The young woman was, according to newspaper Correio da Manhã (CM), spotted on the beach by locals and grabbed attention as she was staring fixedly out to sea.
According to the newspaper, the woman was hostile when approached by locals and “spoke in a mixture of English, German and Spanish”.
Maritime Police were called and, as Command-ant Fernandes da Palma, of the local Port Captaincy told CM, she “had no ID on her, just a few papers”.
INEM emergency medics were also called out, and the foreign woman was taken first to a local health centre, and then, reluctantly, to Faro Hospital’s psychiatry ward.
The report states that when queried about her origins, the woman initially said simply she was a “citizen of the world”, but later conceded her name is Sarcadi Tomas, and is a 20-year-old Hungarian national.
However, at the time of going to press authorities were still trying to confirm her identity and locate family or anyone who could help in the identification process.
Portugal’s Public Prosecutor has been made aware of the case.