France 24 said.

“Tell us where he is,” they wrote.

Related posts:

Ministers in France accused of secret dining during COVID-19 pandemic North Korea pulls out of Tokyo Olympics over COVID-19 fears Death toll rises to 13 after cyclone sweeps across Oman and Iran China flies record number of warplanes toward Taiwan in show of strength Global carbon emissions expected to return to near pre-pandemic levels in 2021, scientists warn Islamic State leader in Syria killed in US drone strike Bolsanaro ally throws grenades at police days before Brazil presidential election Kyiv mayor Klitschko hits back at Zelenskyy criticisms Two rescued from dangling plane caught in power lines Watch live: European Space Agency satellite crashes back to earth in guided descent General declares himself new leader of Niger after coup Putin extends his rule after an unfree and unfair election – so what’s next?