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"The bones were put there," he assures us, referring to the intervention of a human hand. And therefore, not an accident or the fact of animals having dragged it, like wolves.
"There was a cutting of wood, a lumberjack, those who go mushroom picking, hunters, their dogs," he lists. "We can overlook it, but frankly, it seems big." A major admission, in short.
For their part, the authorities have nevertheless emphasized the difficulty of the search. Like the weather conditions and the fact that the first frosts of winter would perhaps bring out leads. Added to this are "the heat, the fatigue, the crowds and exhausted dogs who had worked all day elsewhere before arriving on the site on Saturday evening."
Thus, "many factors can explain why nothing was found," we learned from these sources with the gendarmes. Was there human intervention? Was Émile simply the victim of wild animals? Too early to say for sure.
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Émile’s shoes raise questions (8/12)
Especially since another element seems to attract the investigators’ attention. Namely, the shoes Émile was wearing and the absence of laces on them.
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New hypotheses (9/12)
New hypotheses have therefore emerged, regarding this element, which had hitherto been untraceable. “This is intriguing, just like other details,” says a source close to the investigation. “But there are things that are intriguing and that are perfectly explainable.”
A story of laces (10/12)
“There may be circumstantial explanations, due to a third party,” continues the same source. “But also a natural explanation when you go through the undergrowth with single or double knots with large loops. But yes, it is a question.”
A thorough examination in progress (11/12)
The remains of little Émile, as well as his clothes, are today the subject of a thorough examination by the Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie.
Émile's funeral (12/12)
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