French Couple Arrested in Fátima After Abandoning 2 Boys in Portugal
Updated
Updated · Portugal Resident · May 21
French Couple Arrested in Fátima After Abandoning 2 Boys in Portugal
11 articles · Updated · Portugal Resident · May 21
Marine Rousseau, 41, and Marc Ballabriga, 56, were formally arrested in Fátima after Portuguese police tracked down the mother and step-father of two boys found abandoned near Alcácer do Sal.
A bank-card transaction in Miranda do Douro helped place the couple in Portugal after the boys' father reported them missing in France on May 11, prompting what police described as proactive work.
The children—found Monday evening by a remote roadside—were examined in hospital and declared fit, and are expected to be reunited with relatives in France within days.
Investigators are weighing domestic violence and child abandonment-related charges, while authorities have not yet decided on preventive custody or whether France will seek extradition.
A French family's crime in Portugal: what happens when child abandonment crosses international borders?
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After such a profound trauma, can two abandoned toddlers ever truly heal and trust again?