A video taken in Algeria captures the incredible moment a man who had been missing for 27 years was discovered just a short distance from his family home.
Omar Bin Omran disappeared in 1997 at the age of 17, after departing for vocational school.
His vanishing occurred during the Algerian Civil War, leading his family to suspect he was kidnapped or killed. For nearly thirty years, they remained in the dark about his fate.
Omran’s mother clung to the hope of seeing him again, but she passed away in 2013 without knowing what happened to her son.
A decade later, authorities discovered Omran, confirming that he had indeed been kidnapped.
This breakthrough occurred when the brother of Omran’s alleged captor, a civil servant, implied involvement in Omran’s kidnapping in a social media post amid a dispute over inheritance.
This allegation prompted law enforcement to revisit the case, leading the National Gendarmerie in Algeria to explore the home mentioned in the post.
The residence was shockingly close, just 300 feet away from Omran’s family home. Authorities discovered a trapdoor hidden beneath some hay inside the house.
In May, a video shared on X and aired on Algerian television revealed the moment Omran was found beneath this trapdoor.
In the footage, Omran, now with a beard, is seen peering into the torchlight from a hole in the ground, surrounded by hay. Other scenes showed flashing lights as the investigation continued.
Omran, now 45, was located beneath the floor of what seemed to be a sheep pen.
A court official stated: “Following this report, the General Prosecutor of the Court of Idrisiya in the province of Djelfa ordered the National Gendarmerie to conduct a thorough investigation, leading officers to the specified house.”
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office has directed that the victim receives both medical and psychological care, and the suspect will face the Public Prosecutor’s Office upon the investigation’s conclusion,” the official continued.
After being found, the 61-year-old suspect attempted to escape but was captured and is now in custody.
Omran has been taken to a medical facility for necessary physical and psychological care.
The Elkhabar newspaper reported Omran saying he could see his family through a window in the cellar where he was held, but he felt unable to call out, describing it as if there was a ‘compelling force inside me, preventing me’.