French Mother, Ex-Policeman Boyfriend Arrested Over Blindfolded Sons, 125 Miles From Portuguese Forest
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 26
French Mother, Ex-Policeman Boyfriend Arrested Over Blindfolded Sons, 125 Miles From Portuguese Forest
5 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 26
Marine Rousseau, 41, and Marc Ballabriga, 55, were arrested at a café near Lisbon two days after authorities say they abandoned her blindfolded sons, ages 3 and 5, in a remote Portuguese forest.
The boys were found crying and alone 125 miles away after a local baker spotted them stumbling along a main road; the older child said the adults covered their eyes as part of a "game" before disappearing.
Portuguese prosecutors charged both with child endangerment and abandonment, added an aggravated assault count against Ballabriga, and ordered the pair held pending trial.
The children were treated at a hospital, discharged in good health and placed in temporary foster care, while their biological father—who reported them missing on May 11—seeks to bring them back to France.
How did a family crisis cross borders, leading to two boys being abandoned 1,300 miles from home without raising alarms?
A mother's 'devil game' left her sons abandoned. Was it madness, malice, or something far more sinister?