Abandoned review – this real-life mystery makes for TV that’s a wild helter-skelter ride
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- Abandoned is a four-episode Disney+ documentary series following siblings Ramón, Elvira and Ricard, who were found wandering Barcelona's Estació de França in 1984 carrying no luggage or ID after a man they knew only as "Denis" drove them there and never returned
- The oldest sibling, Ramón, was five; the children were healthy, well-dressed and articulate, which carers found suspicious, and Ramón later suggested their parents had "indoctrinated" them not to share information
- The trio were fostered and then legally adopted by Lluís and Marisa, staying together throughout childhood, but questions about their origins lingered until Elvira took a DNA test while starting her own family
- Elvira assembled a volunteer team of investigators and genealogists that uncovered the siblings' parents as Ramón Sr and Rosario, described as "a real life Bonnie and Clyde" linked to a post office robbery, a stolen identity, and a gang calling themselves the Gold Bandits of Andalucía
- Guardian journalist Giles Tremlett was among the journalists who joined the investigation; many suspect Ramón Sr and Rosario are dead, though the case is not officially closed
- The review notes the series feels "helter-skelter" at times but is anchored by the warmth of the siblings' bond and the potency of fragmented memories — including Ramón's recall of firing a gun — that hint at the criminal world their parents inhabited
Why it matters: The series transforms a 40-year-old cold case into an active investigation by broadcasting it to a global Disney+ audience, meaning new leads could still emerge — much as Making a Murderer did. With the Guardian's Giles Tremlett and other journalists involved and the parents' fate still officially unresolved, the show's existence may be the thing that finally closes the loop.
