Mushroom Foragers Find A Mysterious Stranger In The Woods

mushroom foragers find a mysterious stranger in the woods [Music] it was supposed to be an ordinary mushroom foraging expedition for two italian hikers when they decided to venture off the mark trail this decision would bring them face to face with something far stranger than fungi and thrust them into one of europe's most mysterious and unsold cases it was an ordinary day for two mushroom foragers as they explored the dense woods near italy's murama regional park near tuscany frustrated and unable to find their prized fungi the foragers decided to take a detour off the market trail and venture deeper into the wild the pair were now miles away from civilization as they trek deeper into the dark woods through the thick brush and trees as they search for edible mushrooms little did these mushroom foragers know that their simple escapade into the wilderness would thrust him into one of europe's most mysterious and unsolved cases as the foragers continued deeper into the woodlands they were soon met with something strange and unexpected though they were far from the nearest towns the floor seemed to be littered with garbage food wrappers plastic empty bottles and other forms of trash covered the forest floor someone had clearly been living there as the foragers pressed onward they noticed a tarpon makeshift tent they also saw jugs of water and more debris steps from the haphazard campsite the group saw it looked like a ramshackle hut in a forest clearing their confusion quickly became fear as they heard a rustling noise they were not alone it was too late the forager stood frozen in fear as a figure emerged from the wilderness in the daylight the group could see that it was a man close to middle age his beard was wild and unkempt and he looked like he hadn't bathed or groomed himself in years the forgers were stunned at the shaggy stranger's appearance and feared for their safety they immediately turned and ran from the sinister looking forest dweller now safely distance from the strange man the foragers decided to meet with the italian park rangers and tell them what they saw questions swirled in the minds of the foragers and park ranger who was this man and what was he doing in this part of the woods the group decided to venture back to where they encountered him this time with the assistance of local authorities once again they met with a disheveled man deep in the woods the man looked at the group and spoke i'm spanish my name is carlos and i've lived here for 20 years he told them according to the foragers the man seemed agitated and upset that his secluded home had been discovered the man could see the shock look on the hiker's face after hearing that he a spaniard had been living in the italian woods for decades while he declined to be photographed he did agree to show them documents proving his identity he procured two documents the only relics remaining from his former life though caked with dirt and torn the forgers could still make out what was written one document was a library card and the other was a school id both issued by the university of seville in spain according to his id the man was a medical student named carlos sanchez ortiz de salazar the foragers could sense the man's discovered at having to reveal his identity after presenting him with his identification he reportedly shouted to the foragers you found me now i'm leaving leave me alone the forgers were shocked why would he not want to be found or rescued with the help of social media carlos photos were quickly disseminated across the world in an effort to understand what happened to this spaniard shortly after the photos went public a connection was made in november 1996 a man with the same name had disappeared from the spanish city of seville the man who disappeared would have been middle-aged just like the stranger in the forest armed with new information the authorities returned to the campsite to further question the man hoping they could find a way to connect this stranger with a man who'd been missing for decades but it was too late all that remained were some camping supplies threadbare clothing in the tent carlos was gone the foragers recalled how the man had angrily shouted that he'd have to escape again after his hiding place had been discovered now they were more curious than ever to understand why a spaniard was living like a hermit in the deep italian woods water who was he escaping from carlos sanchez ortiz de salazar was born in the spanish city of bilbao but spent most of his life in a part of seville called casala de sierra he was the oldest of his four siblings one brother and two sisters and displayed a great interest in academics carlos was the son of a well-liked teacher and council member of spain's andalusian party carlos was often described as being very intelligent but very lonely he went on to study medicine at the university of seville carlos was interested in the fields of psychology and psychiatry so what went wrong shortly after graduating the young man became a licensed psychiatrist in spain as a doctor carlos was well regarded by his patients the quiet man was often referred to as responsible intelligent and was considered to be a gifted doctor but behind his polite exterior carlos was complicated despite appearances carlos had been suffering from depression depression can often affect a person's way of thinking in their behavior carlos despite having a specialized degree in mental health science hid his depression from his friends and family but for how long could he keep it up one day in november of 1996 carlos the beloved local doctor disappeared the 26 year old who'd always been described as responsible strangely didn't show up for work and was nowhere to be found carlos was gone and so was his favorite bike it soon became clear that the doctor who'd been suffering from severe depression wanted to escape his life for the next couple of years carlos traveled across europe sending his family the occasional letter this changed when carlos made a strange phone call from a russian city according to spanish newspaper el mundo carlos told his parents that he was fine and told him not to look for him by april 13th 1998 carlos's parents hadn't heard from their son following his cryptic phone call from russia telling them not to look for him concerned for his safety the family decided to get the spanish authorities involved who officially declared him a missing person without any leads or communication the family was forced to make the painful decision to declare carlos deceased according to spanish law a missing person can be declared legally dead after 10 years but carlos's mother still felt her son might be alive and requested a reopening of the case in 2009 a year after the 10 year mark little is known about where carlos sanchez ortiz de salazar traveled to after his phone call from russia it's believed not long after contacting his parents carlos traveled to the tuscan coast of italy there he set up camp in the murama forest near the towns of scarlino in calaviolina according to patricio biagini director of a nearby agricultural complex called brandit if you up there in the woods you become invisible he also recalled an event in which rescuers took almost two days of navigating the impenetrable woods to locate mushroom farmers despite knowing their location carlos was very well hidden park rangers sent to carlos's campsite were impressed by the man's drive to survive by using the bearish supplies rangers found three buckets used to collect rainwater a large tarp and a makeshift pantry filled with cans of food which rangers believe he collected from areas outside the park they suspect carlos was able to travel to the more populated areas under the cover of darkness the forest is full of natural food sources including wild boars birds berries and of course edible mushrooms carlos being a trained doctor would have known how to make the most of his surrounding resources in order to survive the mushroom hunters who encountered carlos were in the pursuit of edible mushrooms in an activity known as foraging this increasingly popular outdoor hobby has many medical professionals worried stories from around the world have reported people dying or being poisoned by wild mushrooms another risk of this activity is the threat of getting injured or lost fungi foragers often travel deep into remote woods and even dangerous environments going off marked trails or into unknown areas has led to many injuries or worse instead of finding their prized mushrooms many foragers have found their deaths in this case the foragers weren't sure what or whom they found while the foragers who found carlos sanchez ortiz de salazar may have been able to find their way back out of the forest mothers haven't been so lucky each year people around the world go missing in the woods never to be seen again luckily many heavily wooded areas are equipped with trained search and rescue teams who can quickly find hikers and foragers who've gone missing in 2019 a 75 year old washington woman disappeared after going foraging alone the woman named young vanata spent three days in the harsh conditions of the forest before being rescued alive the foragers who found carlos knew that it was something was strange about the spanish doctor living in the remote tuscan woods thousands of miles away from his country after they uploaded their pictures of carlos's documents word spread to a spanish organization called sos desperacidos disappeared sos desaparacitos a non-profit dedicated to finding missing people quickly reached out to a similar organization based in italy called the penelope association together the two organizations were able to locate carlos's family the family was in shock and immediately flew to italy where they met with antonio lascala the director of the penelope association which supports families of missing people carlos's disappearance was a top priority for the spanish non-profit sos disappearasiros disappeared the organization has been actively helping relatives of missing people since 2007 they helped disseminate images and information related to the missing across a variety of platforms according to an article in the spanish newspaper el pais it wasn't until 2013 that the interior ministry finally released a number estimating how many people have gone missing the article reported that about 800 people disappear every year near police reports unsolved carlos's case had long ago been put to rest but now it was reopened and possibly on the brink of being solved according to news outlets carlos's parents were both shocked and elated at the news their son was still alive after all those years they told reporters when they told us it was him it was as if our son had been reborn his parents were brought deep into the woods to see carlos's campsite while nervous they were very excited to see the proof showing their son was still alive unfortunately carlos wasn't there the man had kept his promise of disappearing again and hadn't been seen in the area for 15 days still his parents continued investigating strange circumstances involved in their son's disappearance and reappearance in the tuscan woods while carlos's disappearance emotionally affected many people close to him his parents had spent decades agonizing over his mysterious disappearance and presumed death after learning their son may have voluntarily gone to live off the grid they said they only want to see him and they'll leave him alone after that his sister is publicly thanked the spanish and italian organizations for their involvement in the case saying it gave hope to the family suffering from these tragedies meanwhile his mother has implored carlos to meet with him even briefly and if he wants we'll never see him again she told media outlets the case of dr carlos sanchez ortiz de salazar has raised interest in cases of people who choose to disappear from society according to an article in the estate times while missing children are almost always considered in danger due to their agent vulnerability adults of sound mind and body may legally decide to disappear while many people who go missing disappear against their will there are a number of people who choose to disappear into thin air so to speak to start over or escape certain circumstances but what about the families and loved ones these disappeared people leave behind while carlos sanchez ortiz de salazar may have succeeded in living off the grid others haven't been as lucky one of the most famous cases of someone wanting to disappear into the wilderness is the tragic story of the american hiker christopher mccandless mccandless like carlos was an accomplished student and well liked by his peers similarly little is known as to why mccandless decided to leave his family and life behind to live in the remote wilds of alaska however unlike carlos mccandless's story ended in tragedy his starved and decomposing body was found in an abandoned bus less than half a year after arriving in alaska in the united states adults who've been reported as missing and cannot be located by the police will be entered into the national crime information center or ncic database the database also records any relevant information or contacts related to the investigation in europe finding a missing person is much trickier until 2019 when amber alert europe was initiated there was little communication between european police forces to work together with their counterparts across the continent this lack of cross-border communication may have helped carlos escape spain but it also helps children and adults easily disappear against their will while the news that their son may be alive may have brought joy to carlos's family it also raised questions what happens when someone who's presumed to be dead suddenly re-emerges alive it turns out that countries have different laws regarding how long it takes before someone is declared dead in general most countries abide by the seven year common law in which a person can be declared dead if they've been missing or haven't made contact within the seven years other countries like spain and germany have a 10-year long while it can take up to 20 years to be declared officially dead in italy as word of the spanish hermit reached local and international media journalists descended upon the small towns bordering the forest where carlos is found locals began to share how they had seen the man occasionally sifting through the garbage presumably to add to the pantry found at the campsite one biker marco tabari recalled meeting carlos in the woods to barry described the former doctor he was shy and wasn't happy that someone had interrupted his loneliness park rangers also shared they'd seen him on occasion but kept their distance as the man seemed like a quiet person who didn't want to talk after learning that their son had been discovered carlos's family arrived in italy only to find that he'd fled once again on bicycle carlos's fascinating case had not only captured the attention of the italian media but of the world today the man declared by the spanish government as dead is still alive presumably stalking the remote woods of another european city while no news has emerged regarding his whereabouts his family remains undeterred although they've returned to spain they have remained in contact with italian authorities for carlos's family simply knowing that their son is alive after all these years gives them the strength to continue searching