mother and step-father located, arrested – Portugal Resident

The mother and step-father of the little boys rescued from the side of a remote road near Alcácer do Sal on Monday evening have been located, and formally arrested.

CNN Portugal reports that Marine Rousseau, 41 and Marc Ballabriga, 56, were found in Fátima. It appears the car they have been travelling in, with French matriculation plates, was spotted outside a café.

This fast-moving investigation has revealed a number of new details since this morning – not least that authorities were on the tail of this couple since the boys’ father reported his sons’ disappearance, in France, on May 11.

Marine Rousseau did not just remove her sons from France without the knowledge of their father, she also left behind an older half-brother, aged 16, as she and her partner travelled south from her home in Colmar, eastern France.

For two weeks, family members are understood to have heard nothing, despairing of what might have been happening.

Then, in Miranda do Douro, Marine Rousseau used a bank card, which alerted authorities to the couple’s presence on national territory. 

Portuguese police will have received photographs from French counterparts of Marine Rousseau and Marc Ballabriga, which is how they rapidly managed to confirm their identities once the children had been found, and the five-year-old was able to answer questions.

Right now, it appears the couple are facing possible charges of domestic violence, and exposure to abandonment.

CNN reports that their discovery in Fátima came as a result of “proactive police work”. Both “reacted in silence” when they were approached by GNR agents.

The children, meantime, have been observed in hospital and pronounced fit and well. They are due to be reunited with family members in France within the next few days, as the investigation (carried out by the Specific Victims’ Support and Investigation Unit of Santiago de Cacém) continues.

It is unclear at this point if the mother and step-father will be bailed, or detained in preventive custody. 

It is also unclear whether French authorities will issue a request for their extradition.

Sources: SIC Notícias/ CNN Portugal