A man with a dirty beard walking into a Netherlands bar and asking for help has led to the discovery of a family living in isolation for nine years “waiting for the end of time”. Dutch authorities were trying to piece together the story of the family, who were found in the rural east of the country in Ruinerwold, 130 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam, on Tuesday.
The man – thought to be aged 25 – asked staff at a nearby bar for assistance, According to RTV Drenthe. He ordered and drank five beers before talking to the bar owner, Chris Westerbeek.
He reportedly told Westerbeek he had run away from the farmhouse and was in need of help. “He had long hair, a dirty beard, wore old clothes and looked confused. He said he’d never been to school and hadn’t been to the barber for nine years.
“He said where he came from, that he’d run away and that he needed help urgently,” Westerbeek said. Local police said that officers visited the farm after being alerted by somebody “concerned about the living conditions” of its residents.
Police found a hidden staircase located behind a cupboard that led down to the basement where the family were living, the BBC reported. Officers found “a number of improvised rooms where a family lived a withdrawn life,” Local mayor Roger de Groot said in a statement.
Dutch media reported that the family was made up of five adult siblings, believed to be aged between 18 and 25, and their father. De Groot told reporters their mother is believed to have died “a number of years ago.” The family were believed to have lived for nine years on the farm, he told media, saying he hadn’t seen anything like it before.
Police said they arrested a 58-year-old man who rented the property, but it wasn’t immediately clear why or what his relationship was to the family. Officers said he wasn’t the father – there were unconfirmed reports that the father was among those discovered, according to the BBC.
Drone images of the farm showed a cluster of buildings with a large vegetable garden on one side. The small property appeared to be ringed by a fence and largely obscured by trees.
Neighbors told local media they had only ever seen one man on the property, and the local postman told Algemeen Dagblad news he had never delivered a letter there. De Groot said the police investigation was looking into “all possible scenarios,” but didn’t elaborate. He said the family was now “in a safe place receiving appropriate care and attention.”
Source:- Stuff.
Featured Image:- Dutch authorities were trying to piece together the story of the family who were found in the rural east of the country in Ruinerwold, 130 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam, on Tuesday.
