A man who was abducted at the age of 19 was discovered just minutes of walking distance from his family in Algeria 26 years later.
Local media outlets report that despite his proximity, Omar Bin Omran never reached out for assistance because he believed his captor had placed him under a spell.
Omar disappeared during the 1998 Algerian civil war, leading his family to believe he had been killed. Years later, at age 45, he was found in a stable near his family's home in Djelfa, according to the Daily Mail.
The discovery came after his alleged captor's brother took to social media to reveal Omar's identity, prompting his family to intervene.
A suspect was taken into custody after attempting to flee, the Daily Mail reported, citing the Algerian Ministry of Justice. The suspect is a 61-year-old doorman who works in the nearby town of El Guedid. His identity has not been released and investigations are ongoing.
Omar is receiving medical and psychological care. According to local media, he claimed he was unable to call for help due to a spell allegedly cast by his captor.
Omar's mother died in 2013. She had made multiple televised appeals for information regarding Omar's whereabouts. Reports indicate that Omar became aware of his mother's death while still in captivity.
According to a statement from the Algerian Ministry of Justice, Omar's family received information about his whereabouts following grievances that were aired by his alleged captor's brother regarding an inheritance dispute, leading his family to storm the house in search of Omar.
A court official confirmed the incident in a statement cited by the Daily Mail.
"Two days ago, on May 12, 2024, the Public Prosecutor's Office received, through the regional department of the National Gendarmerie in El Jadid, a complaint against an anonymous person claiming that the complainant's brother, Omar Bin Omran, who has been missing for about 30 years, is in the house of one of his neighbors, inside a sheepfold," the statement read.
"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," it continued. "The missing person was found and the suspect, the 61-year-old owner of the house was arrested."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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