Germany: ‘Forest Boy’
September 21st, 2011Update: Identified
Via: MSNBC:
Police in Berlin said on Friday they had identified the mysterious “Forest Boy” who turned up in the German capital nine months ago claiming to have lived in woods for several years.
Investigators said a woman in The Netherlands contacted Dutch police, saying she recognized the young man as her 20-year old step-son who had gone missing in September. A report in Die Welt [link in German] identified the “boy” as Robin, from the Dutch municipality of Hengelo.
The woman said she saw a picture that had been issued to the international press on Wednesday by German authorities seeking clues on the mystery man’s identity.
“We are 100 percent certain that he is this 20-year-old boy, because his step-mother positively identified him,” a police spokeswoman told Die Welt.
The boy, who called himself Ray, told authorities he had been living in woods until the death of his father. He said his father told him he was born June 20, 1994 — which would have made him 17 — but claimed not to know his last name or where he was from.
“It turns out that the young man presented a Pinocchio story,” Berlin police spokesman Michael Maass told NBC News.
“We now know that the young man turned 20 in April and was reported missing in the Netherlands by his family last September,” he said.
—End Update—
Via: Sydney Morning Herald:
Psychologists and linguistic experts drafted to help crack the bizarre case of Germany’s ‘forest boy’ as it emerges authorities first turned him away.
All that was certain about the teenage boy who walked into Berlin City Hall was that he spoke perfect English.
‘‘I’m all alone in the world, I don’t know who I am. Please help me,’’ he told the security guards.
He went on to claim that he had been living rough with his father in a German forest for five years, that his father had recently died and that he had walked to Berlin in the hope of finding shelter.
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Two weeks on and German police are still baffled as to the true identity of the boy, who is now being cared for by social services.
Police told The Telegraph they had consulted several psychologists and linguistic experts but were no closer to establishing his nationality. Interpol is also on the case. They are pinning their hopes on the discovery of his father’s body, which the boy said he had buried in the forest and could provide important fingerprint clues.
“We have tried psychologists – as a means of getting more information from him – but without success,” confirmed Klaus Shubert, a Berlin police spokesman.
“We just don’t know if he’s British or from elsewhere,” said Mr Schubert. “He speaks English but it seems his accent is hard to pin down.”
i saw this story a few days ago and thought it was wild. also, coincidentally watched a movie called “Hanna” last night where the teenaged main character was raised in a German forest…
my past acquaintance with the field of linguistics reminds me that, isolated from others who speak in a way we can imitate and have imitated, we develop novel accents, phrasing, and words. plus, if his father wasn’t a native english speaker, then you have a secondhand accent to deal with. of course his origins will be hard to place in the wider world! this is basic stuff, isn’t it?
I wonder how old he is. I wonder if he will be assigned a nationality if no records come to light. I wonder if he will ever hold public office and all the possibilities that go along with that. I wonder how much and what choices he will be given regarding his immediate future.
@neologiste
I read this story and it also reminded me of “Hanna” that I watched this past weekend. Seemed to me that in the movie Hanna seemed absolutely normal and in tune with nature. Not a freak at all.
What I do not comprehend is when a person says:”I’m all alone in the world, I don’t know who I am,” and goes onto claim that he had been living rough with his father in a German forest for five years; that his father had recently died (RIP) and that he had walked to Berlin in the hope of finding shelter,” AND THEN WAS SHUNNED!!!
It speaks a thousand words about the human race in these times when we shun and treat other humans in need the way we do. It’s not just Germany, I believe its an epidemic of “post-9/11 everyone is a terrorist and wants to harm me disease.”
Interesting story this one. Thanks Kevin.
I hope the “Forest Boy” finds total recall and finds a way to get out of Dodge before putting him under a microscoe picks his spirit to death.
RUN!!! Forest Boy, RUN!!!
It’s just so strange that the boy (as far as we are told) knows nothing about his origins beyond that forest. His father apparently told him nothing about their family history, where they were from, etc.
I’m going to call this one as alien boy planted among us. ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ would be my movie analogue, not ‘Hanna’. 🙂