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Man missing for 27 years was hiding in plain sight just yards from his family
A man who disappeared and presumed dead for 27 years, was found alive in a neighbor’s cellar, just 200 metres from his family home.
Omar Bin Omran vanished aged 17 in the Algerian city of Djelfa during the country’s bloody civil war, with his relatives believing he had been killed during the fighting, which saw the government battle Islamist rebel groups throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Man found just yards from family home after going missing for 27 years
But in a shocking discovery, Omar, by then 45, was found inside a makeshift enclosure beneath layers of hay in a neighbor’s property.
The case only came to light after Algeria’s public prosecutor’s office received a complaint alleging that Omar was being held inside a house belonging to someone living nearby.
A court official said: “Following this report, the general prosecutor ordered the national gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers went to the house in question.”
Omar’s rescue left his family reeling after almost three decades without knowing where he was or whether he was still alive, with his cousin, Khaled Rgueb, describing the moment relatives learned that Omar had survived, telling Echorouk News: “They found him in a stable, where the suspect keeps his sheep, covered in hay, and he was thankfully saved.”
Rgueb said Omar’s physical condition did not appear to be critical, but warned that the ordeal had taken a significant psychological toll.
“I have no information about him but according to what I saw his health condition is good, it is not critical,” he admitted.
“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).”
He added that Omar was receiving specialist support following his rescue, confirming that, “Omar is still under therapeutic and psychological care at this minute. I see them (his family) in a catastrophic shock.”
According to Algerian media reports, Omar later told relatives that he had seen them passing close to the place where he was allegedly being held.
Despite being so near to home, he reportedly believed he could not escape because his captor had placed him under a supernatural ‘spell’.
Footage recorded after his discovery showed Omar looking disoriented and unkempt as he emerged from the enclosure where he had allegedly spent years in captivity.
Reports also claimed that Omar’s pet dog remained close to the suspected captor’s property after his disappearance.
Algerian outlet El Khabar alleged that the animal was eventually poisoned by the suspect in an attempt to stop the family from continuing to search the area.
The allegation has not been independently established.
The discovery was made more than a decade after Omar’s mother died, never learning that her missing son was reportedly still alive so close to home.
Who was responsible for his disappearance?
A neighbor told Algerian television station Bilad: “His poor mom 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.”
The suspected captor, a 61-year-old man, reportedly attempted to flee when Omar was discovered, but was stopped and arrested, with Algerian authorities subsequently announcing that six suspects had been detained.
A further two others were placed under judicial supervision, meaning they could remain free while proceedings continued, with investigations into Omar’s disappearance still being conducted.