New Zealand Man Who Was Believed To Be Dead For Over 30 Years, Calls His People After Serving Jail Term In Kenya

A New Zealand man gave the family who thought he was dead the shock of their lives when he unexpectedly called them for the first time in 30 years two weeks ago.

Francis Edward Strange, 56, had not spoken to his family since he lived in Sydney in 1990 until he called his New Zealand-based mother Liz Simpson, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Mr Strange had been accused of accused of stealing gold from a Kenyan mine and put in jail. Mr Strange revealed that he had been kept in a rundown and overcrowded prison near the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, for six months after he was arrested in early 2015 for allegedly stealing $579,000 worth of equipment and gold from a mining company.

He said that two attempts had been made on his life while he was kept in the jail and unable to pay his $15,000 bail. After a five-month-long appeal battle, Mr Strange's bond was eventually reduced to $1,500 and he was released from jail on condition he surrender his passport and stay in Nairobi.