Brothers aged 3 and 5 blindfolded, abandoned in forest by parents

Two young brothers, aged 3 and 5, were allegedly dumped in a Portuguese forest by their parents, who lured them into a fake treasure hunt before blindfolding them thousands of miles from home.

The helpless children were rescued by a passing couple Tuesday night after they were found frantically wandering on a main road in Monte Novo do Sul with backpacks stuffed with clothing and food, according to Portuguese media.

Marine Rousseau, 41, and stepdad Marc Ballabriga, 55, allegedly ditched Barthelemy and Zacharie in the woods under the guise of a treasure hunt.

Chilling CCTV footage shows the mum and stepdad accused of abandoning the two young boys during their 2,000km journey.

The children were later found crying and screaming on a rural road in Portugal on Tuesday evening before the parents were caught in a town about two hours north.

Artur Quintas, a local baker who found the shaken boys, said they were “screaming and crying.”

The parents are believed to have told the children they were playing a game called “drive away the devil.”

They allegedly instructed the boys to only remove their blindfolds after finding knives the couple claimed to have buried in the dirt.

While the children obeyed, the couple reportedly made a dash for it, leaving them to their fate with nothing more than a change of clothes, two pieces of fruit, and two bottles of water.

Alexandre Quintas, who found the children some 2,000km away from their home, said they were crying and shouting between the towns of Alcacer do Sal and Comporta, a 90-minute drive south of Lisbon.

“I realised straight away that they had been abandoned because of the backpacks and the way they had been made up.”

The children reportedly had no form of identification on them when they were discovered.

Their mother, who describes herself on social media as a “sexologist who helps traumatised individuals regain serenity and sexual fulfilment,” and her new partner were arrested.

The boys had reportedly been digging through the dirt for several minutes before the older brother removed their blindfolds, only to realise they were alone.

According to Daily Mail, Arthur told local media: “The older one told me that he and his brother had gotten lost in the forest and that their father and mother had left them without taking them.”

Arthur took them to the his home and called police, who quickly arrived and took the children to Setulab Hospital for full assessment.