Dramatic footage reveals the moment Omar Bin Omran, who disappeared as a teenager in 1997, was found after 27 years.
Omar Bin Omran was only 17 when he went missing on his way to vocational school in Algeria.
It wasn't until a recent Sunday that authorities finally located him, with the discovery broadcast on Algerian television and shared widely on social media platforms like X.
In the video, Omran, now 45 and bearded, is visible peering into the beam of a flashlight from a makeshift underground space, surrounded by hay. The video also captures the flurry of activity as police lights flicker while officers continue their investigation.
Found beneath a sheep pen's floor, just 300 feet from where his family lived, the discovery of Omran was astonishing.
The man suspected of holding him captive, a 61-year-old who attempted to escape as police closed in, has since been detained.
Auto Draft Omran's disappearance occurred during the tumultuous period of the Algerian Civil War, leading his family to fear he had been abducted or killed. His mother maintained hope until her death in 2013.
The case was reopened following a tip-off from the brother of the suspected kidnapper. Amid a dispute over inheritance, he hinted on social media that his brother, a civil servant, might have been involved in Omran's kidnapping.
Acting on this new information, the Algerian National Gendarmerie conducted a search of the suspect's home.
It was there they uncovered a hidden trapdoor under the hay, leading to where Omran had been kept for nearly three decades.
Auto Draft A court official commented on the case, stating: "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."
Upon being found, Omar Bin Omran was transported to a medical facility to receive both physical and psychological care.
Elkhabar newspaper reported a statement from Omran, in which he recounted that from a window in the cellar where he was confined, he could see his family members but felt unable to shout for help. He described feeling as though 'a compelling force inside me, preventing me' from calling out.
The individual accused of holding Omran captive is expected to face trial for what the attorney general has termed a 'heinous crime'.
