For almost two months, Belgian police searched for the missing 5-year-old boy Tyméo and his 29-year-old father Bryan Brigou. Last week, authorities found two bodies which they believe to be the missing father and son.
Tyméo and Bryan, both from Yvoir, in Namur, were reported missing in late June.
After multiple search operations, interviews and public appeals for information, the local authorities confirmed last Monday that the body of a child was found in Onhaye, a municipality near Yvoir.
The body was found in a ditch in a woodland area alongside the N97 motorway, a few kilometres away from a local football pitch near which Bryan's car was found on 28 June.
A white tent pictured inside a large security perimeter was set by police around Onhaye football club, Monday 24 August 2026, in Onhaye. Credit: Belga/Bruno Fahy
A second body was discovered "a few dozen metres away" last Tuesday during a police search for Bryan, according to the Namur Public Prosecutor's Office.
Both bodies were reportedly found in an advanced stage of decomposition.
The Prosecutor's Office said on Wednesday that it is "almost certain" that the bodies found are those of Tyméo and Bryan. However, it added that the bodies could only be formally identified by the results of the ongoing DNA analyses.
According to Sudinfo, the two bodies were returned to their families after a post-mortem examination, with dates for funeral services announced last Thursday.
Missing father and son
Tyméo and his father were last seen on Saturday 27 June, in the afternoon.
According to family members in a July interview with Sudinfo, Bryan was spending the day with his son. They briefly visited Bryan's father earlier in the morning, and the 29-year-old reportedly mentioned driving towards the Charleroi area to buy a gift and potentially visiting the local fair in Onhaye later in the day.
Bryan's brother said the 29-year-old appeared to be "perfectly fine". The family was reportedly in touch with Bryan throughout the morning, and Tyméo also briefly called his mother, Tina, on Saturday.
29-year-old Bryan Brigou and his 5-year-old son Tyméo were last seen in Onhaye on 27 June 2026. Credit: Federal Police/Handout/Belga
The father and son made at least one purchase at a toy shop during the day, according to a receipt which Tina received by email. They reportedly also stopped at a petrol station in Onhaye.
What happened next remains unclear. Bryan was unreachable by phone in the afternoon, and he never returned home with Tyméo. The two were reported missing later that same day.
On Sunday 28 June, Bryan's Volkswagen Golf 6 was found around 15:00 in the car park of a football field in Onhaye, near where a child's body was later found on 24 August.
Finding the bodies
Over the last few months, authorities interviewed several people with possible information, reviewed CCTV footage and telephone records, and deployed several police dogs, helicopters and drones for search operations to find the young boy and his father.
The child's body near the N97 was found as a result of a recent tip, which led authorities to an area that had not been previously searched.
A police search near the place where the body of a young child was found in Onhaye, Namur province. Credit: Belga/John Thys
"We had already flown over the area by helicopter, but we had not carried out any searches there because it is very difficult to get around on foot and there are no paths," David Demaude, director of the Federal Judicial Police in Namur, told Belga News Agency last Monday.
Searches in the area continued until nightfall last Monday, and an operation to find Bryan was resumed on Tuesday morning, according to local Mayor Christophe Basin.
A security perimeter was set up at the car park of the Onhaye football field. Dozens of officers, including federal police units, were mobilised for the search operations.
Considering all scenarios
Post-mortem examinations performed on the two bodies last Tuesday did not establish a cause of death, the Namur Public Prosecutor's Office announced in its latest statement last Wednesday, adding that further forensic analyses were underway.
In the same statement, the Prosecutor's Office said that the investigation into the case was ongoing and that all possible lines of inquiry were still being considered.
The lawyer of Tyméo's mother was expected to file a civil claim on Monday on behalf of his client to request full access to the case file, according to Le Soir.
Rumours of possible connections between the case and criminal drug circles have circulated in the last few weeks. Family members of the 29-year-old have previously told several media outlets that Bryan was allegedly involved in the drug scene.
However, the Namur Public Prosecutor’s Office has not confirmed any of these details.
Namur's public prosecutor Etienne Gaublomme is pictured during a press conference of Namur public prosecutor office, Monday 24 August 2026, in Namur justice palace. Credit: Belga/Bruno Fahy
At the time of the disappearance, Bryan was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, as he was sentenced in 2024 to 30 months of electronic monitoring following a violent brawl, according to Belga News Agency.
The bracelet, however, did not have a GPS tracker, the local Prosecutor's Office confirmed to VRT NWS. Instead, the ankle bracelet used a radio frequency, which only sends a signal when it loses contact with its "base station", meaning you cannot detect a person's exact location.
According to the Flemish news outlet, ankle bracelets with a GPS tracker are usually given to people who have not been sentenced and are out on bail.
Funeral services and a demonstration
On Monday, hundreds gathered in Yvoir for the funeral of young Tyméo. The funeral service was held at the Saint-Eloi Church in the morning.
Following the service, a funeral procession made its way to the cemetery. The police closed off a large part of the Yvoir town centre to traffic for the procession.
Tyméo's Funeral, on Monday 31 August 2026 in Yvoir. Credit: Belga/Emile Windal
A funeral service for Bryan is set to be held on Tuesday around 10:30 at Saint-Pierre Church in Hastière-par-Delà, Namur.
Additionally, a silent march is set to take place on Thursday afternoon in Dinant.
The Public Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on whether the funeral services meant that the bodies had been officially identified.
"The Namur Public Prosecutor’s Office will not be making any further statements on this case for the time being, in order to protect the investigation, the family and those close to them,” a spokesperson told The Brussels Times.
