Five siblings and a man assumed to be their ill father have been discovered in The Netherlands after allegedly spending up to nine years in a secluded farmhouse and awaiting the end of time.
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Authorities reportedly found the family after a disheveled 25-year-old man entered a Ruinerwold cafe, ordered and drank five beers, and told staff he fled the isolated premises.
“You could see he had no idea where he was or what he was doing,” bar owner Chris Westerbeek told RTV Drenthe.
“He was unkempt, with long tangled hair,” he added.
“We got talking. He said he had run away and needed help, and that he had never been to school. Then we called the police.”
RTV Drenthe states police attended the seemingly abandoned farmhouse to discover a secret door in the living room, which led to a staircase and a hidden room sheltering the siblings and the ill man.
The apparent escapee is thought to be the eldest of the siblings, with the youngest being between 16 and 18 years of age.
The siblings and the older man, who is believed to have suffered a stroke, are now receiving medical treatment.
RTV Drenthe reports the family appears to have had little contact with the outside world in recent years, and may have subsisted on vegetables and livestock grown in a small yard adjacent the farmhouse.
Police state it is unclear if they lived there voluntarily, but today confirmed the arrest of a 58-year-old man who rented the farm. He is not believed to be the father of the siblings.
Newspaper Algemeen Dagblad published speculation the group was living at the premises to await the end of time, but local mayor Roger de Groot said authorities currently have as many questions as the public.
After confirming police discovered the makeshift shelter, de Groot said “for the moment, the police have a lot of unanswered questions.”
Investigations are ongoing.
