Zee Media Bureau
Ohio: Three American women, who went missing separately a decade ago from Ohio, were found alive in a house in the nearby city of Cleaveland, officials said.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight went missing in 2003, 2004 and 2001 respectively.
Amanda was 16, Gina 14 and Knight 20 years of their age when they went missing from state of Ohio.
Three men in fifties, who are brothers, have been arrested in this case, according to a BBC report.
There was no immediate word on charges.
The report added that one of the men lived in the same house where the three girls have been found.
Police didn`t immediately provide any details of how the women were found but said they appeared to be in good health and had been taken to a hospital to be reunited with relatives and for evaluation.
On a recorded 911 call Monday, Berry said she had been taken by someone and pleaded for police officers to arrive at the home on Cleveland`s west side before he returned.
"I`ve been kidnapped, and I`ve been missing for 10 years," she told the dispatcher. "And I`m here. I`m free now."
Berry disappeared at age 16 on April 21, 2003, when she called her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a Burger King. DeJesus went missing at age 14 on her way home from school about a year later. They were found just a few miles from where they had gone missing.
Loved ones said they hadn`t given up hope of seeing the women again. Among them was Kayla Rogers, a childhood friend of DeJesus.
"I`ve been praying, never forgot about her, ever," Rogers told The Plain Dealer newspaper. "This is amazing. This is a celebration. I`m so happy. I just want to see her walk out of those doors so I can hug her."
Berry`s mother, Louwana Miller, who had been hospitalized for months with pancreatitis and other ailments, died in March 2006. She had spent the previous three years looking for her daughter, whose disappearance took a toll as her health steadily deteriorated, family and friends said.
Mayor Frank Jackson expressed gratitude that the three women were found alive.
At Metro Health Medical Center, Dr. Gerald Maloney declined to go into details about the women`s conditions.
"We`re assessing their needs, and the appropriate specialists are evaluating them as well," he said at a news conference, which concluded with a round of applause from a large gathering of area residents.
With Agency Inputs
