Boy found seven years after he vanished.
A few years ago, in September 2017, Till R., then a teenager, mysteriously vanished without a trace. His anxious family and the authorities were on the hunt for him for almost seven years. To everyone's astonishment, he recently appeared out of nowhere. Now, at 21 years old, Till recounts his experiences and the reasons for his mysterious disappearance.
It all began in Markt Bibart, Bavaria. According to the police's knowledge back then, Till, who was 15, abruptly vacated his parental home. He ventured to Lingen in Emsland to visit an online acquaintance, ignoring his parents' pleas to return home. His trail went cold in October 2017, and for two years, he hadn't responded to any calls or messages.
In 2019, a public appeal was launched for his whereabouts, but it was unproductive. The Criminal Police in Ansbach also investigated the chances of a murder. This case was showcased on ZDF's "Aktenzeichen XY" in June 2022, with approximately 80 tips pouring in, but they couldn't solve the mystery.
Finally, in April 2023, Till recontacted his family. The police disclosed the news on the web, and the now-21-year-old shared his journey with the media.
"I struggled with school because I was bullied for being overweight," he confided in the Bild newspaper. The constant harassment was the reason for his silence at home. He turned to the local youth welfare office in Lingen when he visited his friend there during his journey. Unfortunately, he felt they disregarded his problem. They supposedly bought him a ticket home and sent him back to his parents alone.
When he arrived in Dusseldorf, he ended up in a large empty hall in an industrial area, where he lived with two homeless individuals. After about a year, they relocated to Berlin, where they took up labouring jobs illegally. The man they worked for provided them with a room. "I had to be incredibly cautious not to fall ill, as I didn't have insurance," he recalled. Furthermore, he refrained from using his phone, fearing discovery.
Finally, he had had enough of the state he was in and reached out to his family on April 21st of this year, thus ending the arduous search process. Presently, Till is back in his parents' house, and they're elated to see their son return home. "It's wonderful news that my son has come back," R.'s father said to RTL. "He's doing well, and we're overjoyed that he chose to come home."
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