A couple has been apprehended following the discovery of two young children alone and in tears on a roadside in the southern region of Portugal.
According to local reports, the pair were identified as the mother and stepfather of the two French boys, both below the age of five, who were found by a passing driver close to the town of Alcacer do Sal in southern Portugal on Tuesday. The children were carrying backpacks containing provisions but lacked any form of identification.
The children’s father reported them missing from their residence in Colmar, eastern France, on May 11, prompting French authorities to issue a pan-European appeal for assistance.
Authorities in Portugal and France are jointly investigating the circumstances that led to the children being discovered near the road, although no definitive conclusions have been reached thus far.
The couple was taken into custody after local law enforcement acted upon spotting their vehicle outside a cafe in Fatima, situated approximately 180km north of Alcacer do Sal where the children were found. Identified as a 41-year-old woman and a 55-year-old man, the pair is under the custody of Portugal’s National Republican Guard pending formal identification.
They are facing allegations of domestic violence, endangerment, and abandonment, as per authorities. The driver who initially encountered the children mentioned providing them with sustenance before contacting the authorities.