Insane Case Of Man Who Was Found Alive In Neighbour's Cellar After Being Held Captive For Nearly 30 Years

At the age of seventeen, Omar bin Omran disappeared from a community located in the northern region of Algeria.

His family never wanted to give up, but after years of looking, they came to terms with the possibility that he was among the countless people who died.

The 1992–2002 Algerian Civil War, which claimed the lives of 100,000–200,000 people, might have claimed his as well.

The reality, however, would prove to be far more remarkable than anyone could have ever imagined.

On May 12, 2024, it was found that bin Omran was being held captive within 200 meters from his family's residence.

Watch the clip of the moment bin Omran was discovered below:

The last time Bin Omran was seen, the youngster had left his family's home in the town of El Guedid in 1998. Nobody would ever hear from him again.

The majority of the family eventually accepted that bin Omran was one of the many victims of the civil war.

However, his mother held a different view and questioned the involvement of others. 

She wondered if a shepherd from the area, with whom her son had apparently been close in the months before, might have played a role in the matter.

A local resident named Abdel told The Times that he would frequently miss school to assist the man, who was 16 years older than him.

"The shepherd got attached to him," he further claimed.

Omar bin Omran had been held in his neighbour's cellar for nearly three decades. EnnaharTv/X

Bin Omran's mother's theory proved to be correct, even though she passed away in 2013 without knowing the fate of her son.

An anonymous member of a social media group claimed that bin Omran, who is 45 years old, was concealed in their neighbor's basement.

The tip is thought to have come from a suspected inheritance dispute in their neighbor's family.

Later on, he would be discovered there when the 61-year-old guy was being taken into custody.

"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." a statement from public prosecutors in Djelfa said in May.

Eight people had been charged with the crime, according to Algeria's court Council, while six suspects had been detained and two more had been placed under court surveillance.

The official confirmation of why bin Omran was held captive by his neighbor hasn't been established, but local villagers have different theories about the situation.

A tip off on social media would later lead to his rescue. EnnaharTv/X

Certain relatives of bin Omran maintain that there was 'black magic' at play, while others claim that bin Omran was groomed.

However, a spokesperson of the LGBTQ+ rights group Alouen has cautioned against the homophobic response associated with this scenario.

They told The Times: "It’s always the same narrative, connecting the gay community to any horrible event in the news."

“A murder, an earthquake, this story — anything negative is blamed on our community. The captor’s sexuality, which is unknown, is really not the point of this horrible story."

Regarding his current whereabouts, his younger cousin allegedly posted a recent Instagram picture of him saying he was "adjusting to his new life."

He has, nonetheless, chosen not to discuss what happened when he was a prisoner.

"Even we do not have the information. We talked to him about the issue. But his soul does not allow him to think about it again," his cousin added.