Where Are Kyle and Roen Horn's Parents Now? Inside Diana and Rodger's Lives After Their Sons Lied About Growing Up in the Wilderness

Kyle and Roen Horn convinced a Canadian town that they grew up in the wilderness, but were actually raised by their parents in a northern California suburb

NEED TO KNOW

• When Kyle and Roen Horn left home in the early 2000s, they claimed they grew up in the wilderness and found refuge in a Canadian town
• Their story is being revisited in a two-part Paramount+ docuseries, Wild Boys: Strangers In Town
• Their parents, Diana and Rodger Horn, share their side of the story in the docuseries

When Kyle and Roen Horn ran away from home and claimed they came from the wilderness, their parents also got caught up in their lies.

In the early 2000s, the brothers — who also became known as the "Bush Boys" or the "Wild Boys" — convinced a small Canadian town under aliases that they had grown up off the grid. In reality, they were raised by their parents, Diana and Rodger Horn, in a northern California suburb.

Their story is revisited in Paramount+'s Wild Boys: Strangers In Town, which also features Diana and Rodger. In the two-part docuseries, Kyle and his parents' accounts of why he went to Canada differ.

"He had to leave our house because he didn't believe in working," Rodger told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2004, per BBC News. "We kicked him out and we knew he was going to be going to Canada. He gave us a call in December and said he would possibly come home and that's the last we ever heard from him."

So, where are Kyle and Roen Horn's parents now? Here's everything to know about Diana and Rodger Horn's lives today.

Kyle and Roen’s parents raised them and their siblings in a northern California suburb

Kyle and Roen's parents raised them in a suburb of Sacramento known as Roseville, Calif., alongside three siblings.

Roen said that Roseville was probably one of the "best places in the world" to grow up in terms of safety. Rodger worked as a claims adjuster while Diana worked in a movie theater, he said, adding that their family was "middle class" and "comfortable."

The docuseries includes footage of their sister talking about their childhood, saying, "We went to school, we went to church, we had a really good upbringing."

"It was very 'normal,' so I don't understand what exactly happened," she said.

Diana and Rodger raised them to believe conspiracy theories

Diana and Rodger allegedly raised their children to believe conspiracy theories, as their sons shared in the docuseries.

According to the Paramount+ special, they were taught that the moon landing was fake and that vaccines are harmful.

In Wild Boys, Diana said that Roen grew up "in a family that was looking for the more extreme truth that you're not going hear from [the] mainstream, because mainstream may be hiding stuff from you."

Meanwhile, Kyle devoted his time after high school to researching conspiracy theories that even his mother found extreme, as she told the CBC that he had some beliefs "that seemed not very sane."

"He said that he thought that Michael Jackson might be Michael the archangel," she added.

Diana navigated health issues with both sons

In the docuseries, CBC journalist Timothy Sawa said that Diana had shared concerns about Kyle's mental health.

"Some of his ideas became so extreme," she said in an old interview clip shown in the docuseries.

"Kyle's the sweetest kid ever, but we saw some of his writing that said he thought it was a good idea to blow up credit card buildings and police cars," Diana said in an interview for the docuseries.

Diana then told her mom, who said it was "concerning" and suggested Diana tell authorities. She did so, but the police said he was "not a threat" and had "no intention of following through" on what he had written about.

Meanwhile, Roen became fixated on health during his childhood, following an emergency splenectomy he had at 9 years old, per the docuseries. When doctors warned him that he was immunocompromised and offered him pneumonia vaccines, Roen refused and instead turned to a diet to treat his health anxiety.

He became a strict fruitarian and lost a dangerous amount of weight, prompting Diana to seek medical help for her son. A doctor referred Roen to a psychologist, and he was later admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he was misdiagnosed with anorexia. Roen actually had orthorexia, a fixation on what patients believe is "healthy" eating, per the National Institutes of Health.

During treatment, Roen refused the hospital's "processed" meals, and doctors said they may have to intubate him for his malnutrition. But instead, his mother took him home.

Diana later said she contacted child protective services to explore treatment options, but was warned that she and Rodger risked losing custody if he was not readmitted to psychiatric care.

Kyle and Roen ran away and claimed that their parents raised them in the wilderness

In June 2003, child protective services and a police officer visited the Horns' home to ask why Roen, who was 16 at the time, was so underweight, according to SFGate.

Out of fear he would be taken away, Roen snuck out and ran away while the authorities spoke to Diana. He hid in bushes before sneaking back home and secretly asking for help from Kyle, who soon devised a plan for them to leave for Canada. That August, Kyle left home with a tent, sleeping bags and $500 cash from Diana and met up with Roen.

As Roen recalled in the docuseries, their cousin drove them to the Canadian border, then they hitchhiked to British Columbia and eventually settled in Vernon, Canada, where they introduced themselves to people as Thomas and William Green.

They claimed that they were raised in the wilderness and had left home over a disagreement with their parents — who they said were named Mary and Joseph — over "Will's" diet.

In Vernon, Roen’s health continued to deteriorate. He kept losing weight, and both his physical and mental condition declined due to what he describes in the docuseries as "nutritional deficiencies."

Kyle called Diana once a month while he was in Canada

According to The Times, Diana told local news outlets that she let her elder son go to Canada.

"Kyle said: 'You know that trip I’ve been planning to Canada for about two or three years now? Well, I think I’m finally ready to take it,' " she said. "And I’m thinking: ‘Good. Maybe he knows where Roen is, and we will catch him on the way to Canada or at the border.' "

However, both boys then disappeared, but Kyle continued to call Diana from Canada.

"(Kyle) would call us once a month and say: 'I’m in Canada, I’m doing fine, I don’t know where Roen is, but don’t worry, I betcha he’s OK,' " Diana said.

Diana and Rodger brought their sons home in 2004

In March 2004, Roen was picked up outside a grocery store by Henry Proce, then-Vernon Cpl. of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was so weak that he didn't resist, and Proce took him to a local hospital where he was treated for orthorexia. There, journalists picked up on the case and began to share the brothers' story.

After a family friend of the Horns saw a report on the "Bush Boys" on CNN, they contacted Diana and Rodger, who then traveled to Canada to bring their sons home, per The Globe and Mail.

Rodger spoke to reporters after the siblings returned home and said it was "tough" to think that Kyle would allow his younger brother "to lose that much weight and not do anything," per the San Francisco Chronicle.

"It’s obvious that what he did up there was wrong, but at the same time he was trying to protect his brother," he continued.

Upon being reunited, Diana recalled it being "relieving" to be back with her sons, but also being struck by Roen's appearance.

Where are Diana and Rodger Horn now?

In the docuseries, Diana said she felt "so grateful" to Tami Ryder, the Canadian mother who helped the brothers before their deception was uncovered, and who worked to make sure Roen was institutionalized before he "starved himself to death."

"You're a hero," Diana said, referring to Ryder. "You saved our son's life."

In the years since, Diana and Rodger appear to have moved forward with their lives. Diana has appeared on Roen's YouTube channel several times, including in July 2015 and March 2016, while Rodger shared a selfie with his wife on Instagram in November 2017.

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