Doubts are being cast over the story of an English-speaking boy who claims to have lived in a German forest as he rejects help from authorities in finding out his identity.
The teenager turned up at Berlin City Hall over three weeks ago, saying he had been living in a forest for five years with his father, and walked north to Berlin when his father died.
However a Berlin Police spokesman told German media outlets that the boy didn't want any help in identifying who he is, and where he has come from.
Further doubts emerged after his tent was found in a better condition than would be expected after being in the forest for so long, and his health and appearance were also better than expected.
"He just doesn't look like a boy who lived in the forest for any amount of time. Maybe he is telling us a story that isn't true and that is why he doesn't want to go public," Berlin police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf told The Daily Telegraph. "He was clean and wearing clean clothes.
"His fingernails were well kept and his hands soft. Such things raise questions."
The 17-year-old, known as Ray, says he lived in the woods with his father for five years, following the death of his mother.
He claims to have buried his father in a shallow grave after he died, before making his own way to Berlin. But police investigations in southern Germany have failed to uncover any bodies.
The social worker supervising Ray's case, this week told Channel 4 News that Ray was in good health and would soon be assigned legal guardians.
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Germany woodland boy 'in good health'
26 September 2011 -
Mystery German woodland boy may be British
17 September 2011
