There has been a major update regarding the case of the Algerian man who was found in a neighbor's basement after being missing for 26 years.
Omar B. Omran vanished from Djelfa, Algeria, at the age of 19. His family feared he had been kidnapped or killed during the Algerian Civil War, which ravaged the country throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
However, he was found alive 26 years later, held captive only 200 yards away from the city.
Omran, now 45, was found on Sunday, May 12, at the home of his 61-year-old neighbor.
Footage shared on social media captured the moment Omran, with a beard and wearing a patterned sweater, was found in a hole in the ground.
The blurry video shows torchlights shining into a pit surrounded by hay as Omran, with a look of shock, lifts his head to see the search party surrounding him.
Algerian media reports that Omran was located after his captor’s brother aired grievances on social media, reportedly due to an inheritance dispute.
This led Omran's family to storm the house in a desperate attempt to find him. The alleged captor, a 61-year-old doorman from the nearby town of El Guedid, was arrested while trying to flee.
In a recent update from Algeria’s Judicial Council, it has been revealed that eight people have now been charged in connection with the crime, per The National News.
Six suspects have been detained, while two others have been placed under judicial supervision.
“A judicial investigation has been opened against the main suspect for the crime of kidnapping and luring a person, detaining a person without an order from the competent authorities and outside the cases permitted by the law, as well as human trafficking of a victim in a status of vulnerability," the council stated.
The two suspects under judicial supervision are allowed to remain free while facing trial.
Omar's mother passed away in 2013 without ever learning what happened to her son. However, other family members have spoken out about his release.
His cousin Khaled Reggab told Echorouk News that Omar's health was stable but that he was not accustomed to being outside.
"I have no information about him but according to what I saw his health condition is good, it is not critical," he said.
"His psychological state is shocked, and more than shocked, he is afraid, especially since he was detained, meaning he is not accustomed to being [outside]. Omar is still under therapeutic and psychological care at this minute. I see [his family] in a catastrophic shock."
Reggab also recounted that for the first two weeks of his captivity, Omar's dog waited outside the neighbor's house, only for the alleged kidnapper to reportedly kill the dog to silence it.
When asked why he didn't call for help, Omar explained that he "was not able to even speak or even walk."
