Father who forced six sons to live in cellar for nine years awaiting the 'end of times' arrested after eldest son escapes
A Dutch man forced his six sons to live in a cellar in an isolated farmhouse near the village of Ruinerwold, Netherlands, for nine years as he awaited the "end of times."
One of the sons, who claimed to be the eldest one, finally managed to escape the farmhouse recently and alerted the authorities about what he and his siblings were being subjected to.
After fleeing the confinement, the unidentified son ran down to a bar in the village.
The owner of the bar, Chris Westerbeek, said that the 25-year-old, who had "dirty" beard and unkempt hair, came into his facility a number of times over consecutive days looking fairly confused.
He finally spoke about the ordeal when he visited the bar again on Sunday, October 13, and drank five beers.
"Then I had a chat with him and he told me he had run away and needed help. Then we called the police," Westerbeek told RTVDrenthe.
The eldest son said that his siblings were between the age of 16 and 25 and he wanted to end the way his family was living inside the cellar for the last nine years.
When the police arrived at the farmhouse, which was hidden from the main road by trees and could only be accessed by crossing a bridge over a canal, they found a secret staircase leading down to the cellar behind a cupboard in the living room.
The windows in the house had been boarded up. The family appeared to be living off their self-grown vegetable garden and animals.
In a bedroom downstairs, the authorities found the father, 58, laying on the bed. He is said to have suffered a stroke a few years ago. He was placed under arrest for failing to help the investigators.
While the authorities checked the farmhouse for fire and safety hazards, the family members were taken to a recreational park.
The relationship between adults living in the farmhouse is yet to be established.