Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - Missing for 27 years!

Episode Date: May 16, 2024

Welcome to the untamed realm of the world's Wild Wild Web!  On this edition we discuss a man who vanished in 1997 is found 300 metres from his home... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A man who was lost at 17 years old has been found 27 years later. Welcome to the untamed realm of the world's wide web. A swirling vortex of weirdness, bullying and self-obsessed social media posts. In this digital jungle, Jono and Vienna are your fearless guides. Leading you through the wildest parts of the Wild Wild Web. This is the Wild Wild Web. Welcome along to another edition of the Wild Wild Web, where we take a story that we've seen from the internet,

and who knows where we take the conversation afterwards. This one is wild, Megan. You mentioned this when we were doing the missionary radio show throughout the day, and yeah, pretty unbelievable. This is one of the ones that you know they're going to make like a Netflix doco about it. Because this man was 17 years old in Algeria. He was walking home from school and he went missing. So his parents have spent their life, literally because his mum's passed away in 2013,

they've spent their life not knowing what happened to him. Where did he go? Did he get kidnapped? Did he die? And 27 years later, he's been found 300 metres from his home. What? And he is very much alive. He was taken by their neighbour.

And he has been kept in their home behind like a trap door. And what they describe as like a sheep's pen so he's been in there for 27 years what for for dastardly reasons or just it doesn't go into details but he uh he was kept captive and he said he never wanted to call out because he just felt like he would get in trouble or something bad would happen to him if he did but had he sorry what year did he go missing uh 1997 not what and last sunday he's been found he's been found you know how i'm sorry to ask you questions on the spot because i know you probably haven't read it how was he found so i don't know why but the police searched this place right and they found him behind the trap door so i don't know that a good thing they were still doing investigations

because you think they were given up by then. Were they looking for him? Well, maybe they weren't. Maybe they'd given up looking for him. Surely it was cold case. But then maybe someone might have alerted to something strange going on in their household and that's what they discovered. So, lived in a cellar for that long?

Since 1997? Yeah. Oh, my God. So, the guy is obviously being prosecuted, the neighbor. Horrible. And he's just lost, I mean, like that huge chunk of his life. Yeah. He's 40.

Does that make sense? 45? Does that check out? Something like that. He doesn't mess anyone up. Yeah, he's 45. Going through that situation. Jeez, he must have Stockholm Syndrome.

Yeah. And he got out and being told, like, his family, his mum and dad are dead. So they died with hope, but didn't know what happened to them. But not knowing they're still alive. And he was still alive, but he was 300 metres away from them for 27 years. Jesus. I know. How do you even go back to any sort of life after living in that kind of space for 27 years?

Well, like you say, a Netflix stocker, surely in the making. Hopefully, it's a very tiny consolation. This person gets millions of dollars for their story. Yeah. It deserves that after having all that life

taken away from him. But yeah, horrible, horrible situation. And like, it would have never had a job. So what does he do now? It's uh kind of similar field but a lot different uh we spoke to someone who'd fled gloria vale yeah and them trying to immerse themselves into normal society yeah they said it was a bit of a challenge yeah it would be right prisoners say the same thing right assimilation back into normal life is really hard. There's also, on the other end of the scale,

I was reading about this guy, I just Googled it again. This guy, they call him the silent man in the UK. Now, he goes out onto the road and just basically stands there disrupting traffic and disrupting, never says anything when he gets arrested and stuff, and he goes to jail. But the reason he does it is to go to jail. Because he doesn't know how to live in society.

Yeah, and he thinks it's better for him there. Apparently he talks all the time until he does this thing and he comes back out and he will not say anything. So he'll talk in prison. Yeah, when he's out of prison to whatever, but he'll just go to basically intentionally go back into jail just because he gets better treated than his life on the streets. the streets i suppose you get meals you got a roof over your head he's been repeatedly arrested multiple times probably got friends there yeah yeah and refuses

to go when they leave him so he causes a intentional scene to to go back into prison crazy horrible what's the shawshank redemption today have you seen that movie yeah i've seen that for a while it's still a really good movie Isn't it Yeah So And a lot of them When they get out of prison They don't know how to You know

Don't know how to act You know Yeah So It'll be tough But like looking at These pictures of where He was found

I don't know how he survived Because it doesn't look like He had much daylight He didn't have much light In this little Behind the trap door Jeez he's got a lot of stuff to become accustomed to. 1997, we've got a lot of stuff to introduce him to.

AI. And we're going to have to tell him about a few things as well. I know. We're like, hey, you know that guy Trump? He was president. He's going to go, what? And we're like, yeah, bro. What are you?

OK, so. Brittany was big back then with Hit Me Baby One More Time. It's like, oh, there's a ride just for you. Maybe don't follow her on Insta now, mate. Had to tell them about Insta. Insta wasn't around. Oh, no. I mean, Facebook.

What do you think's been the best, one best thing since 1997? Now, you can't say the internet because it was already sort of floating around in 1997. And you could argue that's a terrible thing at times. Not even social media because that drives me nuts. We're going to take a quick break from the Wild World Web. We'll be back shortly. What has been the greatest advancement since 97? I would say the cell phone.

I know it was around, but the everyday battler can have a cell phone is an absolute game changer, really. Because then that encompasses what you can do on your cell phone. And to the point where we don't need landlines. Yeah. Yeah. Probably. Probably a cell phone. For every person, the greatest leap would be the cell phone, surely.

You've got the little computer with you 24-7. I'm just looking online now. The greatest advancement since the 90s. They've got, little computer with you 24-7 I'm just looking online now the greatest advancement since the 90s they've got obviously the web they've said

text messages yeah like you say Sony Playstation yeah and Amazon where you can order stuff that's kind of wild how you can order stuff you know

that blows your mind online shopping yeah that's a huge I'm not saying it's the greatest advancement but that's a whole that's a huge thing

like Uber Eats and stuff come to your door even when supermarket goods get delivered to my house I'm still like it's the greatest advancement, but that's a whole. It's huge. That's a huge thing. Like Uber Eats and stuff come to your door. And still, even when supermarket goods get delivered to my house, I'm still like, oh, now I've got to put them in the cupboard. Do you get them delivered? Not all the time. High roller. Every now and then when I get them delivered.

I look at the delivery and I'm like, one day, one day I'm going to get my groceries delivered. You never had them delivered? Nah. Oh, treat yourself. I'm too much of a tight ass little treat, yeah. There's also the one you go pick up when they put it in the little lockers. Yeah. You know, I do that.

Yeah. Do the online groceries and go pick it up, but don't get it delivered. That's like. Sometimes they'll get you. Have the other half live. Yeah. Yeah. I don't do it all the time or anything, but sometimes you can get free delivery though.

So you get one of those and you can get a free delivery. I feel sorry for the truck driver though because that truck driver is just super all their job is supermarket groceries all day long

you know that's alright isn't it you just listen to podcasts drive around drop off groceries do a little lifting in and out yeah

probably good for you sometimes they leave other people's goods at your house and then what do you do they're like just keep them. I guess you can't really take it back because what about the Frozens?

Yeah. We ended up with a wild collection of stuff. We're like, hey, this is not our stuff. We don't really need it. And they're like, oh, it's honestly too much admin. Oh, really? Just take it. Too much admin to take it back, put it back in the system.

And was it weird getting someone else's grocery choices? It was like a little glimpse into some stranger's life. You're like, oh, okay, they've gone with that type of pasta. I see. When you stand at the checkout and watch what other people are getting, you're like, oh, yeah, never got that before. You kind of stay in your lane, don't you, with the weeklies? Yeah.

That's probably quite nice. Even now, again, you do try something of someone's. Like having a shower and I go, oh, what's my wife got here? I'll try that shampoo or something you're like oh this is nice or does she know no not normal

now and again she'll go that's quite low you know are you using my very expensive shampoo face wash on your very short hair

yeah things like that be like I'll just treat myself just give it a go this is what they do yeah it's good to know it's a moisturiser or something you know

it's nice to experiment does Andrew dip into your goods yeah he does it drives me nuts too but pretends he doesn't yeah moisturizer or something. It's nice to experiment those things. Does Andrew dip into your goods? Yeah, he does. It drives me nuts too. But pretends he doesn't? Yeah. Because I've got like, he's got very thick, curly, like African hair because he's from South Africa and he doesn't need it.

Like it's very healthy. Nothing is going to budge that hair. But sometimes he likes to treat himself. No, I'm like, also you cut your hair every two weeks. It doesn't need to be that healthy because you're going to cut it off. But he dips into my nice shampoo. Drives me wild. Yeah? Okay, I'm sure it goes back the other way.

You come clean. Like what? What are you using of his? Must be something. Nothing. Ah, nothing. Nothing at all. He doesn't even have a razor that I use. I also don't need to use a razor. Laser. Full body laser.

Tell you what, it annoys me. Not a pube in her household, she says. Not a pube in her household. Not one. Not at all. Two very young kids. Me and Andrew. Tell you what, my wife often wears my hoodies and sweatshirts.

And that's fine. I don't mind that. It's fine. Andrew doesn't let me do that because he's like, you put boobie marks in it. Well, what frustrates me, though, she always pulls up the sleeves. All the time, she's always pulling up the sleeves. And that's fine. But they always stretch.

Once you stretch the bottom end of your sleeves, there's no going back. Is she on that one? They're not going around the wrist. No, but no. No, she's got one similar. But I was like, every time I know, I'm like, where are my sweatshirts? Oh, I see it. She'll pull it right up, you know, wash her hands or whatever.

Stretching the wrists. And the like, she's not putting this. Stretching the wrist. And the wrist, they don't form back around your wrist again later. She's like, you're always on about not pulling your sleeves up. Yeah. I'm like, no. Does she go all the way up to elbow? Yeah, sometimes quite, yeah.

And I'm like, you know, she'll be doing something. And I'm like, oh, God, she's got my sweatshirt on. Apparently, I leave boobie marks. I don't know how that's possible. They're not there. What, so like the... A little indent sort of thing. I hadn't thought about that, but yeah. No, Mike, they're not there, you.

You don't have boobie marks on that hoodie, do you? No, no, don't leave me out. No, one more thing to worry about before I swing a hoodie. Suck your boobies out. Oh, now you're leaving boobie marks. On my hoodie. Oh, well, on there, on that boobies in. Oh, now you're leaving boobie marks. On my hoodie. Oh, well, on there, on that boobie mark.

I always love when we finish. So when we started with our horrific kidnapping, it really sucked the air out of the room. All the way through, I was like, how are we going to lighten this up? I know, because it was horrific. How do we change gear? It was really horrific. Yeah, we managed to.

And then we talked about, yeah, now we know. Now that he's out, if he gets a partner, you have to look out for that. Oh, that's all right. I bet he's been through a lot. That's probably the least of his worries. Yeah, yeah. He's like, fine, whatever you stretch the sleeves,

it's all good. Yeah, we'll have a wonderful day. And we'll be back with the Wild Wild Weave in a couple of days. Look after yourself.