Off The Record

Man Missing For 27 Years Has Been Found In Neighbor’s Basement

Published on May 16, 2024

The kidnapper’s home was located approximately 300 feet from the home of the Algerian man who was taken as a teenager and kept in a cellar for almost thirty years.

On Sunday, May 12, Omar Bin Omran was freed from the long-term captor’s residence—that of his own neighbor—who was residing not far from his family’s Djelfa, Algerian home.

Following Omar’s discovery alive in the 61-year-old homeowner’s basement, beneath a hay-covered floor in what looked to be a sheep corral, footage of the now 45-year-old victim being rescued went viral.

After 27 years missing since age 17, a man was discovered held captive in his neighbor’s basement.

Public prosecutors in Djelfa released a statement, which The Sun quoted, saying, “The Djelfa Attorney General’s Office informs the public that on May 12 at 8pm local time it found victim Omar B, aged 45, in the case of his neighbour, B.A., aged 61.”

The victim disappeared without a trace while on route to a vocational school, allegedly at the age of just 17. Then, it is said, he was concealed on his neighbor’s land, only a short distance from his family’s residence.

It is thought that the kidnapper worked for the government and lived alone on the property.

Local stories state that the cellar, which was hidden by haystacks when Omar was discovered, was actually a well on a sheep farm.

Omar, the eldest of nine siblings, vanished and was thought to have passed away. The family eventually came to believe that the then-teenager had died during the civil war in Algeria between the government and other Islamist rebel factions after a search for him was conducted.

When the adolescent vanished, his family saw that his dog would hang out in front of the suspected neighbor’s house, even though they were unaware that Omar might be imprisoned inside.

About a month after the dog wandered around the property, the abductor is thought to have killed Omar’s dog friend. It is thought that the pet was poisoned before his lifeless body ended up on the family’s doorstep.

The victim’s mother refused to acknowledge that her son perished in the civil war, even though years went by during which she saw no sign of Omar.

She was certain that he was still alive someplace, but she did not live to witness his spectacular rescue from the house where she had nurtured him, only a few yards away.

When the mother passed away in 2013, she left behind one final request: “Please, do not stop searching for Omar.” She said, “I’m sure he’s still alive,” as reported by the New York Post.

According to some stories, the person who kidnapped the victim was informed about his mother’s passing by the same person holding him captive.

Although Omar’s mother did not live to see him return to his family in his native country, she still thought her son was alive.

The 45-year-old son’s whereabouts were discovered more than ten years after the mother passed away, following a social media post by the suspect’s sibling detailing the kidnapping.

NEW: A man named Omar Bin Omran in Algeria, who vanished at 17 in 1998 was found alive hidden in a neighbor's Cellar (a room below ground level in a house)

Omar has been stuffed there for over 27 years by his neighbor, the captor.

Now this will shock you

A social media post… pic.twitter.com/p8tiWAK3CL
— WithAlvin 🇬🇭 (@withAlvin__) May 16, 2024

Due to their personal inheritance dispute, the suspect and his brother forced their sibling to post about the homeowner’s role in Omar’s kidnapping. As a result, the victim’s relatives informed the police.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office got a complaint regarding Omar being in a neighbor’s residence, according to a Djelfa court officer.

“Please, do not stop searching for Omar. I am sure he is still alive,” the victim’s mother said about her missing son before she passed away

The court official stated, “Following this report the General Prosecutor of the Court of Idrisiya in the province of Djelfa ordered the National Gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers went to the house in question.”

“The Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered that the victim receive medical and psychological treatment, and the suspect will be presented to the Public Prosecutor’s Office immediately after the completion of the investigation,” he added.

Eventually, the surprised inmate was discovered by investigators imprisoned in the neighbor’s 61-year-old home.

Officials promised that the “perpetrator of this heinous crime” will be put through a trial of “severity.”

Many were upset that Omar’s mother had closed her eyes for good before witnessing her son get home.

A neighbour was quoted as saying to Algerian TV station Bilad, “(Omar’s) poor mum 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.”

After being saved, the victim was brought to a hospital to have his physical and mental condition assessed.

Omar said to his family that he occasionally caught a glimpse of them passing by through a window at the suspect’s house. But he felt as like he was under some sort of spell, so he was unable to shout out to them.

After being rescued, the 61-year-old homeowner was taken into custody.