Father and six adult children who lived in Dutch farmhouse cellar for NINE YEARS waiting for the 'end of times' are discovered after one escapes and asks for help in nearby bar

Unidentified man, 25, escaped the farmhouse in Ruinerwold close to Meppel
He ran into a bar and drank five beers before retelling the story to police
Officials found six 'adult children' after discovering secret staircase to the cellar
Police then arrested a 58-year-old man at the scene for failing to cooperate

Dutch police have found a father and six 'adult children' living in the cellar of an isolated farmhouse waiting for the 'end of times'.

Officials found a secret staircase behind a cupboard leading down to the basement after they were called to the secluded property in the village of Ruinerwold in the northern province of Drenthe.

There they found a man lying in a bed and six adults aged between 16 and 25. Some of those freed 'had no idea that other people existed'.

Local media said the family were found after a 25-year-old entered a nearby pub in a confused state on Sunday, drank five beers and then asked for help, saying he had not been outside for nine years. ...

Police arrested a 58-year-old man at the scene for failing to cooperate with the investigation, but he was not the father. 

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A drone photo of the farm, where a man and six adult children have been living in the cellar. A 25-year-old man, the oldest child, escaped and went to a bar to get help from the owner. He discussed what had happened and called the police 

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Bar owner, Chris Westerbeek, recalled the 25-year-old man came in numerous times over a number of days and looked 'confused'

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The property was isolated and hidden by trees surrounding it. When police arrived they found a hidden staircase behind a cupboard in the living room

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 times".' 

'I have never come across anything like this before,' local mayor Roger de Groot told a press conference.

'Police investigated after receiving a tip-off from somebody who was concerned about the people's living conditions' and discovered the adults, de Groot said.

'They lived an isolated lifestyle,' he said, adding that they had been living on the homestead for the past nine years and several of the children 'had not been taken up in the birthing register'.

The owner of the bar, Chris Westerbeek, told RTVDrenthe he had spoken to the 25-year-old man who told him he had 'run away and needed help. Then we called the police.'

He said the man, whose beard was 'dirty' and hair unkempt, said that he had been inside for nine years and that he wanted to end the way his family were living. 

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"O σιωπών δοκεί συναινείν"