Trapped: Man Kept Family in Secret Room For Years Waiting For The End Of The World

Written By Kaelyn Moore

In 2019, a 25-year-old man walked into a pub in Ruinerwold. He told the bartender that his father had kept him and his 5 siblings underground for the last 9 years, and told them they were the only people left in the world.

TW: Child Abuse, reference of sexual abuse

Subscribe on Patreon for bonus content and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society. Patrons have access to ad-free listening and bonus content. And members of our High Council on Patreon have access to our after-show called Footnotes.

Apple subscriptions are now live! Get access to ad-free episodes and bonus episodes when you subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror.

SOURCES

TRANSCRIPT

A bartender working at Kastelein (Costellenne) Cafe was about to start closing down  for the night, when he noticed there was a man standing nervously outside. Through the glass door, he could see the man had long unkempt hair and a scraggly beard. His clothes were tattered and dirty. 


The bartender tried to figure out who the old man was. They were in the small village of Ruinerwold in the Netherlands, it wasn’t common for vagrants to travel through the area, and it was rare for someone to come to the bar that the bartender hadn’t seen before. At that point, in 2019, the Village had only about 3000 residents.


Just then, the unkempt man pushed through the door and grabbed a seat at the bar. (SFX Door opening) In a quiet and unsure voice, he ordered 5 beers, all to be brought out at once. At this point, the bar tender was a little concerned. Now that the man was sitting closer to him, he could see that he was not in fact an old man, but a young one, maybe 20 or 25 years old. Dirt was caked into the creases in his eyes making him look much older. 


One by one, the man at the bar downed the 5 beers without saying a word. It was getting late, and they needed to close up soon, but the man just sat there, playing with the glasses like he had something on his mind. Like he had something to say but just couldn’t get it out. 


Finally, he took a breath. And with the same quiet and unsure voice he said. “I need help” 


My name is Israel Van Dorsten and my father has been keeping me and my 5 siblings in a bunker underground for the last 9 years. Please. I need you to help me. 


At first, the bartender doesn’t believe the man. But he looks at his pleading eyes, and the clothes that looked like they hadn’t been washed in months, and he starts to realize he may be telling the truth. 


So he grabbed a phone and he called the police. 


But what he told the cops, that a young man just came into my bar and told me he’s been held captive underground for the last 9 years, is just the tip of the iceberg. What Israel and his siblings had gone through, is unlike any story I’ve ever heard before, and I want to tell you the whole thing today. as always, listener discretion is advised. 

This is heart starts pounding, a podcast of horrors, hauntings and mysteries. As always, I’m your host, Kaelyn Moore. 


When I said that this story is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before, I really meant that. It’s the story of a family who thought they were the only people in the entire world, and the son that saved them. 


Much of what I’m going to tell you today, comes straight from Israel himself, as well as reporting by various dutch newspapers and some eye witness accounts of what happened. And as per usual, I’m basing my pronunciations off of Dutch reporters and Israel, but at the end of the day, I’m just a girl, whose first language is english, trying her best.


If you are new here, welcome. You’ll find us in the study of the Rogue Detecting Society headquarters every Wednesday evening. If you have your own haunting tale you want to share, I am always on the lookout for our listener stories episodes. Just go to heartstartspounding.com backslash stories to send it in or check the link in the description. 


But for now,  I want to take you all the way back to the start of Israel’s journey. 

Israel sat at the bar nervously shaking his leg. When the police arrived, they noticed he wouldn't stop looking at the clock. He told them that every second that ticked by was more time that he was away from his family, meaning someone would probably come looking for him any time now. He didn’t know what would happen if they realized he was missing, but it wouldn’t be good.


An officer whipped out a piece of paper. This kid’s story still wasn’t really adding up, so he told Israel to start at the beginning. The very beginning. 


Israel took a deep breath, and began. 


He was born in 1994, in his family’s townhouse in Hasselt (HAHssult), a small town in The Netherlands. The way his life started was much different than the way his life ended up. 


Israel’s at home birth was incredibly hard on his mother. She had three children before Israel, but none of them were like this. He was often told how his arrival almost killed her. But Israel’s father, Garrit Van Dorsten, never called for medical help, even when it looked like his wife was going to die in the middle of delivery. No for Garrit, the most important thing was for Israel, and eventually his five younger siblings, to be born at home. If that costs his wife her life, then so be it. 


Garrit was stubborn in that way. Neighbors at the time described him as intense and controlling. They could hear his opinions being shouted at his wife and the kids some nights. He had a big, thick beard and gruff voice, and according to those neighbors, the children’s mother seemed afraid of him. They said She seldom left the house, even to stand on the front stoop. On the rare occasion she did step out, she’d run back inside as soon as she heard a car coming. Like she didn’t want Garrit  to catch her out there.


It was the same with Israel’s three older siblings, Shin, Mar Jan (Mar-Yon) and Edino (Eddy-No). The kids only left the house to go to school. Otherwise, they played inside, or in the backyard. Never with other children. I get that Some people choose to keep to themselves, but this seems extreme. 



From a young age, Israel could tell that his father was much more strict and controlling than the neighborhood kids' parents. His family stood out in other ways too. Most families in the neighborhood had 2 maybe 3 kids, but the Van Dorstens family just kept growing. their small townhome was quickly overflowing with 9 children.  


One day, a standoffish and reclusive man named Josef Brunner moved into the townhouse next to the Van Dorstens’. Josef was a handyman, just a few years younger than Garrit, and the two struck up a friendship. 


Neighbors were shocked to see that within a few days, the Van Dorstens removed the fence dividing their backyards. Then they cut a hole in the wall between the two homes so they were fully conjoined. This, Israel says, is because his father wanted more indoor living space Because he  believed he had to keep his family inside to protect them from the evil influence of the outside world. 


The police officer interviewing Israel couldn’t believe what he’s hearing. Where was your mother during all of this? He asked. 


She was listening to my father, Israel responded. 


And your mother, what was her name? The officer asked


“Hye Jin Moon” 


The officer asked Israel where his mother was from, to which he replied that she was an austrian native, her parents were from there as well.  


You’re mother was an austrian woman with the name Hye Jin Moon? The officer was quite taken aback by this. 


But Israel knew that this was unusual, that his white mother had a Korean name despite not being Korean at all.  The reason for this was also why his father believed that there were so many evil influences in the world. 


Garrit ’s bizarre self-made belief system developed over several years. but it seems like it really took off during his time as a member of the Korean Unification Church back in the 1980s. 



The organization is perhaps better known as “The Moonies,” maybe you’ve heard of it, Without getting too in the weeds here, the Unification Church is based on the idea that its founder, Sun Myung Moon, is a Messiah on par with Jesus, here to bring humanity back in line with God’s plan. 


but they’re most famous for pushing followers to participate in arranged marriages that were sealed during mass weddings. And a mass wedding is exactly what it sounds like, hundreds of couples standing in a giant gymnasium, some who have never met before, and the leaders marry them all in one large ceremony. It’s truly bizarre to witness. 


Israel’s parents were married during one of these mass weddings in South Korea, where they were living with the cult. Israel's mother was told by the cult leaders that she was inhabited by the spirit of a south korean woman, and they started referring to her as Hye Jin Moon. So yes, it’s weird that his mother had a Korean name, but I bet you weren’t expecting it to be as weird as it actually is. 


Garrit really resonated with the idea that a messiah would come be the second coming of christ, but he didn’t think that it was Sun Myung Moon, the leader of the moonies. No, he thought that HE was the second coming of christ. 


He moved back home to the Netherlands from South Korea with his wife and started to refer to himself as the Prime Father and as God’s Son. He believed he was responsible for building God’s world on Earth, which he referred to as Eden. 


In order to do that, Garrit  and his family had to live a very regimented lifestyle. According to Israel,, “praying was just as important as breathing.” To keep the family untainted by the toxic influence of the outside world, and completely focused on their mission of preparing for Eden, Garrit insisted that they spend as much time inside the house – and under his control – as possible. 


But the older his kids got, the harder it was for Garrit to  keep them inside. Israel’s three older siblings, Shin, Mar Jan (Mar-Yon) and Edino, all attend a public school, because it was mandated by the state. And because they had birth certificates, if they didn’t go to school, someone would come check on them. 


Garrit resented that he was not allowed to teach them himself at home, in what he called “God’s school.” And that’s why Israel and his five younger siblings, were all born at home. That way, Garrit  could make sure none of them were registered with the state, and therefore, they didn’t have to attend school. 


Maintaining that life outside the law requires absolute secrecy. So around 1999, when Israel was 5 and his older siblings were 6-10 years old, Garrit sat them down in front of a video camera and gave them a terrifying warning. 


All three children sat side-by-side, staring into the lens, looking scared. Garrit informed them that they were never allowed to talk about their younger siblings at school, Including Israel. They couldnt even hint that they have a secret. If any of their teachers or school administrators caught wind, Garrit warned them, then they would be responsible for sending their Daddy to jail. They didn’t want that, did they? 


For Israel and his younger siblings, this meant days on end spent under the fluorescent lights of their townhouse, listening to their father preach for hours. Preaching about how he was God, about how he felt like the end of the world was coming any day. Israel remembered days when he wasn’t allowed to sleep, but was forced to continue witnessing his father’s revelations. 


Garrit spoke generally about the family’s “mission” to build Eden, but expected the children to come up with their own roles to contribute to that goal. He instructed them to pray, asking God for guidance about their future. Then, he asked them to share whatever message they received. If the children didn’t relay something Garrit agreed with – like if they talk about their dreams for a future career as a lawyer, or professional athlete, for example – Garrit would insult them, and order them to continue praying. Israel says that his father considered their “mission” their only purpose in life. Any actions that weren’t directly in service of that were a waste of energy. 


Like, for instance, going to school. 


Because Garrit considered the outside world toxic, he fixated on how that manifested in his oldest three children. They dreaded being told that they were ‘under’ – meaning, under the influence of an evil spirit. When Garrit  looked at Mar Jan (Mar-Yon) a certain way, she knew it meant he saw an evil spirit in her. Then, she’d have to be isolated, like a quarantine. According to Garrit, if the evil child was not separated from the rest of the family, other people could end up ‘under’ as well, until the entire family was compromised. During their time in isolation, the children were expected to pray continuously – even overnight. 


At this time, Josef became like a henchman to Garrit, and he rigged up a labyrinth of custom nooks and crannies for the children to be isolated in in the homes. Edino remembered sleeping in a tiny space made out of plywood that looked like a closet. Mar Jan (Mar-Yon) spent a lot of time in the attic. At one point around 2001, Garrit banished Shin outside to a shed, where he slept in a dog kennel. According to Shin’s siblings, this period of isolation lasted for a year.


Shin was twelve years old when he got so desperate that he ran away from the house with a pocket knife. He planned on killing himself, but he couldn’t go through with it. He returned to the dog kennel instead. 


As Garrit became more and more afraid of bad spirits infiltrating the home, he started using other punishments as well. Shin remembered being forced to spend hours in a cold bath. All three of the oldest children remember being choked until they passed out, being dragged by their hair, and being repeatedly hit on the head. There was public humiliation, too: yelling, insults and even literal mud-slinging. Edino remembers being told to throw mud at Shin, as he cowered in his underwear.


The younger kids also saw their share of abuse. They could be dragged out of bed in the middle of the night for beatings. They could have food taken away. 


Garrit even started incorporating violence into his preaching. In one video-recorded session, Garrit  misleads one of the younger kids, a girl who looks about 3 or 4, by giving her compliments. Out of nowhere, Garrit  smacks her, knocking her to the floor. Then, Garrit  takes her chair, demonstrating to the other children that this is how an evil spirit could mislead them. 


The young girl, holding back tears, looks to her mother for support. But she just smiles back at the child – perhaps showing her support of the abuse and its lesson, or modeling the behavior she thinks will prevent the child from getting hurt again. Maybe both.


According to Israel and his older siblings, their mother never participated in the abuse. But she never stopped it, either. As far as the children could tell, she seemed to share Garrit’s outlandish beliefs. He referred to her as Prime Mother, partnered to him as Prime Father. 


She would also do this strange thing where she acted as a spiritual conduit for Garrit, allowing him to summon spirits that would inhabit her body and communicate with him. For hours, sometimes even days, the children’s mother would disappear, replaced by whatever spirit Garrit  brought into their mother’s body.  


It’s really hard to hear about how their mother enabled this level of abuse, but Israel also recalled how she was sometimes the shelter from the storm of their father. She’d make sure everyone was fed and clothed, she’d plan birthday celebrations for the children. 


But what none of the children realized, is that she was slowly dying of colon cancer. Because the family doesn’t believe in going to the doctor, over time she just gets weaker and weaker, and in 2004, when Israel was only 10 years old, she passed away. The children’s only safe place was gone. 


Israel remembered Garrit leaving the house with their mother when she was very ill, and returning without her. Garrit tells the children that she is quote “Here with me now.”, whatever that meant. Eventually, Israel realized that that meant she was dead. 


Garrit doesn’t allow his children any space to grieve. They’re allowed to attend the cremation, but Israel and his younger siblings have to pretend that they’re the children of another mourner, they’re not allowed to tell anyone that she was their mother, because No one knows that the Van Doresten’s had more children after Shin, Mar Jan (Mar-Yon)and Edino. 


Then, Garrit  tells the children that their mother’s illness and death were the result of her subpar faith. According to him, if she’d believed strongly enough in God, she would still be alive. Garrit demanded that the children stop referring to her as “Mama.” In fact, he didn’t want them to think about her at all. Her lack of faith made her a bad influence, and a detriment to their mission. 


Israel said that was impossible to do. He loved his mother, he was a gentle soul who found solace in this chaos with her. But Garrit  punished him: first a beating and insults, then isolation He confined Israel to roughly a one meter square space in the attic.


But that was nothing compared to the abuse that followed. Without their mother there to serve as a spiritual conduit, Garrit began asking Mar Jan (Mar-Yon)and Edino to take on the role. The ritual was simple, he explained. He would summon a spirit who would take over their body.


Though, In a sickening twist, Garrit asks them to embody the spirit of their mother. This was traumatic for the children who were still grieving her death, but also because of the abuse that would follow. See, with their mothers spirit inside them Garrit  expected them to act as she would act – as mother to their siblings, and wife to their father. And while this was happening The other younger children had to act like their mother had returned. Edino says he once spent weeks with his mothers spirit inside him. 


As time passes, the children all become even more isolated from the world. So I wondered what they thought of the world at this time. The oldest siblings all remembered going to school so they knew that there was a whole world out there, but some of the younger siblings had only heard about what was outside of their house. They had only heard stories about grocery stores and sleepovers and baseball games. Everything they ever knew was in the house.


When recalling these experiences as adults, Edino, Mar Jan(Mar-Yon) and Israel all recognize that they were playing along to appease Garrit  – they didn’t truly believe they were being embodied by outside spirits, and they knew that there were people in the world who didn’t believe what their dad did. But that wasn’t for lack of trying. Mar Jan(Mar-Yon) remembered feeling afraid that Garrit  would call her out as a phony – she didn’t seem to have the same fantastical ability that her mother and siblings did. But even though they knew what was happening wasn’t real, the psychological damage was. Israel said he felt like a puppet that his father was playing with. Constantly pretending to be someone else was stripping him of his real identity. He didn’t know who he actually was. 


The next five years, between 2005 and 2010, were tumultuous for the Van Dorstens. They moved twice. And the three oldest children realized they were probably not going to school anymore. The one thing that was their escape. Garrit’s mental state was also becoming more erratic and deranged at this time. He often would tell Shin that if he weren’t registered with the government, he would kill him.


If there was no school, there wasn’t anyone to miss them – and they were afraid of what Garrit might do. Plus, the isolation periods were growing longer and longer. For Mar Jan(Mar-Yon), Garrit was making her spend almost all of her time inside isolated from her siblings. And that was the breaking point. If she couldn’t be with her siblings, then she needed to get out of there. She knew there was a world out there full of people who weren’t like her father. One night in 2008, when she was 17 or 18,, she snuck out of the house and was able to find their old house in Hasselt (HAHsult), where she stayed until she got her footing. Israel never saw her after that. 


Shin followed suit in 2009, when he was 21. By that point, he and Edino were no longer living with the rest of the family. Instead, they were sleeping in a warehouse with Josef Brunner, who was still acting as Garrit’s henchman. 


Like Mar Jan(Mar-Yon), Shin reached a point where he was incredibly depressed and couldn't stay. One night, he stole money from Josef’s wallet, filled a backpack with clothes, and snuck out of the warehouse. Freedom was so close, he could go be with his sister. But as he was leaving, he heard A small voice inside that wondered if he's ruining everything. What if his father really was the Messiah. That’s how brainwashed he was at that point,  he worried he could be responsible for his family failing in their mission to build God’s world. But luckily he trusted his gut, ignored the voice, and fled into the night. 


In 2010, Edino, who was 21, had to make the same difficult choice. He could tell that his father was planning another move, and worried that the new setting would make it more difficult to escape. Plus, he’d been in touch secretly with Mar Jan(Mar-Yon), who was surviving. He escaped from Josef’s warehouse, and went to stay with his sister. 

And Israel watched as this happened. As each of his older siblings left the home. Israel didn’t know much about the world they say they’re escaping to, he never went to school. And he was scared, what if the world was like what his father says, what if it’s full of bad people and evil spirits.


As the oldest children left the family, Garrit started freaking out. Their departures represented the destruction of God’s world – which was the opposite of his mission. Anytime something went wrong, it was because of the older children’s betrayal. That left Israel and his younger siblings terrified of leaving. And also feeling even more pressure to remain committed to their mission. The responsibility was all theirs.


Over the course of 2010, Garrit and Josef prepared to move the family into the final phase, fully off grid. They had lived isolated in houses until this point, but Garrit wanted to take them even further away from the world, totally underground


Josef rented a farmhouse just outside the tiny village of Ruinerwold, one that didn’t have neighbors anywhere near it, it was fully remote. The landlords thought he was getting the property to live there alone. Garrit, in the meantime, told Dutch authorities he planned to move abroad, and deregistered as a citizen. he and his children officially didn’t exist, at least on paper. In August, the family relocated to the isolated farm property. Israel was 16, and the youngest was 9. 


Josef built a secret extension on the farmhouse for the family to live in. The only access point was hidden behind a cupboard in the main house. When the cupboard was removed, it revealed a staircase that led down to a network of rooms. There were no windows. Only a few pieces of furniture – no beds or tables. The children ate sitting on the floor, and slept in sleeping bags. That was how the remaining Van Dorstens lived, hidden away from the outside world. 


The children were only allowed to leave the house with Garrit ’s permission, to do a few tasks like tend to the farm’s vegetable garden, take care of the animals, and do a few exercises. They couldn’’t leave for any reason, not even to go to the store. Garrit instructed Josef on what supplies the family needed, and Josef purchased them for them.


This move was supposed to keep his family safe, according to Garrit, but it’s here that his obsession with evil spirits, and cleansing his children of them, got even worse. Whenever Garrit sensed that one of his children was ‘under,’ he required them to live outside for three days, without food. The beatings continued. Garrit  began using an invisible ‘spiritual sword’ to cut evil spirits from his children’s bodies. Whenever he stuck them with it, they had to pretend to lose consciousness. 


To make sure the family’s presence remained a secret, Josef surrounded the property with high fences and installed security cameras. When neighbors came over to welcome him, or to offer their help with the renovations, Josef waved them off. All in all, Josef the henchman actually spent very little time at the property. He slept in a trailer outside his workshop. When he did come to the farm, he interacted only with Garrit . Isolating the children was of the upmost importance. and At some point while the family was there, Garrit began telling them they are the only people left in the world. 

That hit Israel like a knife. Israel knew that couldn't be true. Though he hadn’t talked to his older siblings in years and missed them every day, he remembered hearing their stories about school. He heard them talk about other children who had parents. He knew that the world was out there, but he looked to his younger siblings. All of them stared at their father wide eyed when he said taht, and Israel could tell they believed him. And at that moment, Israel realized it was do or die.


There was a secret computer in the house, one that Josef would use, and Israel figured out how  to make it work. The internet became his portal to the outside world. But, at the same time, he heard the little voice in his head, the one his older brother heard when he left. The one that believed his father was an all-seeing, all-knowing Messiah. In a moment of panic, He confessed to his father he had been using the computer, and then suffered several punishing days living outside. Israel felt caught between his desire to explore and learn, and his duty to his father and their family’s mission.  


But he knew they couldn’t live this way forever. 


In 2016, Garrit suffered a stroke that left him bedridden and unable to speak. He named Israel the man of the house, and he became the point of contact for Josef, telling him what supplies the family needed. And it was during this time, when Israel saw his father in his weakened, bedridden state, that he started to feel like he was right. His father was not the messiah. How could a messiah not be able to get up from bed. His father always told him it was his mothers fault, her bad faith that gave her cancer and took her life. Well, what did this mean for his father then?


Israel began to see his father’s beliefs as what they were: a story. What’s outside, that’s what’s real. 


He begins to formulate a plan. 


Israel’s plan, after a short break


The process of figuring out his escape was torturous. Obviously, any steps Israel took toward reaching the outside world – , even any thoughts of the outside world according to Garrit – put Israel at risk of punishment. But worse, he faced betraying his family, the only people he had ever known. He had seen what happened to his siblings after their departure. They were considered traitors of the mission and of the family. They were never to be spoken of, and when they were, it was only with absolute hatred. 


And Israel was considering doing something even more drastic than escaping. He wanted to help his siblings, too. But he knew the only way to do that was by exposing Garrit, and removing his siblings from his controlling lifestyle. Israel had to blow everything up. 


At first, Israel fantasized about somehow being able to contact the authorities and arranging a rescue without his siblings ever finding out that he was behind it. He wanted to find some way for him to help everyone escape without alienating them. Garrit ’s health got more fragile around this time as well: he started having seizures and trouble breathing. Israel thought about how Garrit ’s death would solve everything, and they could finally be free. But he hated himself for thinking this way – only a terrible person would wish death on his own father. And plus, that didn’t solve for the issue of Joseph, Garrit’s right hand man who was still trying to ensure the children were never free.


After months of agonizing over the next step, Israel got a lucky break. One day, Garrit called Israel over with a shaky hand, and  asked the boy to order some expensive medical equipment. While Israel was out, he bought a smart phone hoping that the addition wouldn’t be noticed on such a large bill. It worked, no one noticed that he had the phone – finally, Israel had a way to contact the police. 


He was able to figure out how to send emails on the phone, and he reached out to the authorities with reports about Garrit ’s physical abuse. But the response advised him to call the police station – something Israel couldn’t do safely from the farmhouse, someone would hear him on the phone. He tried again with a tip about possible money laundering. He’d seen large amounts of cash around the house. But it was the same response: a follow-up call is required. 


So by October 2019, Israel decided to do something more drastic: He was going to leave the farm. 


Like his siblings, Israel decided to sneak out at night, when he was least likely to be missed. He walked into the village of Ruinerwold, and came upon Kastelein Cafe. It was the neighborhood spot, and it was full of locals enjoying an evening beer. Israel just stood outside, watching. The people inside were smiling, they were happy. They weren’t worried about evil spirits or abuse, they were having a drink with their friends. Israel was right, he and his siblings were not the only people in the world. 


And that gets us to where we started the story, with Israel talking to the police officer, who could hardly believe what he was hearing. 


But the officer couldn’t look Israel up in his system to confirm anything the boy was saying, because Israel didn’t exist in any system, he was a totally unregistered person, so the officer said they have to go back to the station and confirm his story. 


So they had him get in the back of their car and started driving him. Israel was finally able to put his head down and relax a bit. He closed his eyes, knowing this would all be over soon, when all of a sudden, he heard a familiar crunch of dirt underneath the car tires, and the car started jostling like it’s offroading. His eyes shot open, and he saw that the officers were bringing him back to his family's property. 


He screamed that he can’t go back, but the officers say they couldn’t do anything until they verify his story, and they made him get out of the car. 


So Israel waited at the edge of the dirt road leading to the property, he figured he could stay there until morning and then figure out what to do, when He saw something that made his blood run cold: a flashlight shining out of one of the windows. This meant that they were looking for him. There was no way he could go back now. So he just took off running in the other direction.


Btu He had no idea where to go. He wandered onto an overpass, and considered jumping. He had no way to imagine what his future could possibly look like. It was a complete unknown in every way. But then he thought of his younger siblings and he chose to keep walking.


Eventually, he found a police station, and an officer brought him inside. They wanted to interview him again, but Israel started panicking and was having trouble recalling details. He totally shut down… until he saw a familiar face enter the station. His brother, Edino.  

Soon after, the other siblings rushed into the station, and the four oldest were all together again: Israel, Edino, Mar Jan(Mar-Yon)  and Shin. Everyone was overwhelmed by the emotions: Israel, unsure how much they’d be willing to help, the others worried that Israel felt abandoned, or angry that they didn’t track him down sooner. In fact, the three oldest all knew where the rest of the family was, and tried to see them, but Garrit  would never allow them access to the other kids. 


The following day, October 15, 2019, the police raided the farmhouse. They discovered the hidden living space, the five siblings, ages 18-25, and Garrit, inside. Josef also happened to be on the property. The five young people appeared in good physical health, but some of their speech was difficult to understand. According to some sources, a few of them were unable to speak at all. Within the next few days, Garrit and Josef are both arrested, and the five youngest siblings were put into protective custody. Their identities have never been released. 


The following year was a difficult combination of healing and new wounds for Israel. He got his first ID, met more relatives for the first time, relatives who had no idea what was happening to him, and hosted his own birthday party. But his fear of alienating his siblings came true. The younger siblings didn’t agree with Garrit’s imprisonment.  They decided to adhere to the lifestyle he preached – just without him. They claimed that Garrit  was innocent of the crimes he was charged with: money laundering, assault and false imprisonment. 

It’s heartbreaking to hear that, but think of how brainwashed they were. I can understand how a person who was raised thinking the world didn’t exist would be afraid to go out and join the world. They probably wanted to do what was familiar and safe to them.


After a lengthy and draining pretrial process, the court determined that Garrit could not stand trial. Because he could not speak due to the stroke, he could not adequately defend himself. So, he was released, and returned to living with his five youngest children in March 2021. 


But there’s a little hope in the end of this story. Within two months of Garrit rejoining the family, some of the five children reported more misconduct from Garrit. It seemed like a switch may have flipped in some of them, and they realized what their father was doing was not ok. Given his condition, authorities relocated him to a state-run facility, far away from the children. 


And then, in June of 2022, Josef was found guilty of imprisonment and sentenced to three years in prison. 


In December 2022, Israel published a book about his life. As far as I can tell, it’s only been published in Dutch, but it’s sold well. People in the Netherlands were incredibly curious to learn about his experience, and it was really healing for Israel to be able to put it all down on paper.


He plans to continue writing, hoping to be a writer one day. And he’s also studying sociology at Utrecht University.


Though Israel spent the first 25 years of his life as a captive of his fathers delusional beliefs, it didn’t take him much time at all to start reclaiming his life. He became so curious about the world that he was told for so long to be afraid of. Its like he knows it’s not a bad place, he was just put in a bad situation. 


He knew that escaping the bunker was going to put his relationship with his siblings at risk, but today, He says he has a good relationship with all of the siblings, even the younger ones that were more hesitant to venture out into the world. but that he never plans on seeing Garrit ever again. 


So remember, just like Israel did. No matter what people are telling you, no matter what the voice in your head says, no matter how many doubts mount up inside of you. You are not alone, you are not the only person in the world. Somewhere there is a metaphorical pub full of smiling, happy people who all want to help you, you just have to trust that there is. 


Kaelyn Moore
Previous

Folklore's Most Wicked Witches
Next

The Disturbing World Of Youtube Family Channels