Full Breakdown
French Mother and Stepfather Arrested After Abandoning Two Young Boys in Portugal
5/22/2026, 10:59:39 PM
Abandonment of Two French Boys in Portugal
On 19 May 2026 two boys, aged four and five according to most reports, were found alone, crying and blindfolded, on a rural road between Alcácer do Sal and Comporta. They had been left with backpacks containing food, water and a change of clothes. Portuguese police arrested the children’s mother, 41-year-old Marine Rousseau, and her 55-year-old partner, Marc Ballabriga, on suspicion of domestic violence, child abuse and abandonment.
Background: Missing Report and Cross-Border Search
The boys’ father reported them missing to the Colmar police on 11 May 2026. French authorities issued a pan-European request for assistance. Over the following week the mother travelled from France through Spain to Portugal, while the father continued to seek the children’s whereabouts in France.
Key Individuals
- Marine Rousseau – 41, a French “sexologist” who studied psychomotricity at Pierre and Marie Curie University.
- Marc Ballabriga – 55, a former police officer convicted in 2010 of harassment and domestic violence.
- Jean Richert – Prosecutor of Colmar, leading the French inquiry.
- Alexandre Quintas – Motorist who rescued the boys and took them to his family’s bakery.
- Artur Quintas – Local resident who, with his wife Eugénia, first encountered the children.
- Mélanie Tavares – Psychologist commenting on potential trauma.
Chronology of Events
- 11 May – Father files missing-person report; French authorities launch search.
- 19 May, ~19:00 – Children discovered by Quintas family near Monte Novo do Sul.
- 20 May – Children taken to Alcácer do Sal police post, examined, then hospitalized and released.
- 21 May – Portuguese GNR announces arrest of Rousseau and Ballabriga in Fatima, ~180 km north of the site.
- 22 May – Setúbal District Court outlines procedure for possible return to France.
Data Points
- Children’s ages: reported as 4 & 5, 3 & 5, and 5 & 3 across sources.
- Location of abandonment: rural road between Alcácer do Sal and Comporta, Setúbal district.
- Distance traveled by parents: ~500 km from Spain into Portugal, then another ~200 km to Fatima.
- Backpack contents: water, fruit, biscuits, spare clothing.
Official Responses
The Portuguese National Republican Guard (GNR) said the pair are investigated for domestic violence, exposure to danger and abandonment. French prosecutor Jean Richert confirmed a judicial inquiry into child neglect. The Setúbal District Court stated that any return of the children requires a formal request from French judicial authorities.
Criticism and Expert Concerns
Psychologist Mélanie Tavares warned that the “feeling of abandonment… can cause major sleep difficulties, irritability and withdrawal.” Ballabriga’s prior conviction and a psychological assessment describing him as “without pathologies” have drawn scrutiny.
Eyewitness Accounts
Artur Quintas described the boys as “crying, calling for their father and terrified.” Alexandre Quintas recalled offering ice-cream and toys while waiting for police. Both reported the children’s backpacks as the first clue of abandonment.
Conflicting Details
Sources differ on the children’s exact ages and on Rousseau’s profession (sexologist vs. unspecified). Ballabriga is variously described as a former police officer with a 2010 conviction and as a man who “suffers from a psychiatric disorder.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “To trick the children, their mom blindfolded them and left them in the forest to play a game,” — Artur Quintas, local resident
- “And we gave them something to eat and some toys to keep them occupied.” — Alexandre Quintas, motorist
- “There is the feeling of abandonment, of being lost, of being unprotected. It can cause major sleep difficulties, changes to normal routines including eating habits, irritability or even near-total withdrawal, as well as great difficulty accepting rules.” — Mélanie Tavares, psychologist
- “We managed to narrow down her whereabouts, successively in the south of France, in Spain and in Portugal, but without being able to contact her,” — Jean Richert, prosecutor
- “It will be up to the French judicial authorities, through the mechanisms of judicial co-operation, to initiate the process of returning the children to the State of their habitual residence.” — Setúbal District Court
What’s Next
The children remain in temporary foster care while French and Portuguese authorities negotiate their long-term placement. Judicial cooperation will determine whether they are returned to France or placed under Portuguese protective measures. The investigation into Rousseau and Ballabriga continues under charges of child abandonment and domestic violence.
