Millennial Mysteries: Strange English-Speaking Boy Walks out of the German Forest

Image Source: Fallen Scoop.

The Guardian is reporting on a mysterious, 17-year old boy who has been living rough in the German woods with his father, whom he buried in a shallow grave in the forest two weeks ago. The boy told authorities that his father had taken him into the woods when his mother died five years ago. He claims he can't remember anything of his life before that.  He doesn't know who he is, or where he comes from.  (Hat tip: Ghost Theory.)

More on this bizarre case:

He walked out of a German forest, speaking English and knowing only his first name. Police in Berlin are trying to unravel the mystery of a teenager who says he has no idea who he is or where he comes from.

The boy presented himself to the Berlin authorities last week saying all he knew was that his first name was Ray, he was probably 17 years old and he and his father had roamed through the woods for about five years.

"He speaks fluent English and very broken German," the Berlin police spokesman Michael Maaß told the Guardian. The police have not yet determined if his accent is American, British or that of some other English-speaking nationality.

He told youth workers that his father, whom he called Ryan, had died two weeks ago and he had buried him in a shallow grave covered with stones. The boy then walked north, following instructions his father had given him should anything happen to him.

The pair's odyssey started after his mother, who he said was named Doreen, died. He says that he and his father never set up home but kept moving, staying in tents and huts in the woods.

It is not clear what they ate or how they survived the often harsh German winters. "He doesn't show any signs of abuse and he is in good shape physically and psychologically," Maaß said.

The boy says he cannot remember anything about where he lived before the five-year journey began. "We have nothing more to go on than what he told us. We don't have any other clues as to his identity," Maaß said.

This may be an extreme case of  Millennial alienation on the part of the teen's father, a desire to fall off the radar, to 'opt out' and withdraw from everyone and everything.  Authorities are comparing the case to 'feral child' myths, which have a long history.