Three women escape US dungeon after missing for 10 YEARS

THREE missing girls have been found alive after fleeing a dungeon where they were kept tied up for 10 YEARS.

Found ... Amanda Berry, centre, with her sister, left

Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were kept in the house - where it was claimed there were chains hanging from the ceilings - in Cleveland, Ohio, along with a third woman Michelle Knight.
Amanda made a frantic call to cops before breaking out of the house with the help of a neighbour when her captor had left the property.
The 26-year-old has been labelled the "real hero" by cops after escaping and raising the alarm.
Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba told a press conference that Amanda’s actions led to the kidnap being revealed.
He said: “The real hero is Amanda. She came out of that house and that started it all.”

Arrested ... 52-year-old Ariel Castro

Amanda's relatives today confirmed that another child found in the house is her daughter that she gave birth to while being held against her will - thought to be aged about six.
Ariel Castro, 52, who worked as a school bus driver, was arrested last night and is in police custody in connection to the case along with his two brothers aged 50 and 54.
Neighbours said they often saw Castro walking with the six-year-old girl.
At the press conference, authorities confirmed that the little girl was born to Amanda while she was in captivity.
They added that Child Protective Services had been sent to the home in 2004 but could not get hold of Castro - and did not return to the property.

Probe. investigators enter a house on the west side of Cleveland

They visited Castro - who worked as a bus driver - to investigate how he had left a young boy on the vehicle when he returned to the bus depot. After an investigation, no criminal intent was found.
Gina's cousin, Sylvia Colon said: "It's been a whirlwind kind of day. It's surreal."
She said today that her family had never given up hope, holding vigils for her every year.
Sylvia admitted: "We were living every day in the hope she would come home - and she did."
FBI Special Agent Stephen Anthony said the three women’s survival was testament to their extraordinary resilience.
He said: “These three young ladies have provided us with the ultimate definition of survival and perseverance. The healing can now begin.”


Aerial views of a house in Cleveland where three women

The disappearances of Amanda and Gina had been big news for the city of Cleveland - with many assuming they were dead.
The dramatic events unfolded today when Berry attempted to flee when her alleged captor left the property.
Neighbour Charles Ramsey said he heard screaming coming from the house - but when he got there the door was locked.
He said he managed to pass her his phone through a gap which she used to call emergency services.

Interview with rescuer of Amanda Berry

When the dispatcher told her that police were on the way, she said: "I need them now before he gets back!" before naming Castro as her alleged captor.
Amanda, now 27, went missing in 2003 aged 16. She was found with a young child who she reportedly said belonged to Castro.
The women all appear to be in good health and were taken to nearby hospital MetroHealth to be evaluated.

Local ... girls all went missing from the same area in Cleveland

Dr Gerald Maloney, emergency room doctor at MetroHealth said: "They are able to speak, they are safe, and hospital staff are assessing their needs and evaluating if they will spend the night."
He continued: "This is good. This is not the ending we usually see from these stories."
Reports say other children were found in the house - one of whom Amanda's relatives have said she gave birth to while being held against her will.

Missing ... Amanda Berry, left, and Gina Dejesus

Gina, now 23, went missing at the age of 14 a year later while Michelle, 32, vanished in 2002 at the age of 20.
It has also emerged that the three female victims in Cleveland were all last seen on the same busy block in the city.
Michelle who was 20-years-old when she went missing was last seen at a cousin's house near West 106th Street and Lorain Avenue.

Neighbour ... Charles Ramsey speaks to media near the home

Three years later Amanda disappeared nearby at West 110th Street and Lorain.
And a year later, Gina then was last seen leaving her middle school at West 105th Street and Lorain.
The neighbour who rescued the girl today described the moment he heard a woman screaming for help at the front door of the house.
Ramsey said he told the woman to open the door and exit but she told him it was locked.
He said: "We had to kick open the bottom. Lucky on that door it was aluminium. It was cheap. She climbed out with her daughter."

Cleveland police stand outside a home where women were found

He added that he was tucking into a McDonald's meal when he heard Amanda's cries.
He then ran over to Castro's home to investigate while holding a Big Mac, before coming face to face with the missing woman.
He said: "I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into the arms of a black man.
"Something is wrong here, (it's a) dead giveaway.
"Either she('s) homeless, or she('s) got problems, that's the only way she's running to a black man."
And the man who helped save them from the property said he was as shocked as anyone what had happened in the house.
He said: "I eat barbeque with this dude. We eat ribs and what not, and listen to salsa music."
Meanwhile police arrested Castro at a nearby McDonald's after Ramsey told them what car the fiend owned.
Ramsey then sheltered the woman who said there were others in the house.
He said: "I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside.

Felix DeJesus, holding a banner showing his daughter's photograph in 2004

"Then I realized I'm calling 911 for Amanda Berry. I thought that girl was dead."
Amanda was last heard from when she called her sister on 21 April 2003 to say she would get a lift home from work at a Burger King restaurant.

In 2004, Gina was said to be on her way home from school when she went missing.

In a bizarre twist it was also revealed kidnapper Castro's son Anthony, now 31, wrote a story about the disappearance of Amanda Berry in 2004 when he was journalism student.
He said: "This is beyond comprehension... I'm truly stunned right now."
Castro was a Cleveland school bus driver until last November and had lived in the two-story house since 1992.
Records show he was arrested for domestic violence in 1993.

house where three women were found after allegedly being held for 10-years

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk