For most people, surviving for 40 days in the Amazon jungle would be the worst thing to ever happen to them. Heck, most people probably couldn't survive for 40 days in the Amazon.
But for four Indigenous kids, it was just the start of their troubles. Think of them as the real-life Baudelaire children. They survived a plane crash that killed their mother and others. The four children, belonging to Colombia's indigenous Huitoto tribe, survived more than a month in the Amazon. They depended upon just their own survival and foraging skills.
However, upon getting rescued, the children have been in government custody. They've been caught in the middle of a heated custody battle between their mom's family and the dad of two of the siblings — Manuel Ranoque.
Ranoque had been in prison and awaiting trial for allegedly sexually abusing one of the children before the flight. Their mom's family claims the kids intentionally hid from rescue teams in the Amazon. They claim the children was fearful of being returned to their father. At the time, they were only 13, 9, 4, and 11 months old. Their plan went down in May, killing their mother and two other adults.
Kids Survive Amazon
The new show The Lost Children takes viewers back to the arduous rescue missions that ultimately saved the children while revealing the troubled nature of their lives both before and after the disaster.
The children survived by living off fruit and seeds in the Amazon. A rescue team picked them up in June after locating them. According to the eledest child, Lesley, their mother died from her injuries after surviving the plane crash. She said that she worked hard to keep her sibling safe, killing a snake at one point.
The kids would catch fish and eat them raw. Aunt Yeritza Mucutuy and their maternal grandmother Fatima Valencia blasted Ranoque for abusing both his deceased partner as well as the children.
"I hate that man so much, because of what happened to my sister," says the aunt. Meanwhile, the grandmother says, "Lesley wanted to hide, she didn't want to be found because she didn't want to see Manuel. The kids hid from the search because they were scared."
Ranoque is the father of the two youngest children. Courts found that Ranoque assaulted a minor in 2023. However, despite their current misfortunes, the kids seem to be doing well.
"The Mucutuy siblings today spend their days enjoying life and learning," said the statement. "They have been accompanied by a team that specializes in ethnic affairs and works so that they don't lose their customs while they are far from their territory."
