Boy who went missing for seven years is found.
Till R., who vanished in September 2017 as a teenage boy, has been found after six and a half years. The family and authorities had been desperately searching for him until he suddenly got in touch with his dad. Currently 21 years old, Till R. reflects on the past few years.
A shocking twist in a missing person case from Bavaria: Till R., who had vanished for nearly seven years, suddenly reappeared. The 15-year-old vanished from his family's house in Markt Bibart, Mittelfranken. Back then, authorities believed Till had left for Lingen in Emsland to see a friend he met online and ignored his parents' pleas to return home. In October 2017, he vanished without a trace, leaving no contact for over three years.
A public search in 2019 could not uncover his whereabouts, with the Criminal Police Ansbach investigating the possibility of a murder. His disappearance was also discussed in a ZDF show called "Aktenzeichen XY" in June 2022, where they received approximately 80 tips, none of which solved the case.
In April of this year, the police declared, Till R. reconnected with his family. The 21-year-old is now back home, recounting his reasons for disappearing and his years gone.
Till R. revealed he dropped out of school due to bullying over his weight. "I was bullied because I was fat," he shared with Bild newspaper. He hadn't spoken about his struggles with his family before. In Lingen, where R. visited a friend in the initial days of his journey, he approached the local youth welfare office and informed them of his situation, but didn't feel taken seriously. The staff apparently bought him a ticket home and left him on a train by himself.
In Düsseldorf, he had disembarked, working odd jobs to survive for months. He recollects living in an empty hall in an industrial area with two homeless friends. After about a year, they moved to Berlin, where they toiled illegally as laborers. Their landlord offered them a room on the outskirts of the city. "I had to be extremely cautious not to get sick because I had no insurance," R. recalls his past years. He also abstained from using a cell phone, fearing discovery.
To avoid being found, R. eventually contacted his family on April 21 this year, calling off the search officially.
Overjoyed, Till R.'s parents are delighted to have him back. "It's fantastic news that my son is back," R.'s dad said to RTL. "He's doing well, and we're ecstatic that he chose to return home."
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- The international community expressed interest in Till R.'s case due to its unusual nature and length of time spent missing.
- In Berlin, Till R. encountered various individuals from different countries, expanding his perspective on life beyond Bavaria.
- After his return, authorities in Düsseldorf launched an investigation into the bullying incident Till R. experienced, with the aim of preventing similar incidents in the future.
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