Dutch murder suspect discovered in small Catalan village

It is such a bizarre story that newspapers from all over the world could not resist reporting the arrest on Sunday of a survivalist and plant expert wanted by the Dutch authorities for the assault and murder of an 11-year old boy in the Netherlands in 1998.

Dutch police earlier this year found DNA evidence definitively linking Jos Brech with the killing. Yet, Brech was not in the Netherlands, but in Castellterçol, a village 50 km north of Barcelona, where he was using his expertise in plants to advise a natural cosmetics firm.

The manager of the business, Lucas, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that since June he had given Brech lodging in exchange for “his knowledge of plants.” Lucas said the arrest was a surprise, as Brech had always been “correct and respectful, though very reserved.”

Recognized by another Dutchman

In fact, no one in the village suspected anything and the mayor, Isaac Burgos, said that he wasn’t even aware that Brech was living there. Brech was only discovered when another Dutchman recognized him as one of the most wanted men in Holland and alerted the police.

Burgos said he did not know how long Brech had been living in Castellterçol, but that police said the suspect had last been sighted in France in March. El Vilet farmhouse, where Brech was living, is actually six kilometers outside Castellterçol but belongs to the municipality.

After seeing the arrest reported in the media, the mayor says he asked police for details. He was told that a dozen officers took part in the arrest, although Brech put up “no resistance.” Police also told him that Brech had been identified by a compatriot the Wednesday before.

Police later confirmed that Brech was an experienced mountaineer who had climbed Mount Everest, while the Dutch authorities called him an expert “bushcrafter” capable of surviving for long periods in the woods alone, sleeping in refuges, mountain huts, and even caves.