Portuguese authorities have rejected France’s extradition request for a 41-year-old woman accused of abandoning her two young children—aged 4 and 5—on the side of a highway. The children were found alone on May 19 near the Alcácer do Sal–Cabo de Roca motorway, approximately 100 kilometers south of Lisbon, according to the Évora Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Children Found After Days of Search
The two children were discovered by a passing driver, crying and seated at the roadside. French authorities had launched a missing persons investigation on May 11 after the family disappeared from their home in Colmar, eastern France. Two days after the children were found, the woman—identified as Marin R.—and her 55-year-old French partner, Marc M., were arrested near Fátima in central Portugal.
Extradition Denied, But Legal Process Continues
The Évora Court of Appeal partially refused to enforce the European Arrest Warrant issued by French authorities. While it declined to extradite Marin R. immediately, it ruled she must remain in Portuguese custody for a second trial phase—to be prosecuted in France for offenses committed outside Portuguese territory. A judicial source confirmed the warrant cites charges including child abduction, evasion of parental responsibilities, abandonment of a minor under 15, abandonment of a vulnerable person, and violence against a minor.
The court also rejected the extradition request for Marc M. last Thursday. However, once all Portuguese criminal proceedings—including trial and any potential sentence—are concluded, he too could face extradition to France to stand trial on additional charges. The couple is jointly accused of endangering or abandoning minors; Marc M. faces an additional charge of causing serious bodily harm to one of Marin R.’s sons.
The children were placed under the care of French diplomatic services in Portugal following their discovery.