AIBU to be horrified by this story of child abandonment?

[Bullseyebutnotthenineties]

Has anyone seen this story? Sorry, struggling to link it.
A french mother and stepfather in Portugal abandoned their/her 3 year old and 5 year old in the woods.
Apparently they blindfolded them and told them they were playing a treasure hunt game and to wait, then take the blindfold off when they’d hidden the toy/prize.
They then left them there 😢
The boys were found on the side of the road by a lovely Portuguese man, who cried during his interview when talking about the boys. They were crying for their real dad apparently
The real dad, resident in France, had informed the authorities that the boys had been kidnapped by the mother (who has custody of them) and taken out of the country. She also left her other 16 year old son at home in France.
The couple were apparently found two hours away sitting on a terrace having a coffee and pastry.
The boys had little backpacks on with a bottle of water, change of clothes, sandwich and piece of fruit in.

There are no words, those poor poor boys
What on earth could make a mother do this?

Well given they went off for lunch quite a distance away they were probably going to wait a few days. They probably didn’t think the kids would have the ability to save themselves.

I can’t imagine they thought a kind stranger would take them in and adopt them as their own.

in fact their plan has to have been very stupid which was fortunate as it least it means these boys have a chance in life now. The more they release the clearer it is those kids were in an abusive home

I would imagine in the next day or so.

The area was remote. She didn’t expect them to be found.

That was never going to work! Clearly authorities would be asking why the children weren’t reported missing on the same day.

Well they clearly aren’t very bright but maybe they hoped the kids wouldn’t be found?

the mothers boyfriend was caught on video hitting the younger child so they don’t seem very self aware as the wisest course of action would have been to lay low nearby so no witnesses seeing them without the kids

they do say most killers are caught because they are arrogant and think they are cleverer than everyone else. Thank god the kids were found so soon

Gosh those poor little boys. They must have been absolutely terrified. So traumatic for them. 🥺 Thank God they were found by a kind soul.

I can imagine if you found two children of that age who are extremely distressed and who don't speak your language, your priority would be keeping them safe from further harm (e.g. running into the road or running away) and getting them something to eat and a bit quieter before it would even be possible to make a phone call - if people are wondering about the 30 min delay.

If you were on your own with two highly distressed young children there's no way you would have a hand free to use your phone, and if they were crying then he wouldn't have been able to be heard anyway. I would 100% have brought the children to a nearby adult I trust.

I am glad to see a thread on this as I saw it yesterday on FB via the daily mail and I didn't want to give them a click through.

I guess you're right actually.

The mother and stepfather were only found days later. Happily having pastries and lattes at a cafe. They absolutely intended to abandon them as two children that young, in a forest, could easily have died in those two days.

No it wasn’t a cruel prank. They were beinf abandoned. Most five year olds don’t know their parents full name and address. It’s easy enough to know yours don’t. And abandon them 1300 miles away from home. It was days later the mother was found.

I wonder if she thought their dad wouldn’t report them missing?

I guess once they were on the missing list issued by interpol the Portuguese police only needed their first names, nationality and age - which the boys would know

Tg they were saved. Those poor children. Horrific

Yes, apparently they played with his children and they wanted the children to feel safe before the possible stress of the Gnr coming. This man was very good and obviously emotional in his interview. Those poor babies

Wow. But also not surprising at all.

So this mother got swept up by her new 'bad boy'. The maternal hormones have been extinguished and now the pesky little kids are in the way. Sadly I've seen this so many times, on MN and in real life. There ought to be a name for it, and research. But the idea of mothers losing interest in kids is taboo, so...

Years ago I watched a programme on TV where a woman was telling her son who was about 9 going into care ‘was for the best’. I can still see his face as I write this.
The reason. Mum had a new boyfriend. Who didn’t want the boy.

ok, so maybe Mom was struggling, couldn't cope, couldn't afford them etc.

she took them out the country
she took them to a wood
she blindfolded them
she told them it was a game
she left the most basic provision
she left

that isn't the desperate act of a desperate woman. that's calculated and planned by two adults.

she could have left them in her own country. with Dad. when Dad has visitation she could have refused to collect. she could have left them in a cafe or a hospital or a police stations.

she could have spoken to the school or the father or the police or social services.

she could have done lots of things that weren't premeditated abandonment in a way that was highly likely to cause physical harm on top of the obvious emotional damage.

she didn't.

let's not make excuses for her.

arguably it was, Mom clearly wasn't going to prioritise him and at least he wasn't neglected or battered to death. fucking awful regardless but at least she did the lesser of two evils

100% this

I didn’t realise it was days later - I read “they were found two hours away” and assumed they were found a few hours later. I see that was a misinterpretation.

But yes, aged 5, DS definitely knew his full name, DH and my first names, our house number and road name, the name of his school and teacher, the name of the nearest town… plenty enough to identify him.

I voted yabu because of course that is appalling behaviour. Unreasonable of you to ask!

He was certainly neglected. By his own mother.
He should have come first.

Being abandoned is one of the worst things that can happen to a child. The need to belong goes so deep it drives an enormous amount of our behaviour. If you start listening to songs and reading books carefully, the amount 'belonging' that suffuses them is just huge.

Knowing you're not wanted by your parents isn't something that anyone can come to terms with easily.

These boys will have to live with this life-long. The media won't let them forget it either. Wherever they go it will follow them and remind them that their mother didn't want them.

Absolutely awful, l have read that the stepfather was a gendarme who had been in trouble previously. Poor kids how do you forget that, they could have been run over by a car. I hope that both parents get a very long sentence.

so the mother took them from the fathers then abandoned them? what was the point of that if she was not keeping them with her? assume she had some sort of custody? thank God someone decent found them not someone with alternative ideas