Three women who went missing a decade ago were found alive Monday in a home in Cleveland, Ohio, according to police.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight appeared to be in good health and were talking after being discovered in a home on the city’s west side, Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGarth said in a statement.
Neighbor Charles Ramsey heard screams from the house rushed to the dwelling where he found a woman who told him she was trapped inside, he told NBC Cleveland affiliate WKYC. She told Ramsey her name is Amanda Berry and “I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been in this house a long time, and I want to leave right now.”
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The door would not open so Ramsey said he helped kick it down and then allowed Berry to call emergency-911. Berry had with her a child who she said belonged to her captor.
Cleveland police released the frantic call where Berry pleads with a 911 operator to send help right away. “Help me! I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been kidnapped and I’ve been missing for 10 years and I’m here. I’m free now,” she says. “I’m Amanda Berry, I’ve been on the news,” she later adds.
All three women have since been taken to a hospital, where they were reported to be in good medical condition, according to officials. At a press conference late Monday, Dr. Gerald Maloney, of Metro Health Medical declined to comment on whether the child was admitted to the hospital with the women.
The women’s disappearance has been a mystery to Cleveland authorities for almost ten years. Three male suspects, including a 52-year-old man, have been placed under arrest, Cleveland Police said in a statement.
Berry, now 27, was reported missing on April 21, 2003 after she phoned her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a fast food restaurant.
About one year later, then 14-year-old DeJesus went missing when walking home from school.
Knight went missing around the year 2000, police said, but since she was 20 years old at the time, authorities assumed she may have run off on her own. Cops on Monday said all three women were held against their will.
As word spread that the women had been found alive, neighbors gathered to cheer and celebrate the good news. Residents told WKYC the news came as a complete shock, and that Castro was a quiet neighbor who kept to himself.
Destiny Berry, cousin to Amanda, told WKYC “I just want to see her, I just want to see what she looks like. I just want to hold her.” Her and her sister were best friends with Amanda before the disappearance. “We were so close, inseparable. And when she came up missing it killed us. Going 10 years without knowing what happened to her, not knowing anything tears us apart.”
Berry’s mother, Louwana Miller, died in 2006. Those close to her said the stress of her missing daughter took a tool on her health, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
DeJesus family also continued to hold out hope, holding vigils as recently as a month ago to commemorate. DeJesus’ mother, Nancy Ruiz, told WKYC, “She’s still out there, and we need to bring her home,” at vigil in April.
Earlier this year a prison inmate was sentenced for admitting he gave authorities fraudulent tips about Berry’s remains. Robert Wolford, who is serving time for killing a homeless man, told police the woman was buried under a Cleveland lot, which was then dug up by backhoes.
And two men arrested for questioning about DeJesus’ disappearance were released in 2006 after police failed to find the woman’s remains during a search of their house.
Police have scheduled a press conference for Tuesday morning.
