'Jungle Woman' Returns To Forest

A woman discovered living wild in the jungles of Cambodia three years ago has apparently returned to the forest.
According to police the woman, known as Rochom P'ngieng, went missing on Tuesday while bathing near her home in a village nearly 960 miles (600km) north-east of Phnom Penh.

Known in Cambodia as the "jungle woman", she was found living wild in 2007 after trying to steal a villager's food. She was wearing and no clothes and was said to have been hunched over like a monkey. At the time of her discovery, she was reportedly unable to speak, communicating in grunts and unintelligible words.
It was concluded she had been living wild for most of her life, and she is believed to now be 29 years old.

Sal Lou, who claims to be the woman's father, said: "There is no sign indicating that her disappearance could be foul play.

"I am sure she went back to the forest."

Mr Lou's family claim Miss P'ngieng was their long-lost daughter, who disappeared while herding buffalo in 1988 aged eight years old. "She tried several times before to leave home and live back in the forest but she could not," he said.

"This time her wish came true."

Police investigating the disappearance do not believe Miss P'ngieng has been kidnapped or killed. She was admitted to Rattanakiri provincial hospital last year for four days, apparently suffering from mental illness.






I think fair play to her, if she can get away with living in the jungle and is happy there then who are we to force her back into modern society.




[edit on 12-7-2010 by asala]

Great find, I heard many stories of boys being found after spending almost all their lives in forests/jungles, but it is the first time I hear about a woman experiencing this.

The shock for her, when she was found, must have been equivalent to what we would expect to feel if we were to be found by people with 3rd millennium technology...

And with the state the world is in, right now, she's probably much safer where she is now, hoping she did go to back to the jungle. Let's just hope her parents didn't get enough of her and do the unthinkable. Because once the novelty of the come back has settled down, the routine starts, and it must be hard, seeing they weren't at their prime...
Just my ATS side comin' out!

PS: I'm from Canada, but I've got Irish blood, too! Coamanagh's the original name, but apparently only from adoption. Still have to confirm real ancestor, tho.

To be honest given the state of the world right now I don't blame her , think I might join her.

I don't know about everyone else, but it's very tempting to run away and live in the jungle, at least for a while.