German police are still trying to figure out the identity of a teenager who wandered into Berlin City Hall earlier this month, claiming to have been living in the woods for five years.
The 17-year-old known as Ray – dubbed “forest boy” – isn’t a wild-eyed forager, but a quiet teenage boy who uses cutlery, takes showers and enjoys TV and bowling.
Beate Kohn, a supervisor from the emergency hospital where he stayed for 11 days said the boy does not remember any details from his past, even his surname.
“He was very, very kindly to everybody, with the other kids and with us.
“He watched TV, he went outdoors, he took little walks and joined the activities, like bowling.”
She added: “He had moments where he appeared uneasy but generally he settled in well and appeared comfortable.
“There were no problems with him and he seemed happy to be inside, to sleep in a comfortable bed and take regular showers.”
The boy, who arrived in the German capital on September 5 carrying a rucksack, tent and sleeping bag, told authorities he had lived in the wilderness with his father for five years since his mother Doreen died in a car crash.
He told police his father died recently after falling and that he had buried him under stones in a shallow grave. He then walked north for a fortnight to reach Berlin.
He speaks English and indicated that he was living with his father on the Czech side of the Ore mountains, in an isolated, rocky and densely wooded area called Hrusne Hory for the last five years.
German authorities have teamed with their Czech counterparts through Interpol to help find out Ray’s identity.
A source close to the case said: “If this lead proves true then he would have walked all the way to Berlin from the Czech Republic.
“This would have been a much harder prospect than simply walking from woods south of Berlin, which is what many believed he had done up until now.”
