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Society
Photo: DPA

Naked monk in woods 'had eaten bad berries'

Published: 11 Sep 12 14:26 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20120911-44897.html

A Bavarian hiker who called the police after coming across a naked man staggering around in the woods, might have saved his life – it turns out he was a monk who had eaten poisonous berries.

Police in Unterwössen near Traunstein, took a call last Thursday evening from the worried walker, the TZ newspaper reported.

The hiker said he had tried to help the naked man but he had refused all offers of assistance and wandered off.

Officers went into the forest to track him down – luckily not taking long to find the man and persuading him to go with them.

They said he was disoriented and cold, and took him to hospital.

It was later discovered that he was a monk from the Traunstein area who had set off on an expedition with his bicycle and tent, planning to be in the countryside for several days.

But it seems he had eaten toxic berries which had given him hallucinations and partial paralysis. He failed to find his way back to his tent, ending up instead wandering around aimlessly.

It remains a mystery how he came to be naked.

The Local/hc

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

15:10 September 11, 2012 by fmkhawaja
loved the last sentence... what an epic mystery!
15:27 September 11, 2012 by markoneill
I agree! The last sentence is epic :-)

Better not go to Unterwössen - you might get accosted by naked monks hallucinating on berries :-)
17:09 September 11, 2012 by Englishted
Magic berries ,the new trend to take over mushrooms?
18:44 September 11, 2012 by parografik
"It remains a mystery how he came to be naked" A phrase uttered all too often.
18:53 September 11, 2012 by BobbyDigital
What was the name of those berries again?
21:48 September 11, 2012 by Lisa Rusbridge
Probably easier than licking a poisonous toad. At least berries don't hop around. Not usually.
10:52 September 12, 2012 by Englishted
@Lisa Rusbridge

They do after you have taken a few .
13:19 September 12, 2012 by Katinkaxx
"What was the name of those berries again? "

LOL. The police report says "Tollkirschen" (atropa). That's the group of plants to which Belladonna/Deadly Nightshade belongs. One of the effects of Belladonna poisoning is feeling hot, which would explain why he undressed. As funny as the story sounds, his condition was actually quite serious.

http://www.br.de/polizeireport/inhalt/oberbayern/polizei-312.html
17:17 September 12, 2012 by luckylongshot
If you go down to the woods today you're in for a big surprise....naked stoned monks!
01:52 September 16, 2012 by ramco2
He was really a member of the British Royality
09:43 September 23, 2012 by Landmine
Beware on naked monks high on local fruits lol.....
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