A few years ago, one piece of news caused quite a stir in the media and social networks in Canada and the United States. So what happened? This will be our story.
Canadian Anton Pilipa went missing in Vancouver back in 2012. One fine day, he just went out of the house to the store on the corner of the house and no one saw him again. During this time, all his relatives did not find a place for themselves and tried to find out the whereabouts of the guy.
But year after year passed, and the searches did not bring results. The guy went out without money, except for a couple of dollars, without documents and even a phone. It seemed that the hope of finding Anton had long faded, but one day a strange message appeared on Twitter of Stefan, Anton's brother.
It came from a certain Heliness Videgal, who introduced herself as a Brazilian police officer. She assured that Anton was in the hospital and he needed the help of his relatives. He was found wandering on the highway. Without answering the questions clearly, he was taken to a place where he received medical and psychological assistance.
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At first, this message confused Stefan. How could Anton be so far from home? This is probably just a stupid joke, Stefan thought. But when he got the photo, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was definitely Anton, who disappeared many years ago.
Without wasting a minute, the guy urgently flew to Brazil for his brother. The agony of anxiety and suffering for the Pilip family came to an end. But it turned out that, having regained consciousness, Anton escaped from the hospital, and his tracks led to the jungle area, where dangerous predators lived.
A new round of anxiety reappeared among the police and his family. But this time, the guy was found soon and now he was under the strict supervision of his older brother.
After being discharged from the hospital, the brothers returned home to Canada, where relatives and friends were eagerly awaiting them at home. But how did it happen that Anton ended up in Brazil? How did he survive without money and food?
Police searched for him across the country, sending hundreds of inquiries and thousands of referrals. He was shown on the national media, but searches were unsuccessful. No one expected the guy to be able to cross the border without drawing attention to himself.
It's hard to believe, but in six years of his travel, he covered more than 10 thousand kilometers, crossed the borders of 10 countries, and all this on foot without shoes.
The traveler lived by picking berries on the way and begging, spending the night wherever he could, now in the forest, now by the road. I got my clothes from old rags. He had neither a passport nor any other documents with him.
As it turned out later, Anton suffers from a mental illness. And the fact that he survived is a great miracle. Even an experienced traveler is not capable of such a thing, but what can one say about a young man, without preparation.
Now Anton Pilipa lives in Canada and takes medications that allow him to lead a more or less normal life. He has gaps in his memory and therefore he cannot explain many points. In his words, he just walked right along the road.
The guy's family hopes that soon his memory will be restored and he will tell about his adventures. Stefan, Anton's older brother, said, “Now the most important thing is to support him so that he can return to normal life. I didn't even hope that my brother was alive, this is a great gift for our family. I'm sure things will work out in the near future. It’s hard to believe,”Stefan says,“how is it even possible, barefoot, on a dusty road, day and night to overcome a distance of more than 10 thousand kilometers, pass through 10 countries without a passport and money.”
But as we can see, miracles happen. As Anton's relatives say, “we didn't even hope, 6 years is a very long time, probably we have all come to terms a long time ago”.
But as this story shows, you never need to give up hope and even long-lost people can return home one day.