A child is silhouetted against the water in front of the Oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal. (symbol image)Image: AP
May 30, 2026, 3:16 p.mMay 30, 2026, 3:16 p.m
The two children from Colmar who were abandoned in Portugal have returned to France and been handed over to relatives there. According to French media, the handover took place “under conditions that ensure their safety,” the Colmar public prosecutor’s office said.
The two boys arrived back in France on Friday, it was said. The public prosecutor also stated that no further information about the care of the children would be published.
The brothers were found crying on May 19 by a driver on the side of the national road between Alcácer do Sal and the seaside resort of Comporta, around a hundred kilometers south of Lisbon. The mother and her partner were arrested two days later near Fátima in the center of the country.
A National Republican Guard (GNR) van transports the French citizen near the Municipal Court of Setúbal, PortugalImage: keystone
Mother in custody
French authorities had been searching for the mother and children since May 11, after the father reported their disappearance in Colmar. Portuguese authorities said the children usually lived with their mother; the father only had limited and supervised access rights.
The mother, a 41-year-old French woman, was taken into custody by the Portuguese judiciary and charged with “endangerment or abandonment”, as was her partner, a 55-year-old French man, who is also accused of “serious bodily harm” to one of the two boys. (sda/dpa)