In a dramatic turn of events, three children—an 8-year-old pair of twins and their 10-year-old sibling—were rescued from a nightmarish existence in Oviedo, Spain, where they were confined to their home for years under the relentless grip of their parents’ misguided fear of the pandemic.
The siblings were freed on Monday after being locked away since 2021, long after COVID-19 restrictions had ended. Local news outlet El Comercio reported that the children, all of German descent, emerged from their confinement wearing face masks, their faces filled with disbelief at the sight of the outside world.
“As soon as we got them out, all three children began to breathe deeply, as if they had never been outside before,” recounted an investigator. Harrowing images captured the moment the children stepped into the fresh air, marveling at the grass beneath their feet.
The children’s parents—a 48-year-old German-American woman and her 53-year-old German husband—were arrested and face charges of domestic violence and child abandonment. Authorities revealed that the couple were suffering from what has been termed “COVID syndrome,” compelling them to impose extreme lockdown measures on their family.
The shocking discovery came after concerned neighbors reported that the children had not been attending school. “The children were in terrible shape. It was absolutely outrageous,” stated an investigator for El Mundo. “Not malnourished, because they were fed. But they were also dirty… completely cut off from reality, and not just because they didn’t go to school.”
The moment they stepped into the garden, the children were overwhelmed by the simplest of sights—a snail—and reacted with sheer astonishment. This rescue highlights the alarming consequences of extreme fear and isolation in a post-pandemic world.
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