Charles Ramsey was eating in his home on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland when he heard screams coming from the house next door and went to investigate. He saw Amanda Berry, a woman who went missing 10 years ago, and a young child. Amanda was crying out for help.
“I go on the porch and she said ‘Help me get out. I’ve been here a long time.'” Ramsey said.
Inside the house were two other missing women, 23-year-old Gina Dejesus, who disappeared in 2004, and 30-year-old Michele Knight, who went missing in 2002.
Ramsey along with other neighbor broke the bottom of the door and freed them. Then he called 911 and handed the phone to Berry, she told the 911 dispatcher:
“I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years. And I’m here. I’m free now.”
Charles Ramsey told WEWS-TV that he was stunned by the news that these women had been held captive next door.
“I barbecue with this dude,” Ramsey said. “We eat ribs and what not, listen to salsa music, you see where I’m coming from? Not a clue that that girl was in that house, or anybody else was in there against their will.”
Police said that the 52-year-old man who lived in the house, a bus driver for Cleveland schools, and two of his brothers, ages 50 and 54, had been arrested. The charges they will face have not yet been released.
The three women were taken to MetroHealth Medical Center and are in fair condition. The 6-year-old was taken into custody.
More Stories for you