Re: Born in the bush
STORY <br />Local residents of Vernon, B.C. helping so-called 'bush boys' adapt to world<br /> <br />VERNON, B.C. (CP) - They're described as bright, decent and appreciative of help they've received so far. They're also emaciated panhandlers with no birth certificates or identification of any kind. <br /><br />The authorities, the Children's Ministry, local politicians and the RCMP have more questions than answers. The story has been the talk of the town in Vernon since a weekend newspaper report of two gaunt brothers who said they were raised in the bush near Revelstoke, B.C. <br /><br />The Green brothers, Tom, 22, and Will, 16, apparently found their way to the Vernon area in early summer and have been living there since, panhandling and living outside. <br /><br />A woman in Vernon noticed their plight about two months ago and left a note for them to contact her if they wanted help, city Coun. Pat Nicol, who is also involved in helping the brothers, said Monday. <br /><br />"She left notes for them and it took about two months before they saw that there was this person trying to help them," said Nicol. <br /><br />The boys finally contacted the woman about 16 days ago and she, Nicol and others found them accommodation in a local hotel. <br /><br />They have since moved into a home in Vernon, he said. <br /><br />A local lawyer has also become involved in trying to get some answers and assist the brothers. <br /><br />"I hope at some point there is contact between the parents and the young men," said Nicol. "The young men clearly like their parents. They are incredibly polite, incredibly decent and thankful." <br /><br />Andrew Little, spokesman for the Ministry of Children and Family Development, said the ministry has spoken with the 16-year-old. <br /><br />"We are seeing what's needed for them and we're trying to locate the parents now," he said. <br /><br />Rhelda Evans, a case worker for local Alliance MP Darrell Stinson, has talked to the young men. <br /><br />"If you ask about their parents they immediately will not give you any information." <br /><br />She described the pair as "quiet and very skittish. They don't want to give you any information, but they're very polite and very quiet spoken." <br /><br />They said they left Revelstoke early last summer and have been foraging and panhandling in the Vernon area. <br /><br />"They're very, very thin. Gaunt is the way that I would describe the younger boy especially." <br /><br />Evans isn't sure what to make of their story. <br /><br />"There are gaps that need to be filled. How would they know to ask for purified water and how would they know how to be a vegetarian if they had not had contact with the outside world?" she said in reference to their story of being told to leave home after they said they wanted to be vegetarians. <br /><br />The brothers said they have never been to school, watched TV, seen a doctor or had childhood friends. <br /><br />Evans said both can read and write and they said their mother taught them to read using books bought on trips out of the wilderness homestead.
