Portuguese police have arrested a French woman and her partner after two young brothers were found abandoned in woodland far from their home in eastern France, according to The Metro. The boys, aged five and three, were discovered wandering near a rural road between Alcacer do Sal and Comporta in southern Portugal on Tuesday evening. Local residents who found them said the children were crying and calling for their father.
Authorities said the children’s 41 year old mother and 55 year old stepfather were detained a day later in the city of Fatima, around 124 miles from where the boys were found. The couple are being investigated on suspicion of child abandonment, abuse and endangering minors.
According to media reports, the boys told rescuers they had been taken into the woods and blindfolded as part of what they believed was a game. They later realised they had been left alone after removing the blindfolds.
A local baker, Artur Quintas, who found the children alongside his wife, said the boys appeared frightened and exhausted. He told Portuguese media that the children were carrying backpacks containing water, fruit and a change of clothes, leading him to suspect they had been deliberately abandoned.
Investigators believe the family travelled from Colmar in eastern France through Spain before reaching Portugal. French authorities had earlier received a complaint from the children’s biological father, who alleged the boys had been abducted.
The children were taken to hospital for medical checks and are currently in foster care while investigations continue in both Portugal and France.
