Onhaye, Belgium, 25 August (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The body of five-year-old Tyméo Brigou, who disappeared with his father Bryan Brigou nearly two months ago, has been identified following its discovery near Onhaye, while investigators have also found the body of an adult believed to be his missing father.
Second body found during search for Bryan Brigou
Belgian investigators discovered the second body on Tuesday, 25 August, as searches continued in the area around Onhaye, in Namur province.
The discovery came a day after police found the body of a child in a densely vegetated embankment beside the N97 road. Investigators had said immediately that evidence at the scene suggested the child could be Tyméo, although formal identification was initially pending.
According to reports on Tuesday, the second body is that of an adult. The circumstances and location of the discovery led investigators to consider that it could be Bryan Brigou, the 29-year-old father who disappeared with his son on 27 June. Subsequent reporting said Bryan’s body had been found.
Authorities have been carrying out extensive searches in the area, with police and judicial officials returning to the scene after the child’s remains were discovered.
Tyméo identified after Monday’s discovery
The search for Tyméo Brigou and his father had continued since they were last seen in Onhaye on 27 June.
The boy’s body was discovered on Monday, 24 August, following new information provided to investigators. The Namur public prosecutor’s office said police found the child’s remains at around 11am in an embankment alongside the N97.
The location was close to where Bryan’s Volkswagen Golf had been discovered empty on 28 June, the day after father and son disappeared. The vehicle’s discovery had prompted an extensive missing-person investigation.
An autopsy and forensic examinations were ordered to establish the child’s identity and determine the cause and circumstances of death.
Prosecutors investigate circumstances of deaths
Before formal identification, the Namur prosecutor’s office said evidence discovered at the scene strongly suggested the child was Tyméo but stressed that investigators were not excluding any line of inquiry.
The authorities said the causes and circumstances surrounding the death remained undetermined and that all hypotheses continued to be investigated.
No official finding establishing how the child or his father died has been announced in the information currently available. Investigators will therefore rely on forensic examinations and evidence recovered from the search area.
Father and son disappeared in June
Bryan Brigou, 29, and his five-year-old son were last seen on the afternoon of 27 June. Belgian federal police subsequently issued a missing-person appeal, while prosecutors sought CCTV footage that could help reconstruct their movements.
Their disappearance prompted searches involving police, specialist investigators and members of the public.
Bryan’s vehicle was later located without either occupant, leaving investigators with few publicly confirmed clues about what had happened after the pair arrived in the Onhaye area.
Investigation enters new phase after discoveries
The discovery of both bodies fundamentally changes the investigation. Authorities must now establish the causes of death, determine when the deaths occurred and reconstruct the events following the last confirmed sightings of father and son.
Forensic evidence from the two locations and the results of post-mortem examinations are expected to play a central role.
The case is now focused on establishing the circumstances surrounding the deaths rather than locating the missing pair. Investigators have not publicly established criminal responsibility, and no conclusion about how Tyméo Brigou and his father died should be drawn until judicial authorities release their findings.
