Two young brothers abandoned on a Portuguese roadside are safely returned to family in France

Two young brothers from Colmar, France, who were found abandoned on a Portuguese roadside in mid-May, have been safely returned to France and placed with family members. The children, aged four and five, were discovered crying by a motorist on 19 May along the national road between Alcácer do Sal and Comporta, about 100 kilometers south of Lisbon.

The return to France

The boys arrived back in France on Friday, 29 May, accompanied by French social services. The handover was conducted "under conditions that guarantee their safety," according to a statement from the Colmar public prosecutor's office. Prosecutor Jean Richert added that no further information about the children's care would be released to preserve the serenity of their return.

They were accompanied from Portugal by French social services and entrusted to members of their family under conditions guaranteeing their safety.

The discovery and arrests

The brothers were found on 19 May by a driver who spotted them crying at the roadside. Their mother, a 41-year-old French woman, and her partner, a 55-year-old French man, were arrested two days later near Fátima in central Portugal. French authorities had been searching for the mother and children since 11 May, when the father reported them missing from Colmar.

Legal proceedings in Portugal

The mother has been placed in pre-trial detention by Portuguese authorities and charged with "endangerment or abandonment." Her partner faces the same charge, along with an additional accusation of "aggravated bodily harm" against one of the boys. Portuguese authorities noted that the children usually lived with their mother, while the father had only limited and supervised visitation rights.

Background on the accused

According to media reports, the mother presents herself online as a sex therapist. The male suspect is reported to be a former French police officer who left the service due to depression. French newspaper Le Parisien reported that he was previously convicted in 2010 for harassment and violence against the mother of his daughter, receiving a nine-month prison sentence with a two-year suspended term. His Facebook page allegedly contained conspiracy-theory and antisemitic content. Portuguese media also reported a prior conviction for domestic violence against his first wife.

Custody and care

Initially, the Portuguese court had indicated that French judicial authorities were considering placing the children with social services in Colmar while evaluating family members or third parties, given the mother's situation and the father's supervised visitation regime. The children have now been placed directly with relatives.