Neighbours of farmhouse where isolated family found had no idea what was going on there
Record ID:
1436969
Neighbours of farmhouse where isolated family found had no idea what was going on there
- Title: Neighbours of farmhouse where isolated family found had no idea what was going on there
- Date: 16th October 2019
- Summary: RUINERWOLD, THE NETHERLANDS (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) POLICE TAPE / FARM WHERE FAMILY WAS FOUND IN THE BACKGROUND ENTRANCE TO FARM SECURITY PERSONNEL WALKING UNDER POLICE TAPE VARIOUS OF FARMHOUSE VARIOUS OF RESIDENT OF RUINERWOLD, REINDER SMIT, ON A BIKE IN FRONT OF THE FARM (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch) RESIDENT OF RUINERWOLD, REINDER SMIT, SAYING: "We don't know anything about this family, I didn't know anything about the existence of the family. We only found out yesterday what happened here and then we found out that there was a man who rented this place." VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF FARMHOUSE NEIGHBOUR ROELIE VAN DIJK POINTING AT FARM FROM HER BACKYARD FARM VAN DIJK IN HER GARDEN (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch) NEIGHBOUR, ROELIE VAN DIJK, SAYING (ABOUT THE MAN WHO RENTED THE HOUSE): "No, we didn't get in touch either. He really did isolate himself, he went home and then he locked the fence. He opened the first gate, then he locked it and then he opened the next gate. So you didn't get in either, you didn't create contact." VARIOUS OF FARM'S LETTER BOX (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch) NEIGHBOUR, ROELIE VAN DIJK, SAYING (ABOUT THE MAN WHO RENTED THE HOUSE): "We tried to get in touch, my husband only last week tried with the man in the car but then it was "yes, no" and then he drove on. He went through the fences and locked them again." VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF THE FARMHOUSE POLICE TAPE AT ENTRANCE TO FARM VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF THE FARMHOUSE BRIDGE OVER RIVER LEADING TO FARM LADDER IN WATER EXTERIOR OF THE FARMHOUSE
- Embargoed: 30th October 2019 11:31
- Keywords: farm six members of a family locked away secret room isolation end of days
- Location: RUINERWOLD, THE NETHERLANDS
- City: RUINERWOLD, THE NETHERLANDS
- Country: Netherlands
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1CKXTZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Dutch police said on Wednesday (October 16) they were questioning a man who paid the rent on a farmhouse where six members of a family were found locked away in a secret room after apparently living for years in isolation.
Local residents of the nearby village of Ruinerwold said they were surprised when they heard a family was living there and that they had never seen them.
Five siblings, estimated to be between 18 and 25 years of age, and a man they identified as their ailing father were found near Ruinerwold, a village in the northern province of Drenthe.
A man who police said had paid the rent on the property was detained, although they could not say on Wednesday whether he was suspected of a crime. Local mayor Roger de Groot had said on Tuesday that the 58-year-old was not the father of the family.
Roelie van Dijk, who lives near the farm, said she had never been able to make contact with the man, who would "isolate himself" and lock the property's gates behind him each time he went in.
The family, who according to local news reports had been waiting for the end of time, was discovered after one member, reportedly a 25-year-old man and the eldest of the siblings, escaped and sought help at a nearby cafe.
Police said they found the family in a "small space in the house which could be locked" and that it was unclear whether they were being held against their will.
Officials have not commented on reports that the family may have held "end of days" apocalyptic beliefs.
The children's mother was believed to have died before the family moved to the Dutch farm in 2010, Mayor de Groot said. None of the family members were registered as residents with the municipality, police said.
(Production Hilde Verweij, Hortense de Roffignac) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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