Police have released new information about a mother and stepfather who allegedly told their two young children they were playing a 'game' before driving away, abandoning them in a woodland in Portugal. The two boys, Barthélémy, five, and Zacharie, three, were discovered wandering a rural road near the towns of Alcácer do Sal and Comporta on Tuesday evening at around 7pm.
A local couple, Eugénia and Artur Quintas, spotted them carrying only a change of clothes, two pieces of fruit, and two bottles of water. Artur said the boys were 'crying' and 'terrified' when they found them, and were 'calling for their father.' The boys were covered in dirt and bruises, Artur told local media, adding that one had injured his knee, and neither child had any identifying documents on them. The couple brought the siblings back to their house and contacted police, who swiftly arrived and transported them to Setúbal Hospital for checks.
Investigation and Arrests
A toxicology report confirmed the boys had not been drugged. They have since been placed in temporary care in Portugal. The youngsters told officials they came from France and claimed that their mother, 41-year-old Marine, and 51-year-old stepfather Marc had told them they could only remove their blindfolds after locating a knife the parents had buried in the ground. Both scraped around in the earth for several minutes before one eventually removed their eye coverings. When they glanced around, they realised their parents had vanished.
Despite being unable to find their parents, the boys reportedly still believed they were taking part in a game called 'drive away the devil', and wandered through the woodland for several hours. Artur told local media: 'The oldest one told me that he and his brother had got lost in the forest and that their father and mother had left without taking them. 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.'
Key New Detail
On Thursday, the Portuguese National Republican Guard (GNR) released a statement confirming that a 41-year-old woman and a 55-year-old man were arrested in Fátima on suspicion of child abuse, endangerment, and abandonment. In a key new detail, a joint investigation with French police revealed that Marine, from Colmar in eastern France, reportedly left the country with the children about a fortnight ago, and was suspected to have travelled to Portugal. The boys' grandmother reported the children missing to the authorities, stating they had been abducted by their mother. A child abduction report was also filed by the father, who is separated from Marine.
The trio entered Portugal on 11 May via Bragança on the Spanish border, where their family car was seen passing through a crossing. From there, they travelled over 310 miles, heading first to the Miranda do Corvo region before continuing further south to Alcácer do Sal, where they left the children.
