After 26 "colono" children who went to the commune's free clinic and school reported abuse, a judge in Santiago issued a warrant for Schäfer’s arrest, but police could not find him on the compound. Children continued to attend the boarding school, but support of local parents dwindled, yet Schäfer turned teary-eyed departures into propaganda to prove his innocence. Schäfer finally staged a farewell ceremony and disappeared in subterranean living containers. In July 1997 two boys fled to the German embassy; one of them, Tobias Müller, was flown out to Germany.