Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries - 90: Trapped: Man Kept Family in Secret Room For Years Waiting For The End Of The World

Episode Date: November 14, 2024

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.

A bartender working at Costellan Cafe was about to start closing down for the night when he noticed that there was a man standing nervously outside. Through the glass door he could see that the man had long unkempt hair and a scraggly beard, his clothes were tattered and dirty. The bartender tried to figure out who this old man was. They were in the small village of Roenerwald 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 3,000 residents. Just then, the unkempt man pushed through the door and grabbed a seat at the bar.

In a quiet and unsure voice, he ordered five beers, all to be brought out at once. At this point, the bartender was a little concerned. See, 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 of his eyes, which made him look much older. One by one, the man at the bar downed the five beers

without saying a word. It was starting to get 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 von Dorsten, and my father has been keeping me and my five siblings in a bunker underground for the last nine 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 that he's maybe 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 nine years, was 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. And as always, listener discretion is advised. This is Heart Starts Pounding, a podcast of horrors, hauntings, and mysteries. As always, I'm your host, Kaila 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 who 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 eyewitness 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're 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'm always on the lookout for our listener stories episodes. Just go to heartstartspounding.com backslash stories and send it in or check the link in the description. But for now, I wanna take you all the way back to the start of Israel's journey. This episode is brought to you by Create. So maybe you're like me and you like working out, but you were always a little intimidated by supplements like creatine.

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meaning someone would probably come looking for him anytime now. He didn't know what would happen once they realized he was missing, but he knew it wouldn't be good. An officer whipped out a piece of paper. The 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 this is what he told him. So he was born in 1994 in his family's townhouse in Hasselt, a small town in the Netherlands. The way his life started was actually much different than the way his life ended up. So 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, Harit 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 Harit, the most important thing was for Israel and eventually his five younger siblings to be born at home. If that cost his wife her life, then so be it. Harit was a stubborn man 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 a gruff voice, and according to those neighbors, the children's mother seemed like she was pretty afraid of him. They said that she seldom left the house, even to just stand on the front stoop, and on the rare occasions where she did step out, she would run back inside as soon as she heard him coming, like she didn't want Harit to catch her out there at all. It was the same with Israel's three older siblings,

Shin, Maryan, and Edeno. 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 really 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 two, maybe three kids, but the von

Dorsten family just kept growing. Their small townhome was quickly overflowing with nine children. One day, a standoffish and reclusive man named Joseph Brunner moved into the townhouse next to the von Dorsten's. Joseph was a handyman and just a few years younger than Harit, and the two quickly struck up a friendship. So neighbors were shocked to see that within just a few days, the von Dorsten's removed the fence dividing their backyards and they cut a hole in the wall between the two homes so that they were

fully conjoined with Joseph's house. 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 was hearing. What was your mother doing during all of this? He asked. She was listening to my father, Israel responded. And your mother, what was her name? The officer asked. Hai 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. Your mother was an Austrian woman with the name Haijin Moon. The officer was pretty 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 the reason his father believed that there were so many evil

influences in the world. Let me explain. So Harit's bizarre self-made belief system developed over several years, but it seemed 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 them. Without getting too in the weeds here, the Unification Church is based on the idea that the 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 these arranged marriages

that were sealed during mass weddings. And a mass wedding is exactly what it sounds like. Hundreds of couples would stand in a giant gymnasium, some who had never met before, and the leaders would marry them all in one large ceremony. It's truly bizarre to witness. So Israel's parents were married during one of those 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 Haejin Moon. So yes, it is weird that his mother had a Korean name, but I bet you weren't expecting it to be as weird as it actually is. Harit 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 he 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 and in order to do that Harit 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, Harit insisted that they spend as much time inside the house and under his control as humanly possible. But the older his kids got, the harder it was for Harit to keep them inside all day. Israel's three older siblings, Shin, Marjan, and Edino, all

attended public school because it was mandated by the country. And because they had birth certificates, if they didn't go to school, someone would come check on them. Harit resented that he was not allowed to teach his children 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, Harit could make sure none of them were registered and therefore they wouldn't have to attend school.

Maintaining that life outside of the law required absolute secrecy. for they wouldn't have to attend school. Maintaining that life outside of the law required absolute secrecy. So around 1999, when Israel was five and his older siblings were six to 10 years old, Harit sat them down in front of a video camera and he gave them a terrifying warning. All three of the older children sat side by side

staring into the lens, looking terrified. Harit informed them that they were never allowed to talk about their younger siblings at school, including Israel. They couldn't even hint that they had other siblings. If any of their teachers or school administrators caught wind of this secret, Harit warned them that they would be responsible for sending their daddy to jail. And 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 where he wasn't allowed to sleep, but was forced to continue witnessing his father's revelations. Harit 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, and then he asked them to share whatever message they received from God. If the children didn't relay something Harit agreed with, like if they talked about their

dreams for a future career as a lawyer or professional athlete for example, Harit would insult them and would order them to continue praying. career as a lawyer or professional athlete for example, Harit would insult them and would order them to continue praying. Israel said 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. Their dad considered the outside world to be toxic, so he fixated on how that manifested in his oldest three children.

They dreaded being told that they were, quote, under, which meant under the influence of an evil spirit. When Harit looked at Maryan a certain way, she knew it meant he saw an evil spirit in her. Then he would force her to be isolated, kind of like a quarantine. According to Harit, 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. When he would put them in isolation, the children were expected to pray continuously, even overnight. No sleeping, just praying. At this time, Joseph became like a henchman to their dad, and he rigged up this labyrinth of custom nooks and crannies for the children to be isolated in the homes. So Edna remembered sleeping in a tiny space that Joseph had made out of plywood that kind

of looked like a closet. Marjan said she spent a lot of time in the attic. At one point around 2001, Harit banished Shin outside into a shed where he slept in a dog kennel. According to Shin's siblings, this period of isolation lasted for a year. But that period of isolation really broke Shin. And he was 12 years old when he got so desperate that he ran away from the house with a pocket knife.

He said that he planned on killing himself, but just couldn't go through with it. Instead, he turned around and returned to the dog kennel. Over time, their dad became more and more afraid of bad spirits infiltrating the home, so he started using other punishments as a way to keep them out. Shin remembered being forced to spend hours in a cold bath. All three of the oldest children remember being choked until they passed out. They were dragged by their hair and they were repeatedly hit on the head. There was also public humiliation, yelling, insults, even literal mudslinging occurred.

Edno remembered 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. Harit even started incorporating violence into his preaching. In one session that was recorded to video, Harit misled one of the younger kids, a girl who looked about 3 or four at the time, by giving her compliments.

And then out of nowhere, he just smacks her, knocking her to the floor. Then he proceeds to take a chair, demonstrating to the other children that this is how an evil spirit could mislead them. The younger girl at that point in the video was holding back tears and she looks to her mother for support, but the mom just smiled back at the child, perhaps showing her support for the abuse and its lessons, or maybe modeling the behavior she thought would prevent the child from getting hurt again. Maybe it was a mixture of both, we don't really know.

But according to Israel and his older siblings, their mother never participated in the abuse, but she never tried to stop it either. As far as the children could tell, she seemed to share Harit's outlandish beliefs, and he would refer to her as Prime Mother, who was partnered to him as Prime Father. referred to her as Prime Mother, who was partnered to him as Prime Father. She would also do this strange thing where she would act like a spiritual conduit for Harit, allowing him to summon spirits that would inhabit her body and communicate with him and the children. For hours, sometimes even days it was said, the children's mother would disappear, replaced

by whatever spirit Harit brought into her body. It's really hard to hear about how their mother enabled this level of abuse, but Israel also recalled that she was sometimes sheltered from the storm of their father. She would make sure that everyone was fed and had clothes. She would even plan birthday celebrations for the children. But what none of the children realized is that as all of this was happening, as she was enabling the abuse, but also planning their birthday parties,

she was slowly dying of colon cancer. But because the family didn't believe in going to the doctor over time, she just started getting weaker and weaker and no one really knew what was happening. In 2004, when Israel was only 10 years old, she passed away. The children's only safe place was gone. This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. It's the season of giving thanks, and I feel like I have so many people in my life that I'm so thankful for, but there is one person that we don't get to think enough, and that's ourselves. This season, don't forget to send thanks to the people in your life,

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and just returning without her. Harit told the children that she was, quote, here with me now, whatever that meant. And eventually Israel has to figure out for himself that that meant she was dead. Harit didn't allow his children any space to grieve at this time. They were allowed to attend the cremation, but Israel and his siblings had to pretend that they were the children of another mourner. They weren't allowed to tell anyone that she was their mother because no one knew the Von Dorstens had more children after the three oldest. Then, one day, Harit tells the children that their mother's illness and death

were the result of her subpar faith. According to him, if she really believed strongly enough in God, she would still be alive. And then he demanded that the children stop referring to her as mom. In fact, he didn't want them to think about her at all because her lack of faith made her a bad influence and a detriment to their mission.

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

But that was also nothing compared to the abuse that followed this period of time. Without their mother there to stop the abuse and to serve as the spiritual conduit for Harit, he began asking Mar Yon and Edino to take on that role. The ritual was simple, he said. He would summon a spirit who would take over their body. Though, in a sickening twist, Harit would ask them to embody the spirit of their mother. This was traumatic for the children who were still grieving her death, but also because there was abuse that would follow.

See, with their mother's spirit inside of them, Harit expected them to act as she would act, as a mother to their siblings and also as a wife to their father. And while this was happening, the other younger children had to act like their mother had returned. Edino said that he once spent weeks with his mother's spirit inside of him. As time passes, as I'm sure you can imagine, the children start becoming even more isolated

from the world. So I wondered what they thought from the world. So I wondered what they thought of the world at this time because their father was telling them so many things, like that the world was ending. The oldest siblings all remembered going to school, so they knew that there was a whole world out there. But the younger siblings didn't go to school, and they had only heard stories from the older siblings about what the world looked like. They had heard stories about grocery stores and sleepovers and baseball games, but they never knew what those things actually were. Everything they did know was just what was in the house. When recalling these experiences as adults, Edeno, Marjan, and Israel all recognized that

they were playing pretend to appease Harit. They didn't truly believe that they were being embodied by outside spirits, and they knew that there were other people on the planet who didn't believe what their dad said and did. But that wasn't for their dad's lack of trying. Marjan remembered feeling afraid that Harit would call her out as a phony. She didn't seem to have the same fantastical ability that her mother and siblings had, but even though they knew what was happening

wasn't real, the psychological damage very much was. Israel said that he felt like a puppet that his father was playing with. Constantly pretending to be someone else was stripping him of his real identity, and he stopped knowing who he actually was. So the next five years between 2005 and 2010 were really tumultuous for the Von Dorstens. They moved twice, and the three oldest children started realizing that they were not going to return to school again. The one thing that was their escape, school, was now off the table. Harit's mental state was also becoming way more erratic and deranged. He would often tell Shin that if he wasn't registered with the government, he would kill

him. If there was no school, there wasn't going to be anyone to miss the kids, and they were really afraid of what Harit might do. Plus, the isolation periods were growing longer and longer. For Marion, Harit was making her spend almost all of her time in isolation away from her siblings. And it seems like that was her breaking point. If she couldn't be with her siblings, then she needed to get out of the house. She, remember, knew that there was a world out there full of people who weren't like her father. So one night in 2008 when she was 17 years old, she snuck out of the house and she was

able to find her way to their old house in Hasalt where she stayed until she got her footing but Israel never saw her after that. And Shin followed suit in 2009 when he was 21. By that point he and Edeno weren't living in the house anymore with the rest of the family. Instead, they were sleeping in a warehouse with Joseph, who was still acting as Harit's henchman. Like Marion, Shin recently reached a point where he was incredibly depressed and could

not stay any longer. So one night, he stole money from Joseph's wallet, filled a backpack with clothes, and he snuck out of the warehouse. Freedom was so close, he could finally go be with his sister. But as he was leaving, he said he heard a small voice inside of his head that wondered if he was ruining everything. It said, what if your father is really the Messiah? That's how brainwashed he was at this point. He was worried that if he left he would be responsible for his family failing in their mission to build God's world. But luckily he trusted his gut, ignored that voice, and he fled out into the night. In

2010, Edeno, who was 21 at the time, had to make the same difficult choice. He could tell that his father was planning another move for the family, and he worried that if they did that, it would make it way harder for them to escape. Plus, he had been in touch secretly with Marianne, and he saw that she was surviving.

Not thriving, but surviving. So one night, just like his brother, he escaped from Joseph's warehouse and he went and he found his siblings. Israel watched as all of this happened, as each of his older siblings left the home, but he couldn't bring himself to do the same thing. Remember, he didn't know much about the world that his siblings were leaving for. He never went to school and he was scared. He was scared that the world was actually like what his father had been telling him, that it was full of bad people and evil

spirits. And as the oldest children left the family, Harit started kind of freaking out. children left the family, Harit started kind of freaking out. Their departures, to him at least, represented the destruction of God's world, which was the exact opposite of his mission. And anytime something went wrong, he told his children that it was because of the older children's betrayal. So that left Israel and his younger siblings so afraid of leaving, and also feeling even more pressure to remain committed to their missions, because now the responsibility was all theirs. Over the course of 2010, Harit and Joseph prepared to move the family into their final phase, fully off-grid. They had lived in isolated houses up until this point, but Hart wanted

to take them even further away from the world, completely underground. To do this, Joseph rented a farmhouse just outside of a tiny village called Runerwald, one that didn't have any neighbors anywhere near it. It was fully remote. The landlords actually thought that he was just getting the property to live there alone. They had no idea that a family was going in with him. Harit, in the meantime, told Dutch authorities that he planned to move abroad and he deregistered as a citizen. He and his children officially did not exist, at least on paper. In August, the family relocated to the isolated farm property,

and at that point Israel was 16 and the youngest sibling was just nine. Joseph 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 actually revealed a staircase that led down to a network of rooms. And down there, there were no windows. The downstairs only included a few pieces of furniture.

There were no beds and no tables. The children would eat sitting on the floor and they all slept in sleeping bags. The children would eat sitting on the floor and they all slept in sleeping bags. That's how the remaining von Dorstens lived, hidden away from the outside world. The children were only allowed to leave the house with Harit's permission and just to do a few tasks, like tend to the farm's vegetable garden, take care of the animals, and do a couple of exercises. They couldn't leave for any other reason, not even to go to the store. Harit instructed Joseph on what supplies the family would need, and then Joseph would go

purchase it for them. And this move was supposed to keep his family safe, at least according to Harit. But it was here, in this house, that his obsession with evil spirits and cleansing his children of them would get even worse. Whenever Harit sensed that one of his children was under, he required them to live outside for three days without any food. And the beatings, of course, continued at this time. Harit began using an invisible spiritual sword to cut evil spirits from his children's bodies, and whenever he would

strike them with this invisible sword, they had to pretend to lose consciousness. And to make sure that the family's presence remained a secret, Joseph surrounded the property with high fences and installed security cameras. So when the neighbors came over to welcome him or to offer help with renovations, Joseph would just wave them off. All in all, Joseph the henchman actually spent very little time at the property.

He slept in a trailer outside of his workshop. And when he did come to the farm, he interacted only with Harit. He would not talk to the children. They were completely isolated from anyone. And at some point, while the family was there, Harit began telling them that they were the last people left in the world.

When Israel hears Harit say that they're the last people left, he knew that that couldn't be true. Though he hadn't talked to his older siblings in years and he missed them every day, he remembered hearing their stories about school. He heard them talk about other children who had parents. He knew that there was a world out there, but he looked to his younger siblings. All of them stared at their father with wide eyes when he said that,

and Israel could tell that they really believed him. And at that moment, Israel realized it was do or die. There was a secret computer in the house, actually, one that Joseph 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 still had that little voice in his head, the one that his older brother heard

when he left, one that believed his father really was this all-seeing messiah. So in a moment of panic panic he actually confessed to his father that he had been using the computer and then he 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 mission, but he knew that they couldn't live that way forever. In 2016, Harit actually suffered a really debilitating stroke that left him bedridden and unable to speak.

So he named Israel the man of the house. And at that point, Israel became the point of contact for Joseph, telling him what supplies the family needed and whatnot. And there, when Israel saw his father in his weakened bedridden state, he started thinking like he was right all along. Like his father really wasn't the Messiah.

How could a Messiah not be able to get up from bed to go to the bathroom? His father always told him that it was his mother's fault she got sick. It was her bad faith that gave her cancer and took her life. Well then what did that mean for his father's debilitating condition? So Israel began to see his father's beliefs for what they were. Just a story.

What's outside? That's what was real. And so he began to formulate a plan. This episode is brought to you by Quince. The weather is finally getting cooler. Just kidding. I'm in Texas and it was literally 87 degrees the other day, but that has not stopped me from ordering more cozy, cool weather clothing from Quince.

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Go to quince.com slash HSP for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash HSP to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash hsp. The process of figuring out his escape was torturous. Obviously any steps Israel took towards reaching the outside, even any thoughts of the outside world according to Harit, put Israel at risk of punishment.

But even worse, he faced betraying his siblings, the only people he had ever known. He had seen what happened to his older siblings after their departure. They were considered traitors to the mission and the family, and they were never spoken of. If they were, it was only with absolute hatred. And Israel was considering doing something even more drastic than escaping. He wanted to help everyone get out. But he knew that the only way to do that was by exposing his father and removing his siblings from their controlling lifestyle. He had to blow everything up. And at first, Israel kind of fantasized about somehow being able to contact authorities and arrange a rescue without his siblings ever finding out that he was the one to do

it. He wanted to find some way to help everyone escape without alienating himself. Over time, Herod's health was getting more fragile though, and he started having seizures and trouble breathing. And Israel really thought that Harit's death would solve everything, that they could finally be free. But he kind of hated himself for thinking that way. Only a terrible person would wish death on his own father.

And plus, that didn't solve for the issue of Joseph, who was still very much in the picture. He was still trying to ensure that the children would never be free. After months of agonizing over the next step, Israel got a lucky break. One day, Harit called him over with a shaky hand and he asked the boy to order some expensive medical equipment. And while Israel was out, he bought a smartphone, hoping that the addition wouldn't really be noticed on an already big bill.

And it worked. No one noticed that he had the phone. And finally he had a way to contact the police. He was able to figure out how to send emails on the phone, something he had never done before, and he reached out to the authorities with reports about Harret's physical abuse. But the response advised him to call the police station, something he couldn't safely do from the farmhouse because someone would definitely hear him on the phone. So he tried again with a tip about possible money laundering. He had seen large amounts of money around the house and so he thought maybe there was

something there, but he got the same exact response. A follow-up call was required. So by October of 2019, Israel decided he was going to do something more drastic. He was going to do something more drastic. He was going to leave the farm. Like his siblings, he decided to sneak out at night when he was the least likely to be missed. He ended up walking into the village of Runerwald and that's when he came upon the Callistan Cafe. It was the neighborhood spot full of locals enjoying an evening beer and 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 remember Israel didn't exist in any system. He was a totally unregistered person. So the officer said they were going to have to go back

to the station so they could confirm his story. So they had him get in the back of their car and they started driving him. Israel was finally able to put his head down and relax a little bit. He closed his eyes knowing that 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 was off-roading.

His eyes shot open, and he saw that the officers were bringing him back to his family's property. He screamed that he couldn't go back, but the officer said they couldn't do anything until they verified his story and they made him get out of the car at the edge of the property. So Israel just waited on the dirt road that led to the property. He figured he could maybe stay there until morning and then figure out what to do, when all of a sudden he saw something that made his blood run cold. There was a flashlight shining out of one of the windows.

That 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, but he had no idea where to go. He ended up wandering onto an overpass, and as he watched the other direction, but he had no idea where to go. He ended up wandering onto an overpass, and as he watched the cars below, he considered jumping. There was no way for him to imagine what his future could possibly look like. It was completely unknown in every way. But then, he starts thinking about his younger siblings, and chooses to keep walking to try and find safety.

Eventually he did find a police station and an officer brought him inside. They said they wanted to interview him again, but at that point Israel started panicking and he kind of started having trouble recalling details. It was like his body's way of protecting itself and he totally shut down. Until all of a sudden he saw a familiar face enter the station. It was his brother, Edeno.

Soon after, the other siblings rushed into the station and the four of them were all together again. Israel, Edeno, Marion, and Shin. Everyone was overwhelmed by the emotions. Israel was unsure how much they would be willing to help him and the others were worried that Israel felt abandoned by them or angry that they didn't try to track him down sooner. But in fact, the three oldest all knew where the rest of the family was. And they did actually try to see them. But Harit would never allow them access to the other kids. The following day, on October 15th, 2019, the police raided the farmhouse.

They discovered the living spaces, the five siblings ages 18 to 25 at that point, and Harit inside. Joseph also happened to be on the property then. Police said that the five young people appeared to be in good physical health, but some of their speech was difficult to understand. And according to some sources, a few of them were unable to speak at all. Within the next few days, Harit and Joseph were both arrested and the five youngest siblings were put into protective custody. Their identities have never been released. And the following year after that was a really difficult combination of healing and then new wounds for Israel. He got his first ID and he met more relatives for the first time ever, relatives who had no idea what was happening to

him. And he even hosted his own birthday party. But his fear of alienating his siblings did come true. The younger siblings did not agree with Harit's imprisonment, so they decided to adhere to the lifestyle that he preached just without him. They claimed that Harit was innocent of the crimes he was charged with like money laundering, assault, and false imprisonment. So it's really heartbreaking to hear that the siblings just went on living like they lived with their dad but on their own. But I can't help 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 join the world. They probably wanted to do what was familiar and felt safe to them. After a lengthy and draining pretrial process, the court determined that Harit could not stand trial. Because he couldn't speak due to the stroke, he couldn't adequately defend himself. So he was released and he returned to living with his five youngest children in March of 2021.

But, I will add, there is a little hope in the end of this story. Within two months of Harit rejoining the family, some of the five children reported that there was more misconduct from him. And it seemed like maybe a switch may have flipped in one of their brains and they realized that what their father was doing was actually not okay. And given Har Hart's condition, authorities decided to relocate him to a state-run facility far away from the children.

And then in June of 2022, Joseph was found guilty of imprisonment and sentenced to three years in prison. In December of 2022, Israel actually published a book about his life, and as far as I can tell it's only ever been published in Dutch, but it did sell pretty well. People in the Netherlands were incredibly curious to learn about his experience, and it was healing for Israel to be able to put it all down on paper.

He has said that he plans to keep writing, hoping to maybe be a writer one day, and he's also currently studying sociology at a university. Though Israel spent the first 25 years of his life as a captive of his father's 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. It's like he knew that the world wasn't a bad place. He was just put in a bad situation. And 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 he also said that he never plans on seeing Harit ever again. So remember, just like Israel did, no matter what people are telling you, no matter what the voice in your head says, and no matter how many doubts you have 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. Heart's Heart's Pounding is written and produced by me, Kayla Moore. Heart's Heart's Pounding is also produced by Matt Brown. Additional writing and research by Hannah McIntosh. Sound design and mix by Peachtree Sound. Special thanks to Travis Dunlap, Grayson Jernigan, the team at WME, and Ben Jaffe. Have a heart pounding story or a case request? Check out heartstartspounding.com.

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