Algerian man missing for 26 years found alive in neighbour’s cellar

by Mick the Ram

In a truly astonishing story, a man has been found alive in the basement of a neighbour, nearly 26 years after he went missing.

Omar bin Omran disappeared in the Algerian town of Djelfa in 1998, during the country’s civil war when he was in his late teens.

Now aged 45, Mr Bin Omran was discovered in a hole in a cellar, which was being used as a sort of sheep pen and was covered with hay.

The property was incredibly just 200m from where he grew up and owned by a 61-year-old, seemingly living alone. Officials confirmed that the man had been taken into custody on suspicion of kidnap.

Mr Bin Omran’s family feared he had been among an estimated 200,000 killed during the decade-long period of unrest.

The ministry said the investigation was still in progress and Mr Bin Omran was in the process of receiving medical and psychological care.

Prosecutors act on tip-off

It was on 12 May that the public prosecutor’s office received a complaint through the regional department of the National Gendarmerie in El Jadid against an anonymous person, with a claim that the complainant’s brother was being kept against his will at a neighbours’ house, and that the individual had been missing for over 25 years.

Kidnapper arrested

An order was given to the national gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers proceeded to visit the home in question. They subsequently located the victim, Omar bin Omran, and his captor was restrained and arrested at the scene.

A suggestion emerged from the Algerian Ministry of Justice that Mr bin Omran’s family had became aware of his location after the alleged kidnapper’s brother mentioned something about the missing man during an inheritance dispute.

Victim could see own family from his captivit

Mr bin Omran who is understood to be one of nine children, went missing while travelling to his vocational school and has been able to tell his rescuers that he had at times seen his own family from his “prison”, but claimed he had been unable to call out for help “because of a spell that his captor had cast on him”.

It is believed he has not been in sunlight in all his captive years and experts are speculating that the reason he never attempted to escape was probably due to his diminished psychological state.

Tragic death of mother before being found

Officials have confirmed that Mr bin Omran is being treated at a local hospital, with only his closest relatives allowed to see him. Tragically, his mother died in 2013 without knowing that her son was still alive and amazingly was less than 300 feet away from her home.

Victim’s dog killed

The man accused of the kidnap is being referred to only as “BA”. All that is known at this stage is his age and his occupation, as a civil servant.

Locals have told reporters that he would regularly be seen buying enough food for two people, despite living alone and another shocking claim is that he poisoned Omran’s dog, after it was heard pining for him close to the spot where he was being held, presumably having recognised his smell.

Relative gives encouraging report

One of Mr bin Omran’s cousins, Khaled Rgueb, said the family had lost hope of ever finding him after scouring the country for years. “His brothers and mother kept looking for him, but eventually they gave up,” he said, before stating: “He has been able to speak to me and recognise me; his situation is not critical, he is in good shape, but he is currently receiving help to reintegrate into society and overcome what he went through.”

Promise of justice

Public prosecutors in Djelfa, which is a mountain city of around 500,000 people approximately 140 miles south of the capital Algiers, have vowed that Mr bin Omran will receive the very best psychological care and promised to bring him justice.