16 May 2024 , 06:47
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A boy who vanished aged 17 has been rescued almost 30 years later from underneath his neighbour's home following an alleged kidnapping.
The victim, Omar Bin Omran, disappeared in Djelfa, Algeria, 27 years ago and his family assumed he had died during the civil war between the North African country’s government and various Islamist rebel groups. Viral footage of Omar, now in his 40s, captures the moment he is brought out of his hiding place after being discovered by cops who raided a house near his old family home. Officials confirmed a 61-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of holding him prisoner.
Public prosecutors in Djelfa, a mountain town with a population of just under 500,000 people and a three-hour drive south of the capital Algiers, said in a statement: “The Djelfa Attorney General’s Office informs the public that on May 12 at 8pm local time it found victim Omar B, aged 45, in the case of his neighbour, B.A., aged 61.”
Omar as a teen before he went missing
Omar is now aged in his 40'sThe man held is understood to work as a civil servant and lived alone. A neighbour of the man abducted 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 video of the moment a bearded Omar was discovered in what has been described locally as a covered well under haystacks at a sheep farm, was broadcast by Algerian media.
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A court official in Djelfa was quoted as saying: “Two days ago, on 12 May 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.
Omar was found by cops who raided a house near his old family home“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.”
He added: “The Public Prosecutor's Office ordered that the victim receive medical and psychological treatment, and the suspect will be presented to the Public Prosecutor's Office immediately after the completion of the investigation.” Officials have promised the “perpetrator of this heinous crime” will be tried with “severity.”
Unconfirmed local reports said 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.