Man found alive in a hole in the ground after being held captive by his neighbour for 27 YEARS
Omar Bin Omran (or Imran) before and after his capture
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A man who vanished almost three decades ago as a teenager has been found alive in his neighbour's house in a hole in the ground.
Named as Omar Bin Omran (or Imran) is alleged to have disappeared in the city of Djelfa in Algeria 27 years ago.
His family had presumed he was killed during the civil war between various Islamist rebel groups and the Algerian government and that lasted for 10 years in the 1990s and early 2000s.
A 61-year-old is now in police custody after Omar, now 45, was rescued on May 12.
The incident took place in Djelfa (file pic)
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A video shown on local media shows torchlights shining into a pit surrounded by hay as Omar furtively looks up, seemingly in shock at the search party surrounding him, stray pieces of straw in his hair.
Other images have since been circulated of the bearded man emerging from the hole, thought to be a sheep pen, and of him as a teenager, sitting with a dog and with young children before he disappeared.
According to Algerian newspaper El Khabar, the then-19-year-old vanished into thin air after leaving home to head to vocational school.
Tragically, Omar's mother died in 2013 without ever knowing the truth of what happened to her son. Reports suggest Omar was made aware of his mother's death whilst in captivity.
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A relative posted on social media: "'Thank god my cousin was found. Bin Imran Omar is in good health after 26 years of disappearance. Awaiting details of the case and investigations."
A court official in Djelfa was quoted as saying: "Two days ago, on May 12, 2024, the Public Prosecutor's Office received, through the regional department of the National Gendarmerie in El Jadid, a complaint against an anonymous person claiming that the complainant's brother, Omar bin Omran, who has been missing for about 30 years, is in the house of one of his neighbours, inside a sheepfold.
"Following this report the General Prosecutor of the Court of Idrisiya in the province of Djelfa ordered the National Gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers went to the house in question.
"'The missing person was found and the suspect, the 61-year-old owner of the house was arrested."
A neighbour told Algerian TV station Bilad: "His poor mum died while he was in captivity, without knowing what had happened to him, without knowing that all this time he was really right beside her."
A statement from the Algerian Ministry of Justice suggested the victim's family had been tipped off about Omar's whereabouts after the alleged captor's brother aired grievances on social media during an inheritance dispute.
Algerian media have reported Omar said he had been unable to call out for help because of a spell his alleged abductor had cast on him - though it has been suggested his diminished psychological state may have been to blame.
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