A German mother whose son died of thirst after she left him when their car broke down has been arrested.
The 40-year-old mother, who was on holiday in Spain with her five-year-old boy, has reportedly been accused of negligence and breach of supervision by Spanish police.
The boy's body was identified at the weekend after it was found at the Puente Nuevo reservoir near the city of Espiel, Bild.de reported.
According to Spanish authorities, the boy had been crouching underneath a bush in an attempt to protect himself from scorching 40 degree heat.
Police found burns on his arms which were probably caused by touching the hot ground.
Police believe the boy and his mother were travelling in a car when it broke down in a remote area.
The pair then began walking to get help, and soon after the boy allegedly fell over and hurt himself.
Police said the mother apparently decided to leave her son behind and continue looking for help.
The mother arrived at a petrol station on Tuesday last week in a state of shock and was taken to hospital suffering from heat-related injuries.
It was not clear how long it had taken her to reach the petrol station.
A search began for the boy but his body was not found until several days later.
The official cause of death has been ruled as heat-related multiple organ failure.
Police said they found two backpacks and several empty water bottles near the body.
Authorities had initially not told the mother her son was dead because they believed she was mentally unstable.
She was told of the death and interrogated by police for several hours today, according to reports.
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