Algerian man kidnapped and held captive by his neighbour for 26 years before being discovered alive in a hole under hay bales is in ‘good health’, his cousin reveals – but remains ‘shocked’ after the ‘catastrophic’ ordeal
A man who was allegedly kidnapped and held captive by his neighbor for 26 years just 100 meters from home is in “good health” but remains shaken after being released earlier this week, his family said.
Omar Bin Omran, from El Guedid near Djelfa, 150 miles south of Algiers, was just 19 when he disappeared in 1998 on his way to a vocational school at the height of Algeria’s civil war, raising fears among his family that he had been murdered .
But the truth was under the noses of his grieving family all along: Omar, now 45, was found by his family in a sheepfold covered in bales of hay after they stormed a neighbor’s house following a tip on social media.
Speaking to Algerian media, the missing man’s cousin, Khaled Reggab, said his relative was not in a “critical” condition but that he was “shocked, more than shocked” after more than a quarter of a century had spent in captivity.
Mr Reggab appeared to confirm stories reported elsewhere that Omar’s dog had longed for him outside a neighbor’s house for two weeks after he went missing – before he was allegedly killed by the kidnapper to quell his whining.
Omar Bin Omran as he was found earlier this week in a sheepfold in El Guedid, Algeria, after 26 years of captivity
Omar depicted as a young man around the age he disappeared in 1998. His family believed he had been killed during the Civil War.
Images of Omar’s discovery have gone viral on social media. The Arabic caption reads: ‘The moment they found him in their neighbor’s house’
And he added that the family were in “catastrophic” shock after the news that Omar was alive – which came more than a decade after his mother died without ever knowing the truth.
“I have no information about him, but from what I have seen his health condition is good and not critical,” Reggab said. Echorouk news.
“His psychological state is shocked, and more than shocked, he is scared, especially since he was detained, which means he is not used to being (outside).
‘Omar is currently still under therapeutic and psychological care. I see them (his family) in catastrophic shock.”
The missing man’s story has shocked the world after it was first reported earlier this week.
He was discovered on May 12 after a relative of the alleged kidnapper posted on social media, reportedly after an inheritance dispute, to say he was in the house.
His family stormed the house, just yards from their own home, and found the shocked man, now 45, under a pile of hay. The alleged perpetrator, a 61-year-old doorman who worked in El Guedid, was taken into custody after he tried to flee.
“This is a real tragedy and we thank God that we were able to find our son,” one of Mr bin Omran’s uncles, Karim Rgueb, told local media El Djazair N1 in comments from The national one.
Mr Reggab confirmed some aspects of the story, including that a family dog was killed two weeks after Omar went missing. The perpetrator is suspected of being Omar’s kidnapper, who is believed to have killed him to silence the wailing outside his home.
Omar’s cousin continued: ‘The owner of the property uses it because it is a stable. It is about 100 meters, only 100 meters (further) on the same street.
“The dog stayed at the home of the owner of this house for over a week – and this story was confirmed by all of Omar’s friends and even those closest to the family – until he was killed two weeks later.”
Questions have been asked by those who read Omar’s story about why he hasn’t tried to escape in more than 25 years. Algerian media have reported that he allegedly told family members that he was under the spell.
Mr Reggab said: “This issue is a mystery. The (sheepfold) is part of the house and he has some sheep. There are piles of hay and Omar was covered in all this hay.
“Even when we asked him why didn’t you shout, try to resist, leave the house and so on, his answer was very simple. He literally said, “I couldn’t even talk or even walk.”
Omar came from the town of El Guedid, near Djelfa, about 150 miles south of the Algerian capital Algiers
This is the area where Omar was found. His cousin said he was housed in some kind of warehouse where sheep were kept
Locals gathered on the streets near where the discovery was made earlier this week
The Algerian Ministry of Justice said the investigation was still ongoing, adding that the victim received medical and psychological care after the crime which it described as “heinous”.
Tragically, Omar’s mother died in 2013 without ever knowing the truth about what happened to her son. According to the Algerian newspaper, she had pleaded on television for information about what happened to her son The expression.
Mr Reggab said that, contrary to previous reports, Omar did not find out that his mother had died while in captivity.
He added: “She said, ‘I still feel like my son is in… El Guedid. It was a great sadness, even though she had the feeling that her son was not far from her.’
A neighbor of the kidnapped man told Algerian TV channel Bilad: “His poor mother died while he was in captivity, without knowing what happened to him, without knowing that he had actually been next to her all this time. ‘
Prosecutors in Djelfa, a mountain town of about 500,000 people about 140 miles (230 kilometers) south of the coastal capital Algiers, say Omar will receive psychological care after he is rescued, while vowing to get him justice.
“The Office of the Attorney General of Djelfa informs the public that on May 12 at 8 p.m. local time, it found the victim Omar B, 45 years old, in the business of his neighbor BA, 61 years old,” they said in a statement.
It is believed that his family believed him to be dead, killed during the Algerian civil war that raged more than two decades ago. Family members claim the dog was poisoned after it started smelling Omar’s scent up close
Omar’s discovery, more than a quarter of a century after his alleged kidnapping, could make him one of the longest-held prisoners in the world
A statement from the Algerian Ministry of Justice (pictured) promised that Omar would receive psychological care, and promised that the perpetrator would be tried with ‘severity’.
A court official in Djelfa was quoted as saying: ‘Two days ago, on May 12, 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, through the regional branch of the National Gendarmerie in El Jadid, received a complaint against an anonymous person claiming that the complainant’s brother Omar Bin Omran, who has been missing for about thirty years, is in the house of one of his neighbors, in a sheepfold.
‘Following this report, the Attorney General of the Idrisiya court in Djelfa province ordered the National Gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers went to the house in question.
“The missing person was found and the suspect, the 61-year-old owner of the home, was arrested.”
He added: “The Public Prosecution Service has ordered that the victim receive medical and psychological treatment and the suspect will be immediately presented to the Public Prosecution Service after completion of the investigation.”
Officials have promised that the “perpetrator of this heinous crime” will be tried with “severity.”
It is believed the man detained worked as a civil servant and lived alone, but Algerian media suggested he regularly bought enough food for two people.
Algeria’s civil war raged for a decade from 1992, as the government tried to repel attacks by armed Islamist rebel groups following a military coup on the eve of the country’s elections.