An Algerian man, Omar Bin Omran, who went missing at the age of 17, 26 years ago following an alleged kidnapping, has been found alive in his neighbour’s house.
According to Daily Mail on Wednesday, Omar was discovered in a hole in the ground within a sheep pen, concealed under stacks of hay.
Omar, one of nine children, disappeared in the city of Djelfa, Algeria, 26 years ago. His family believed he had been killed during the civil war that ravaged the nation in the 1990s and early 2000s.
According to reports, Omar was found less than 200 meters from his family’s home. A 61-year-old neighbour is now in police custody after Omar, now 45, was rescued on May 12.
Footage was shared on social media and broadcast on Algerian television networks of the moment that he was found in what appeared to be a hole in the ground, described by authorities as a sheep pen, within the home of his alleged captor.
The blurry video shows torchlights shining into a pit surrounded by hay as Omar furtively looks up, seemingly in shock at the search party surrounding him, with 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 the Algerian newspaper El Khabar, his dog recognized his scent and stayed near where Omar was held. It was alleged that the captor poisoned the dog to ward the family off.
Omar went missing in 1998 while heading to a vocational school. He was found after the captor’s brother aired grievances on social media, reportedly over an inheritance dispute.
This led Omar’s family to search the neighbour’s house, where they found him. The captor attempted to flee but was restrained and arrested.
Tragically, Omar’s mother died in 2013 without knowing the fate of her son. Reports suggest Omar was informed of his mother’s death while in captivity.
