Broadcaster RTV Drenthe has just reported that the police in Drenthe have found a family hiding in the cellar of their farm in Ruinerwold, a village of around 4.000 people, waiting for the end of the world.
Confused man
The family was discovered after Chris Westerbeek, owner of local bar Café de Kastelein, contacted the police when a confused 25-year old man visited his bar twice on Sunday. “He looked around, bewildered,” Westerbeek told Dagblad van het Noorden. “This man looked unkept, had long tangled hair and said he needed help and had never been to school.”
RTV Drenthe reports that the man said the family has not been outside for at least nine years. The police have yet to confirm whether the 25-year old man is part of said family.
Boarded-up farm
After being contacted by Westerbeek, the police went to the man’s house, a seemingly abandoned and boarded-up farm, and discovered a secret staircase leading down to a cellar. Inside, they found the man’s father (58) and his five children, aged between 16 and 25 years. The father was found in bed, as it appears he had a stroke years before.
What happened to the mother of the family is still unclear, although the police are considering the possibility that she may have died and been buried at the farm.
It seems the family was able to stay off the grid, as they were completely self-sufficient; they kept a vegetable garden, a goat and a few geese. NOS reports that the children had no idea there were other people on earth, and that a neighbour thought it was just one man living on the farm.
Many questions
For now, the police have taken the family to a holiday park. Investigations are ongoing and the area around the farm has been closed off. “There are many unanswered questions,” says Politie Drenthe.