Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

Vancouver Man, Missing For 5 Years, Found Wandering In Brazil After Walking Through 10 Countries

Darpan News Desk IANS, 09 Feb, 2017 01:29 PM
    A Canadian man who has been missing for five years has been found more than 6,500 miles away in the Amazon jungle.
     
    Anton Pilipa trekked across two continents, walking mostly barefoot with just the clothes on his back, after he disappeared from his Vancouver home in 2012.
     
    His family spent years desperately searching for the former humanitarian worker, who suffers from suspected schizophrenia, and had almost given up hope when they got a call out of the blue.
     
    A Canadian-born Brazilian cop spotted Pilipa, who she initially mistook for a beggar, shuffling down a dirt track in bare feet, and dirty, unwashed Bermuda shorts and a vest. He had no passport and any form of identification.
     
    Incredibly, with help of several international agencies and embassies, she was able to track down his family who flew down to be reunited with their lost loved one.
     
    Anton, who has been placed back on his schizophrenia medication, traveled through at least ten countries from Canada, including the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil - all without a passport and with little more than the clothes in his back.
     
    His brother said he had one bizarre mission; to get to the National Library of Buenos Aires in Argentina. 
     
     
    Tragically, when he finally made it to the library, after walking thousands of miles, he was turned away because he didn't have any identification. So he turned around and began his trek into Brazil where he would eventually be found.  
     
     
    He described how he survived by picking fruits and berries, scrounging for food and clothes in the trash, and relied on the generosity of strangers. 
     
    But that's not to say times weren't tough. Anton started off with a small bag of belongings but was robbed of what little he did have on several occasions during his trek.
     
     
    While walking 800km alone through the dangerous Amazon jungle, filled with poisonous spiders, snakes, caiman - which can grow up to 20ft long and jaguar - all his toenails dropped off.
     
    Yet, while he met some 'bad people' on his incredible 10,000 mile journey, he said he had 'received more generosity, especially in recent times.' 
     
    'I've never felt alone,' he said. 'It's been a lot of thinking for years, sleeping in the open. It's very simple to live, we do not need many things.' 
     
    But after years on the road, Stefan said he was shocked by his brother's appearance.
     
    'He looked pretty rough,' he said after flying out to Manaus last month to collect his brother. 'The rigors of his journey took a toll on his body and face. And he had a lot more hair than last time I saw him.'
     
    The married dad said his brother's health was starting to deteriorate in the Brazilian mental institute where he was being held waiting for his family to collect him.
     
    'We got him just in time.'
     
    'I know that I am very lucky to be alive,' Anton told the BBC. 'I am very happy to be able to return to my family.'
     
    While Anton walked most of the 10,000 mile trip, he would occasionally get a ride or stowaway in a truck.
     
    But mostly, he kept himself to himself, barely speaking to another human being in five years. He still speaks almost no Spanish or Portuguese.  
     
    Anton, who was described as an individualist, was diagnosed with schizophrenia several years ago but his family say they struggled to find him the help he required in the two years before his disappearance.
     
    Before his illness, he had worked all over Canada for humanitarian relief organizations.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Halifax Police Will Not Participate In Pride Parade Amid 'National Debate'

    Halifax Police Will Not Participate In Pride Parade Amid 'National Debate'
    A news release from Halifax Regional Police says the decision was made after several months of discussions with Halifax Pride.

    Halifax Police Will Not Participate In Pride Parade Amid 'National Debate'

    Car Hits Lightpost, Destroys Fence, Then Slams Into Home In Central Alberta

    Car Hits Lightpost, Destroys Fence, Then Slams Into Home In Central Alberta
    An elderly couple were taken to hospital with undisclosed injuries after their car lost control and slammed into a garage and a home in central Alberta.

    Car Hits Lightpost, Destroys Fence, Then Slams Into Home In Central Alberta

    Bison Again Roam Banff National Park After Century-long Absence

    Bison Again Roam Banff National Park After Century-long Absence
    BANFF, Alta. — Bison have returned to Banff National Park after more than a century-long absence.

    Bison Again Roam Banff National Park After Century-long Absence

    Toronto Man Sues Neighbour, Animal Group After His Dog Was Allegedly Killed By Pit Bull

    Toronto Man Sues Neighbour, Animal Group After His Dog Was Allegedly Killed By Pit Bull
    Jon Dunnill wants justice for April, his 12-year-old Havanese dog that was killed by a neighbour's dog that he says was a pit bull — a breed banned in Ontario.

    Toronto Man Sues Neighbour, Animal Group After His Dog Was Allegedly Killed By Pit Bull

    Blast Of Winter Smashes Snowfall Records In Abbotsford, Vancouver

    ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Snowfall records across southern British Columbia are falling as a winter storm continues to wallop the region.

    Blast Of Winter Smashes Snowfall Records In Abbotsford, Vancouver

    Metis Teen Who Died In Care Abandoned By B.C.’s Child-Welfare System: Watchdog

    Metis Teen Who Died In Care Abandoned By B.C.’s Child-Welfare System: Watchdog
    British Columbia's incoming children's watchdog says an 18-year-old Metis teen in government care was abandoned by the system and took his own life as an act of desperation.

    Metis Teen Who Died In Care Abandoned By B.C.’s Child-Welfare System: Watchdog