Anybody else smell a fake survival story besides me?

L

LittleHairyApe

Joined
Mar 30, 2006
Messages
494
I can probably make a top ten list about why this kid's story is fake, but I'll let it go at one: five year old sleeping bag and tent. IMHO, I don't understand why any adult is even pretending to take him seriously. Am I out of line? Is anyone with me on this???

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...rest-boy-is-telling-the-truth-say-police.html

There are other links each with a few new details.

Oh what the heck...
1. five year old tent, sleeping bag
2. five year old clothes looked normal, not homeless
3. living in woods for five years but didn't stink
4. had money (coins), dates not known
5. no facial hair
6. short neatly cut hair
7. can read but was "taught by father" - when I was twelve I was reading for hours every day
8. can't remember own last name but can remember own birthday
9. can't remember where Dad was buried in forest where he lived for five years
10. knew where city hall was in a strange city
 
1. they could have carried tent and sleeping bad into forest then built a wood cabin and put gear inside thus preserving the condition
2. could have taken lots of clothes
3. rivers and you can take soap with you too or make perfume out of pine or something
4. you can carry money into the woods with you.. again they deliberately entered the woods not a case of plane crash or something..
5. Many 17 year olds don't have facial hair, but even if he does why can't he shave? Also facial hair grows really slow for many at 17
6. His dad died recently, they could cut each others hair
7. you are assuming english was his first language or that he had no ability to read before his father taught him. maybe his first language was something else but his dad taught him a new one
8. imagine your mother dying when your 12 and your father deciding to take you into the woods with him. those are some crazy events who knows what the mind does
9. he lived in one location and simply traveled north away from that location. living in a specific area of the woods doesnt give you expert knowledge of all woods
10. maybe he bumped into people on the street before arriving at city hall and some german directed him there
 
1. five year old tent, sleeping bag

so, and so?

2. five year old clothes looked normal, not homeless

how do your 5 year old clothes look? Where in the article do they describe the condition of his clothes?

3. living in woods for five years but didn't stink

rivers, streams...there are places to bath

4. had money (coins), dates not known

so?

5. no facial hair

again, so? he could have razors...see below

I'm 38 and I have very little facial hair. at his age I had none.

6. short neatly cut hair

so? he lived with his father, it is plausable they cleaned him up before taking the photo

7. can read but was "taught by father" - when I was twelve I was reading for hours every day

so people who live in the woods dont read?

8. can't remember own last name but can remember own birthday

plausable, a birthday is somewhat useful...when you are living in the woods with your father what use is a last name? when is the last time your father refered to you by your full name or last name?

9. can't remember where Dad was buried in forest where he lived for five years

after "walking north for 2 weeks" I wouldn't either, and I bet you wouldn't

10. knew where city hall was in a strange city

he FOUND city hall...the article doesn't say nor does it imply he walked out of the woods straight to city hall because he knew where it was
 
i'm waiting for more details but just imagine if it's true. can you imagine the skills this kid has? i bet he knows every root, berry, leaf, bush and every good trap to make out there. if he lived 5 years in the wilderness with no resupply from the real world. i mean that's crazy impressive. also if it's true i'm worried for the kid as he hasn't dealt with anyone but his father for 5 years and losing him and then coming in contact with a bunch of docs and head shrinks it could turn out ugly. either way i'll wait and see what they come up with.
 
I don't think there's anything like enough info in that short article to be sure.
The police think he's probably genuine and they have more facts available. It'll all come out in the wash, as they say.
 
It doesn't say what condition his sleeping bag, tent, knapsack and clothes were in, they could have been rags for all we know. If they were taking pictures of him to try and identify him, I'm sure that they gave him a bath and trimmed his hair, otherwise they would have showed a picture of a dirty kid in rags with unkempt hair who no one could recognize.

Lots of people in Germany speak English. Maybe the few words of German he knows are "Wo das Rathaus ist?" (Where is the city hall according to babel fish).

Chad
 
Likely a case of a man and son living rough on the fringes of German society (homeless). Probably had access to some social services but like many homeless people, avoided interaction.

The idea of folks "living" in the "wilds" of a German forest is like imagining that someone could live without human interaction in a tent in Central Park. German forests are highly managed and easily accessible to the general population. Being able to live without social support in such an environment would be next to impossible. I'm guessing his father was psychologically impaired and they were simply homeless.

Andy
 
There are some peculiar elements to this story. It took him 2 weeks to wander back to civilization after his dad died? He followed a compass North? What does that even mean to someone that intentionally vanished from society. North from where?

Bottom line is that (a) a lot of the important details are being withheld; I wonder why and (b) the author of the article seems to believe the story, which is always bad for a balanced narrative. As Andrew W. said, it will all come out in the wash. My hunch is that this story will disappear from the news and you'll never find out the story. I think, as Andrew C. said, the real story is probably sad but not particularly exciting. If it fades out of the news, that'll be your first clue it was oversold the first time around.
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
Likely a case of a man and son living rough on the fringes of German society (homeless). Probably had access to some social services but like many homeless people, avoided interaction.

The idea of folks "living" in the "wilds" of a German forest is like imagining that someone could live without human interaction in a tent in Central Park. German forests are highly managed and easily accessible to the general population. Being able to live without social support in such an environment would be next to impossible. I'm guessing his father was psychologically impaired and they were simply homeless.

Andy
Click to expand...

Yes there is an article that backs up several of the things you've mentioned:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...live-in-the-woods-for-five-years-2358793.html

You raise several good points which match my thinking. I am so skeptical of this whole business, that I doubt the boy's story about the dead Dad, the five years, and the two weeks. I think he's probably a runaway from an abusive home or something of the sort. I doubt the boy is named Ray, and I doubt his parents are Doreen and Ryan. I really doubt that he only knows a few words of German. I'll bet he speaks fluent English, German and maybe a few other languages too.

Watchful said:
There are some peculiar elements to this story. It took him 2 weeks to wander back to civilization after his dad died? He followed a compass North? What does that even mean to someone that intentionally vanished from society. North from where?

Bottom line is that (a) a lot of the important details are being withheld; I wonder why and (b) the author of the article seems to believe the story, which is always bad for a balanced narrative. As Andrew W. said, it will all come out in the wash. My hunch is that this story will disappear from the news and you'll never find out the story. I think, as Andrew C. said, the real story is probably sad but not particularly exciting. If it fades out of the news, that'll be your first clue it was oversold the first time around.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree. I think the real story is probably very sad, and I don't think the German police are fooled by the boy's story for one second. German police have, IIRC, a reputation for being highly efficient.

FYI there is more than one article on this boy. I read four or five articles which all restated the same core facts but which also added a new wrinkle or two. There are new articles still coming out, as of a few hours ago.
 
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They need to just hold him down to get a dna sample. He's probably wanted for some crime, and he's just using a variation of the old dodge of "I can't remember who I am". He probably murdered his real parents, or something. Need to stop treating him with kid gloves and bring on the third degree. I can't believe the German police are pussy footing around with him.
 
Good call, LHA. You pegged him early.

Forcing him to give up a DNA sample would be illegal, of course, but since he's more or less in social services custody, it should be easy to get one off anything he eats with or drinks from. And, I think, if the Germans were going soft on him, they would have simply believed his story. Looks like quite a bit of detective work went into this to even get this far. Good for them--and bad for the kid.

Did he think this was going to work?
 
There's no reason to take his DNA if he is not really suspected of anything. The best they can do is to dump the kid in an orphanage and don't waste any more media attention on him.
 
He reported a death and burial and can't/refuses to divulge the location of the body. Kojack or Columbo would be all over this one.
 
Codger's right: there's a few crimes that he's involved with, whether telling the truth or not.
 
I look scruffy after just a few days in the woods. This story is total BS and I won't be giving any benefit of the doubt.
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
Likely a case of a man and son living rough on the fringes of German society (homeless). Probably had access to some social services but like many homeless people, avoided interaction.

The idea of folks "living" in the "wilds" of a German forest is like imagining that someone could live without human interaction in a tent in Central Park. German forests are highly managed and easily accessible to the general population. Being able to live without social support in such an environment would be next to impossible. I'm guessing his father was psychologically impaired and they were simply homeless.

Andy
Click to expand...
What he said, any story "living from the land" in the heartland of Europe without getting noticed by the authorities is kind of fishy. Leaving in tents in the woods around the cities, yes many homeless do that but it's not exactly Thoreau.
 
Watchful said:
Good call, LHA. You pegged him early.

Forcing him to give up a DNA sample would be illegal, of course, but since he's more or less in social services custody, it should be easy to get one off anything he eats with or drinks from. And, I think, if the Germans were going soft on him, they would have simply believed his story. Looks like quite a bit of detective work went into this to even get this far. Good for them--and bad for the kid.

Did he think this was going to work?
Click to expand...

Thanks Watchful, but as you probably know we have some real experts that lurk around this forum. I'm just an amateur. I was kinda hoping I could smoke a couple of them out and learn how the pros approach this kind of situation. Anyway, about the DNA, I don't know the privacy laws in Germany, but if compelling the boy to give a DNA sample in order to "assist" his memory is illegal, then I agree with you that it wouldn't be too hard for someone to procure a discarded drinking glass, dirty fork, or other common personal item and get the DNA that way. And of course all of his so-called survival gear is covered with DNA as well. I think nowadays it is pretty difficult not to give a DNA sample to someone who has a little imagination and/or training.
 
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