According to Spiegel, citing Portuguese media and authorities, two toddlers were discovered on Tuesday evening near the village of Monte Novo do Sul, about 60 kilometers southeast of Lisbon. A driver saw them suddenly in his rearview mirror and took them to the police. The blond boys, aged five and three, said they are from France. They had no identification with them.
The children told officers of the Portuguese National Guard (GNR) that their mother and stepfather had blindfolded them and left them in the woods. When they removed the blindfolds, their parents were gone. The finder told SIC Notícias that the older boy said their parents had left them under the pretext of a game: they were supposed to search for a toy in the forest. In the children’s backpacks, the man found complete changes of clothes, cookies, fruit, and a bottle of water — for him, a clear sign that the boys had been abandoned.
Authorities said no missing person report had been filed. The children were first taken to a police station and then to a care facility. Police spokesman João Gaspar said on Wednesday that a search for the parents was underway. After a medical examination in the morning, the boys were handed over to the French embassy. “They are safe,” Gaspar assured. The French embassy in Portugal declined to comment when contacted.
Source: www.spiegel.de
