In a shocking incident in Portugal, two young brothers were reportedly abandoned by their parents in a forested area. The boys, aged five and three, were left blindfolded by the side of a rural road connecting Alcácer do Sal and Comporta.
The children, Barthélémy and Zacharie, were discovered on Tuesday evening around 7 p.m. by a compassionate local couple, Eugénia and Artur Quintas. The couple noticed the boys wandering aimlessly with little more than a spare set of clothes, two pieces of fruit, and two bottles of water, along the N235 road.
Artur recalled the distressing moment they found the boys, describing them as visibly shaken and frightened. “They were crying and desperately calling out for their father,” he recounted. The boys were marked by dirt and bruises, with one suffering from a knee injury, and they carried no identification.
Demonstrating remarkable kindness, the Quintases brought the children into their home and promptly contacted the authorities. Police soon arrived and took the brothers to Setúbal Hospital to ensure their wellbeing. Fortunately, medical assessments confirmed that the boys were in good health.
He added that they were both covered in dirt and bruises, and one had hurt his knee. Neither boy had any identifying documents on them.
The Quintases took the young children to their home and called the police, who quickly arrived and took them to Setúbal Hospital for a full health assessment. There, they were given a clean bill of health.
A toxicology report revealed the boys had not been drugged by the parents.
After questioning them, they were able to figure out that the boys had actually come from France.
The boys told authorities that their parents told them they were going to play a game to ‘drive away the devil.’
Their mother, 41-year-old Marine, and stepfather Marc blindfolded them and took them to a wooded area, before telling them they could only remove their eye covers once they had found a knife the couple had buried in the ground and used it to cut them off.
Two young brothers (pictured) have been abandoned by their parents in a wooded area in Portugal, after they took the boys there and left them blindfolded
The boys were taken to hospital to be looked at, and police spoke to them there
The boys were digging around in the dirt for several minutes, before Barthélémy took their blindfolds off. To their shock, the boys realised they were all alone.
Still believing that they were playing a game, the boys wandered the area for several hours through a part of Portugal that can reach up to 30C during the day at this time of year.
Artur told local media: ‘The oldest one told me that he and his brother had gotten lost in the forest and that their father and mother had left without taking them.’
He added: ‘I realised right away that they had been abandoned by the backpacks. When I saw the way the backpacks were packed, I knew they had been abandoned.’
The boys were placed into foster care after information about the boys that was requested from the French embassy in Portugal revealed they had no blood relatives in the country. They are set to be transferred to the French embassy.
Investigative efforts from both Portuguese and French police have so far determined that Marine, believed to be from Colmar in eastern France, disappeared with the two children around two weeks ago before setting off on the road trip to Portugal.
Marine’s mother, the boys’ maternal grandmother, reported the children’s disappearance to police, telling them they had been abducted by their mother.
The boys’ father, who is separated from Marine, also filed a child abduction report to police. Colmar prosecutor Jean Richert told Le Parisien: ‘He’s like everyone else, he doesn’t understand.’
The family entered Portugal on May 11 via Bragança on the Spanish border, having been spotted taking the family car through a crossing.
The family then travelled over 310 miles, first travelling to the Miranda do Corvo region before heading further south to Alcácer do Sal.
The couple and their children stayed in a hotel in the town, located around 12 miles from where they were found.
French police are already aware of Marc, who is believed to suffer from a psychiatric disorder.
They were given nothing more than a change of clothes, two pieces of fruit and some water
As Portuguese police continue their investigation and hunt for the couple, French prosecutors are opening a child neglect case.
On top of this, an ‘urgent legal procedure’ has been opened in the family and juvenile court in Santiago do Cacém, in southern Portugal.
Portuguese police have not formally confirmed that the children were kidnapped and abandoned, with a spokesperson saying: ‘All possibilities are being considered.’
