Two brothers, aged 3 and 5, have been rescued after their parents allegedly abandoned them in a Portuguese forest following a cruel fake treasure hunt.

Two young French brothers were allegedly dumped in a Portuguese forest by their parents who lured them into a fake treasure hunt before blindfolding them thousands of kilometres from home.

The helpless 3 and 5-year-old children were rescued by a passing couple on Tuesday night, who found them frantically wandering on a main road in Monte Novo do Sul, around 60 kilometres southeast of Lisbon, with backpacks stuffed with clothing and food, according to Portuguese media.

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

The helpless three-and-five-year-old children were rescued by a passing couple on Tuesday night. Picture: CEN
The helpless three-and-five-year-old children were rescued by a passing couple on Tuesday night. Picture: CEN
He recalled the elder brother telling him their mother allegedly led them into the forest and covered their eyes as part of a game – but when they removed their blindfolds, she was gone.

“To trick the children, their mum blindfolded them and left them in the forest to play a game,” Quintas told SIC Notícias.

“They told them to go and look for a toy.”

Artur Quintas, a local baker who found the shaken boys, said they were screaming and crying. Picture: CEN
Artur Quintas, a local baker who found the shaken boys, said they were screaming and crying. Picture: CEN
Believing it was still a game, the boys were reportedly left stumbling through the wooded area lost for hours until Quintas and his wife found them.

The heroic stranger said he only made the horrifying realisation the boys had been abandoned after spotting their backpacks filled with water, fruit, cookies, and a change of clothes, according to the outlets.

The abandoned boys had backpacks stuffed with fruit, water, cookies and a change of clothes. Picture: CEN
The abandoned boys had backpacks stuffed with fruit, water, cookies and a change of clothes. Picture: CEN
The couple rushed the deserted youngsters, from eastern France, to a local police station, where they told authorities their mother had fed them before taking off.

The boys had no identification but were able to identify their mum from a photograph, Correio da Manhã reported.

French authorities have since launched a probe into the children’s mother and stepfather.

The investigation is ongoing.

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced here with permission.