While “waiting for the end of time,” a family of seven living in the Netherlands had locked themselves in a “secret room” on an isolated farm for the last nine years. A 58-year-old man, along with six siblings, all between the ages of 18 and 25 were found hiding in the remote farm waiting for the world to end. The entire charade came crashing down when one of the siblings escaped the farm and arrived at a local pub begging for people to help him and the others.
Police have yet to confirm whether the people were living on the farm on their own or if the 58-year-old had forced them to stay against their wishes. The five remaining siblings who were still at the farm claim that the old man is bedridden, which is how the cops found him when they raided the joint. They also claim that the man was their father, although that has yet to be confirmed as well.
“We found six people living in a small space in the house which could be locked but wasn’t a basement,” said police in a statement, according to the BBC.
The police in Drenthe, where the isolationists were found hiding, shared an update via Twitter to all those who are interested: “Yesterday someone reported to us that they were worried about the living conditions of people in a house in Buitenhuizerweg in Ruinerwold. We went there. We still have many unanswered questions.”
As it turned out, the eldest sibling of the bunch fled the farm seeking help. He wound up at a pub in Ruinerworld, where he ordered five beers and drank them back to back. After fueling up his courage, he revealed that his family was at the remote farm and had been waiting for the end of the world for years.
Bar owner Chris Westerbeek told local media that he was enthralled with the drunk sibling’s story.
“I had a chat with him, and he revealed he had run away and needed help… then we called the police. 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.”
After speaking to the pub owner about the conditions at the remote farm, he admitted that he was ready to end the family’s isolation.
“He said he had brothers and sisters who lived at the farm. He said he was the oldest and wanted to end the way they were living,” said Chris Westerbeek.
Dutch media reported that the 58-year-old living at the property is a handyman named Josef B., who originally came from Austria.
Westerbeek’s report to the police, cops raided the farm and found a secret compartment behind the staircase just as the eldest sibling promised. The stairs led to a secret room that housed the 58-year-old and the remaining five children. Josef B. had apparently suffered a stroke and was bedridden at the time of the police’s arrival.
The family survived on vegetables and a single goat.