Omar Bin Omran, an Algerian man kidnapped 26 years ago on his way to vocational school, was found inside a hay-covered cellar at his neighbor’s house, just 100 meters from his family home. Omran, now 45, was only 19 when he was abducted. Authorities discovered him on Sunday in Djelfa state.
The cellar is said to be located at a sheep farm owned by his long-time captor
A video of the rescue, which has gone viral on social media, shows Omran with a beard and wearing a sweater, sitting cooped up in the narrow cellar. The cellar is said to be located at a sheep farm owned by his long-time captor.
The Djelfa Attorney General’s Office stated that the 61-year-old suspect, a civil servant who is believed to have lived alone, has been arrested.
According to prosecutors, Omran’s family had reportedly tipped off investigators after the suspect’s sibling suggested his involvement in the abduction in a social media post.
As a result, the National Gendarmerie, Algeria’s law enforcement agency, re-opened the missing case, leading to investigators searching the suspect’s home and finding a hay-covered trapdoor that opened up into the cellar.
The suspect was arrested after he tried to escape.
According to the Algerian Elkhabar newspaper, while Omran’s mother never gave up hope, the family began to believe he was a victim of the country’s civil war during the 1990s and early 2000s.
For almost a month after his disappearance, the family noticed their dog, whom Omran was very close to, lingering at their neighbor’s home. Soon after, the family found the dog’s body in front of their home, and it was believed to have been poisoned.
Omar’s mother passed away in 2013. Elkhabar newspaper quoted Omran as saying he used to see his family members from a window in the cellar but was unable to call out “as if there was a compelling force inside me, preventing me”. The New York Post, citing the Djelfa Attorney General’s Office, reported that Omran was taken to a medical center for treatment, and the suspect would be tried for the “heinous crime.”
