French children found abandoned on a highway in Portugal

Two French children, aged 3 and 5, were discovered alone on a highway connecting Alcacer do Sal and Comporta in southern Portugal on Tuesday night. The children had been missing from their home in Colmar, France, for approximately ten days following an unexplained departure. Their father had filed a formal complaint for child abduction in France. Authorities tracked the mother's vehicle from southern France through Spain to Portugal. Portuguese police later located the 41-year-old mother and her partner at a café in Fatima. The children were transported to a hospital in Setubal, examined, and confirmed to be in good health. They were subsequently placed in the care of minor protection services and then transferred to the French embassy. A preliminary investigation is currently being conducted by the family court in Santiago do Cacem.