Portimão Port commander, Rodrigo Gonzalez dos Paços, specified that the maritime authorities identified a woman, resident in Portimão, as being the possible author of “an electronic document sent on last Thursday which reported that a three month old child had been thrown overboard in Praia da Rocha”.

“The electronic mail contained ‘3 months old child thrown to the sea in Praia da Rocha, please look for the child’”, explained the official.

According to Rodrigo Gonzalez dos Paços, after receiving the notification, “the search procedures were launched at sea and on land. After several hours of research, it was concluded that this was a false alarm”.

The operations occurred during Thursday afternoon, involved several personnel and various means from Maritime Police, the Ferragudo Life Saving, Civil Protection, Republican Nacional Guard and Portimão Volunteers Firefighters.

Rodrigo Gonzalez dos Paços indicated that the Maritime Police procedures allowed the authorities to “reach the alleged author of the e-mail, a woman who, to what was found, has a history of similar processes”.

“When confronted, the lady reported three different places where the child was thrown – In the first place was thrown overboard in Praia da Rocha. Secondly, the child was thrown from the lighthouse placed in Praia da Rocha. Finally, the lady said that the child was thrown from a 16th floor of a building in Portimão”, he said.

The Portimão Port commander added that the case was referred to Ministry and the Judiciary Police “so that the alleged email author could be criminally charged by the false alarm”.