After 28 years, a man who had gone missing was found in a neighbor’s house
OMAR BIN OMRAN – A man who had gone missing for 28 years was discovered in a neighbor’s house in Djelfa, Algeria, on May 12, 2024.
Omar disappeared in the 1990s during the Algerian Civil War when he was 17 years old. His family believed he might have been one of the 200,000 people killed or 20,000 kidnapped during the conflict. Despite the authorities halting their search, Omar’s mother persisted, convinced that her son was still alive. Tragically, she passed away in 2013 without finding him, urging her other eight children to continue the search.
The breakthrough came when a neighbor posted on social media that Omar was alive, revealing that the neighbor’s brother had kidnapped him. Omar had been hidden just 200 meters from his home. The family quickly alerted authorities, who raided the house. Video footage showed Omar being found in a concealed pit covered with hay, described as a sheep pen within the kidnapper’s house. Omar, found with a long beard and in poor health, looked bewildered during the rescue. He is now receiving medical and psychological treatment.
The captor, identified only by the initials BA, is a 61-year-old government employee. He attempted to flee during the raid but was captured. The revelation about Omar’s whereabouts came from a sibling feud over an inheritance. Neighbors described BA as reclusive, noting his peculiar behavior of buying food for two despite living alone. They also recounted how Omar’s dog barked incessantly outside BA’s house after Omar’s disappearance and was later found poisoned, likely because it sensed Omar’s presence.
Omar, now 45, stated that he often saw his family passing by the kidnapper’s house but was too afraid to call out, fearing BA, whom he suspected had bewitched him. According to PEP.ph, the Algerian Ministry of Justice has pledged severe punishment for BA. The ongoing investigation aims to uncover the motives behind Omar’s abduction and prolonged captivity.