Algerian man missing for 30 years found alive under neighbour’s shed

An Algerian man who was presumed dead for almost three decades has been found alive in an underground cell after allegedly being kidnapped by a neighbour.

Omar Ben Omran, who was a teenager when he disappeared in 1996, was found hidden in a squalid underground dungeon buried under layers of straw, according to Algerian media.

Reports said that he had vanished during the Algerian Civil War, which ended in 2002, and that his family had assumed he had been taken prisoner or killed.

Now aged 45, he was found amid hay bales about 200 metres away from his home in Djelfa, after the captor’s brother aired grievances, reportedly over an inheritance dispute, on social media. Djelfa is a mountain city with a population of about 500,000, 140 miles south of Algiers, the capital.

The alleged culprit, a 61-year-old municipal security guard in the nearby town of El Guedid, was taken into custody after attempting to flee, the government said.

The victim said he had been unable to call for help “because of a spell that his captor had cast on him”. Local reports have suggested that his diminished psychological state may have been the cause of his inaction.

The government said an investigation was continuing and that the victim was receiving medical and psychological care after the “heinous” crime.

Video shared on social media and broadcast on Algerian television networks showed the moment Omran was found in what appeared to be a hole in the ground, described by authorities as a sheep pen.

A photo posted online showed the victim as a teenager with his pet dog. El Khabar newspaper said the dog had pined for him close to the spot where he was being held. Omran’s captor has been accused of poisoning the dog.

The suspect is understood to have lived alone, but reports suggested that he was regularly seen buying enough food for two people.