Decade After Vanishing, Girls Found in Ohio Home—Alive

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight found in Cleveland
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted May 6, 2013 8:52 PM CDT
Decade After Vanishing, Girls Found in Ohio Home—Alive
In this Friday, March 3, 2004 file photos shows Felix DeJesus, holding a banner showing his daughter's photograph, standing by a memorial in his living room in Cleveland.   (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

They're the kinds of stories that rarely have happy endings: Amanda Berry told her sister she was getting a ride home from work the day before her 17th birthday, in 2003. She vanished, as did Gina DeJesus, a 14-year-old who went missing on her way home from school. A third woman, Michelle Knight, disappeared in 2002 at age 21, the Plain Dealer reports. Now, all three have been found alive in a house in Cleveland, reports NewsChannel5. Police say the women seem to be OK, and have been reunited with their families at the hospital; Berry's mother died in 2006.

The AP reports police have arrested a 52-year-old man and will brief the media in the morning; the Plain Dealer identified him as Ariel Castro. In the meantime, witnesses are sharing bits and pieces. One told NewsChannel5 he helped break open the front door at 2207 Seymour Avenue and saw children inside. Another neighbor says, "I heard screaming ... And I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside. I go on the porch and she said 'Help me get out. I've been here a long time.' She comes out with a little girl and says 'Call 911, my name is Amanda Berry.'" (More Michelle Knight stories.)

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