Father and 15-year-old son of Amish-like family living off-grid arrested

The 47-year-old father of the self-described “early Christian” family living in the Corinthia municipality, Peloponnese, in a makeshift dwelling without modern rudimentary facilities, was arrested on Sunday for failure to comply with the compulsory education requirement for his three minor children.

The man resisted police checks, leading to his apprehension and transport to the local police station.

Following investigations, his 15-year-old son was located and transferred to a juvenile facility under a prosecutor’s order. 

Meanwhile, police, assisted by prosecutorial authorities, are searching for the suspect’s wife and mother of the children, as well as the remaining family members not found during Sunday’s extensive search. 

The seven-member family reportedly resided without access to electricity or running water in a shack with a 30-meter tunnel running beneath it, near the village of Manna in the Corinthia region. 

The parents have stated they have chosen to live away from the comforts of modern civilization, in burrows and caves akin to early communities. They self-characterize as an “early Christian community, similar to America’s Amish”

Police, with the assistance of social workers, are tasked with investigating the number of children in a community living in a specific area, whether their births have been reported as required by law, and who their parents are.

This inquiry follows an incident between the family and hunters last weekend.

Police had conducted an operation, seizing makeshift firearms, cartridges, bows, arrows, knives, and axes, and apprehending the parents and the two older children.