Dutch family who lived in basement for nine years 'waiting for end of time' is discovered

Rebecca Speare-Cole15 October 2019

A family who spent almost a decade "waiting for the end of time" in a basement have been discovered by police in the Netherlands after one of them turned up at a local pub, according to reports.

Dutch authorities are trying to piece together the story of the 58-year-old man and the family with young adults aged 18 to 25, who were living on an isolated farm in the province of Drenthe.

They were discovered after the eldest of the young adults reportedly ordered beer at a bar in the nearby village of Ruinerworld.

Local news station RTV Drenthe, which first reported the story, said the family "have been living in a basement for years, waiting for the end of time."

Bar owner Chris Westerbeek told the broadcaster that he called police after a man "with a confused look in his eyes," with unkempt hair, a long beard and old clothes walked in to his bar and ordered five beers for himself.

"He said where he came from, that he'd run away and that he needed help urgently," Mr Westerbeek said.

Officers visited the remote farmhouse and carried out a search where they discovered a hidden staircase behind a cupboard in the living room that led down to a basement room where the family were housed, the BBC reports.

Police said they arrested a 58-year-old man, but it wasn't immediately clear why or what his relationship was to the family. Police said he wasn't the father.

Drone images of the farm showed a cluster of buildings with a large vegetable garden on one side. The small property appeared to be ringed by a fence and largely obscured by trees.

Local mayor Roger de Groot told reporters that the six-member family is believed to have lived for nine years on the farm, 130 kilometres northeast of Amsterdam. "I've never seen anything like it," he said.

In a statement, Mr de Groot said the children's mother is believed to have died "a number of years ago".

Police investigating the farm found "a number of improvised rooms where a family lived a withdrawn life," the mayor added.

He also said the police investigation is looking into "all possible scenarios," and that the family was now "in a safe place receiving appropriate care and attention."

Local police said in a tweet that officers visited the farm after being alerted by somebody "concerned about the living conditions" of its residents.

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