Genie, the feral child who left a mark on researchers

With Genie approaching her 60th birthday, her fate remains an enigma

With Genie approaching her 60th birthday, her fate remains an enigma. Picture: Screengrab

She hobbled into a Los Angeles county welfare office in October 1970, a stooped, withered waif with a curious way of holding up her hands, like a rabbit. She looked about six or seven. Her mother, stricken with cataracts, was seeking an office with services for the blind and had entered the wrong room.

But the girl transfixed welfare officers.