The Wild Boy

Emerging from a German forest like a wraith, an English-speaking 17 year old boy revealed to locals that he had been living in the wild for more than five years with his father who had died two weeks prior. After a simple burial in a shallow grave beneath a cairn of stones, the boy followed his father's instructions and ventured north to where he could be discovered by local citizenry.

 

 

It seem the pair had fled into the woods in a survivalist mode after Ray's mother (whom he called Doreen) had passed away. The two men lived a nomadic life, moving from place to place and calling tents and huts homes.

 

 

When authorities examined the boy, there were no indications that he had been physically or psychologically abused; his health, too, seemed in good condition. Ray had little recollection of his life prior to living in the woods with his father.

 

 

However, given that he had been 12 at the time, I find this somewhat hard to believe. I have to wonder if there isn't some underlying trauma at work that has yet to manifest itself. If anything, his socialization skills have doubtlessly been truncated by an less than ideal existence in the woods.

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