Two French boys, aged five and between three and four, were found abandoned and crying beside a roadside near Alcacer do Sal, Portugal, on May 19, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. They were blindfolded and told to play a game to find a hidden toy before their blindfolds were removed and their mother disappeared [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]. The boys had backpacks containing food and water but no identity documents [1, 2, 3, 4, 6].
The boys had been living with their 41-year-old mother Marine Rousseau in Colmar, eastern France, while their father was granted limited, supervised visitation rights [1, 2, 4, 5]. Their father reported them missing on May 11, 2026, prompting a European arrest warrant for Rousseau [1, 2, 4, 5].
Rousseau and her 55-year-old partner Marc B., a former French gendarmerie officer, were arrested on May 21, 2026, by Portuguese police in Fatima, about 160-200 km from where the boys were abandoned [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The couple had driven nearly 2,000 km from France to Portugal and left the children in a forest near Alcacer do Sal [3, 7, 8].
They face charges including aggravated assault, child abuse, endangerment, abandonment, and neglect [1, 2, 4, 9, 10]. Both were ordered held in pretrial detention after a court hearing on May 23, 2026, in Setubal, Portugal [1, 2, 4, 9, 10]. At court, the man shouted "I love you" and later "Portugal Armageddon", while Rousseau hummed or sang opera [1, 2, 4, 7, 8].
Portuguese authorities said the couple had no prior ties to Portugal [1]. The boys are now placed with a French foster family in Lisbon, awaiting return to France [1, 2, 4]. Rousseau is a sexologist specializing in psychotrauma and developmental dynamics [1, 7, 8]. Some media reports indicate Rousseau may have abandoned an additional 16-year-old child [3, 8].
