Three women who were held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade before escaping, on Monday reportedly had multiple pregnancies while they were inside, it has emerged.
At least five babies were born at the home owned by Ariel Castro, while one of the victims suffered as many as three miscarriages because she was so malnourished, police sources told News Channel 5.
It is unknown what happened to the children who were born at the home, and it is not clear whether a six-year-old girl who was found alive there on Monday is among the number cited by sources.
The girl was found after her mother, kidnap victim Amanda Berry, 26, climbed through a screen door on Monday afternoon while her alleged captor was out and fled to a neighbor's home to call 911.
The call came after Castro, who worked as a bus driver for the city of Cleveland until last year, inadvertently left a young boy on the vehicle when he returned to the bus depot.
After an investigation, no criminal intent was found.
After 10 years being held against their will, the women were finally freed just before 6pm on Monday after neighbor Charles Ramsey, heard screaming from the house as he sat down to eat a meal.
Mr Ramsey, told WEWS-TV he saw Amanda, who he didn't recognize, at a door that would open only enough to fit a hand through screaming, 'Help me get out! I've been in here a long time.'
'We had to kick open the bottom,' he said. 'Lucky on that door it was aluminum. It was cheap. She climbed out with her daughter.'
When Amanda fled the home and ran across the street to call police, she was holding the hand of a young girl. The two other women followed her out of the home when law enforcement arrived.
'Help me I'm Amanda Berry... I've been kidnapped and I've been missing for ten years and I'm here. I'm free now,' Berry is heard saying in the call to police that has been publicly released.
'I need them now before he gets back!' she said in the frantic phone call to 911, going on to identify her captor as Ariel Castro.
The Plain Dealer reported that Castro was arrested at a nearby McDonald's.
Castro has lived in the house since 1992 and he was arrested for domestic violence in 1993.
Sources close to local station WOIO are telling the station that the women were reportedly tied up during their captivity and police found chains hanging from one of the ceilings
They also reported that there were signs that dirt had recently been moved in the backyard of the house, though police continue to investigate whether or not the dirt will lead to any new evidence in the case.
Michelle went missing in 2000 when she was 20.
Amanda disappeared on April 21, 2003, a day before her 17th birthday.
A year after Gina, then 14 went missing on April 2, 2004, on her way home from school.
Amanda disappeared shortly after she called her sister to say that she was getting a ride home from her job at Burger King.
Amanda'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.
In November 2004, she even turned to a psychic, Sylvia Browne, on Montel Williams' television show.
'She's not alive, honey,' Browne told her. 'Your daughter's not the kind who wouldn't call.'
But Councilwoman Dona Brady said she had spent many hours with Miller, who never gave up hope that her daughter was alive.
'She literally died of a broken heart,' Brady said.
At the hospital Amanda with her daughter was photographed with her older sister Beth Serrano, who has maintained the search for her sister since their mother died in 2006.
Beth's husband Ted Serrano told local station WOIO that his wife is overjoyed about her sister's return.
'She said (Amanda)'s okay, she's got a daughter. She said she's okay, she looks good,' Mr Serrano told the station.
Beth has worked closely with the DeJesus family, whose daughter Georgina 'Gina' DeJesus was found in the same home as Amanda.On Monday evening, DeJesus' cousin Sylvia Colon spoke to CNN, saying that the missing girl's mother Nancy Ruiz confirmed to relatives that Gina is alive and well in hospital.
'What a phenomenal mother's Day gift this is,' Ms Colon told the station.
Earlier in the case, DeJesus' mother Nancy Ruiz raised the alarm that her daughter was the victim of human trafficking.
'I always said it from the beginning; she was sold to the highest bidder,' Ms Ruiz said in April 2012.
The disappearance of Knight did not attract the local media attention of the Berry and DeJesus cases.
Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, told the Plain Dealer that some family members had concluded, based in part on suggestions by police and social workers at the time, that she had run away.
But her mother Barbara Knight, who now lives in Florida, told the newspaper she never believed her daughter would have vanished without a trace on her own and that she kept searching long after police gave up looking for her.
'I'm praying that if it is her, she will come back with me, so I can help her recover from what she has been through,' the mother was quoted as saying.
'So much has happened in these 10 years. She has a younger sister she still has not met.'
Relatives were emotional throughout the night on Monday, with some unable to speak through their tears.
'I'm going to hold her, and I'm going to squeeze her and I probably won't let her go,' Amanda's cousin Tesheena Mitchell told The Cleveland Plain Dealer.A childhood friend of Gina, Kayla Rogers, said she couldn't wait to hug her.
'I've been praying, never forgot about her, ever,' Rogers told The Plain Dealer newspaper.
Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson was the first public official to speak out about the case, confirming the identities of the three women.
'I am thankful that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have been found alive. We have many unanswered questions regarding this case and the investigation will be ongoing. Again, I am thankful that these three young ladies are found and alive,' he said.
Charles Ramsey, the neighbor who rescued the girls, said that he was shocked about the discovery because the man who owns the home - who is thought to be the kidnapper- did not stay hidden from those around him.
'I've been here a year. I barbeque with this dude, we eat ribs and what not and listen to salsa music.
Not a clue that that girl was in that house or that anyone else was in there with,' Mr Ramsey said of Castro.
'He's somebody you look and then you look away because he's just doing normal stuff.
'You got some big testicles to pull this one off because we see this guy every day,' he told NewsNet5.
Local news reporters told CNN that Castro is said to have worked as a bus driver for the Cleveland Metropolitan schools, though it is unclear whether that was the case when the women were kidnapped.
He was a school bus driver in the Cleveland area. He was once the subject of police investigation after inadvertently leaving a boy on the school bus when he returned to the bus depot, authorities said at the press conference.
Only Ariel Castro lived at the home. The brothers lived elsewhere and authorities said they are now interested in searching other properties in relation to the investigation.
Castro's Facebook page depicts a man with a passion for motorcycles and the bass guitar.
His last post to the social networking site on May 2 says: 'Miracles really do happen, God is good :)'
Remarkably, Castro's son - also named Ariel who now goes by 'Anthony' - penned an article for the Cleveland Plain Press about the disappearance of Miss DeJesus back in 2004.
Anthony Castro told WKYC-TV reporter Sara Shookman: This is beyond comprehension… I’m truly stunned right now.
Also struck by the allegations, the suspects' uncle, Julio Castro, told CNN: 'I never want to see them again.'
In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to 4 1/2 years after admitting he provided a false burial tip in the disappearance of Berry.
A judge in Cleveland sentenced Robert Wolford on his guilty plea to obstruction of justice, making a false report and making a false alarm.
Last summer, Wolford tipped authorities to look for Berry's remains in a Cleveland lot. He was taken to the location, which was dug up with backhoes.
Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of DeJesus in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers didn't find her body during a search of the men's house.
One of the men was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail on unrelated charges, while the other was allowed to go free, police said.
In September 2006, police acting on a tip tore up the concrete floor of the garage and used a cadaver dog to search unsuccessfully for DeJesus' body.
Investigators confiscated 19 pieces of evidence during their search but declined to comment on the significance of the items then.
At least five babies were born at the home owned by Ariel Castro, while one of the victims suffered as many as three miscarriages because she was so malnourished, police sources told News Channel 5.
It is unknown what happened to the children who were born at the home, and it is not clear whether a six-year-old girl who was found alive there on Monday is among the number cited by sources.
The girl was found after her mother, kidnap victim Amanda Berry, 26, climbed through a screen door on Monday afternoon while her alleged captor was out and fled to a neighbor's home to call 911.
When police arrived minutes later, they found Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michele Knight, 32, who had also been missing for a decade, along with the young girl.
At the press conference, authorities confirmed that the little girl was born to Berry while she was in captivity, but it is not known which of the three suspects - if any - is the father.
Today police praised Berry, who went missing a day before her 17th birthday in 2003, for escaping and alerting authorities to the two other women at the home.
'The real hero here is Amanda,' Cleveland Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said at a press conference on Tuesday morning. 'She came out of that house and that started it all.'
The praise for Amanda came as police revealed that Child Protective Services had been sent to the home in 2004, but left without speaking to the homeowner, Ariel Castro, after there was no answer.
Castro, 52, has been arrested along with his two brothers, Pedro, 54, and Oneil, 50. At the press conference, authorities said they believe they have the three men responsible, who will face charges.
The women and young girl were taken to MetroHealth Medical Center, as they are reportedly suffering from severe dehydration and slightly malnourished. Dr Gerald Maloney, an emergency department physician, said they were in 'fair condition'.
'The nightmare is over,' said Cleveland FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony at the press conference. 'These three young ladies have provided us with the ultimate definition of survival and perseverance. The healing can now begin.'
The disappearances of Amanda and Gina has captured the attention of the entire city for the past decade, as their relatives have continually held vigils and kept the story alive in the press.
The three women were kidnapped on the same street and found at the home just three miles away as their alleged kidnappers hid in plain sight. Neighbors said they often saw Castro walking with the six-year-old girl.
Cleveland police believe the women were tied up in the home after they were snatched and local reports noted there were chains hanging from the ceiling.
They added that Child Protective Services had been sent to the home in 2004 but after knocking on the front door and getting no response, did not make contact with Castro - and did not return.
At the press conference, authorities confirmed that the little girl was born to Berry while she was in captivity, but it is not known which of the three suspects - if any - is the father.
Today police praised Berry, who went missing a day before her 17th birthday in 2003, for escaping and alerting authorities to the two other women at the home.
'The real hero here is Amanda,' Cleveland Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said at a press conference on Tuesday morning. 'She came out of that house and that started it all.'
The praise for Amanda came as police revealed that Child Protective Services had been sent to the home in 2004, but left without speaking to the homeowner, Ariel Castro, after there was no answer.
Castro, 52, has been arrested along with his two brothers, Pedro, 54, and Oneil, 50. At the press conference, authorities said they believe they have the three men responsible, who will face charges.
The women and young girl were taken to MetroHealth Medical Center, as they are reportedly suffering from severe dehydration and slightly malnourished. Dr Gerald Maloney, an emergency department physician, said they were in 'fair condition'.
'The nightmare is over,' said Cleveland FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony at the press conference. 'These three young ladies have provided us with the ultimate definition of survival and perseverance. The healing can now begin.'
The disappearances of Amanda and Gina has captured the attention of the entire city for the past decade, as their relatives have continually held vigils and kept the story alive in the press.
The three women were kidnapped on the same street and found at the home just three miles away as their alleged kidnappers hid in plain sight. Neighbors said they often saw Castro walking with the six-year-old girl.
Cleveland police believe the women were tied up in the home after they were snatched and local reports noted there were chains hanging from the ceiling.
They added that Child Protective Services had been sent to the home in 2004 but after knocking on the front door and getting no response, did not make contact with Castro - and did not return.
The call came after Castro, who worked as a bus driver for the city of Cleveland until last year, inadvertently left a young boy on the vehicle when he returned to the bus depot.
After an investigation, no criminal intent was found.
After 10 years being held against their will, the women were finally freed just before 6pm on Monday after neighbor Charles Ramsey, heard screaming from the house as he sat down to eat a meal.
Mr Ramsey, told WEWS-TV he saw Amanda, who he didn't recognize, at a door that would open only enough to fit a hand through screaming, 'Help me get out! I've been in here a long time.'
'We had to kick open the bottom,' he said. 'Lucky on that door it was aluminum. It was cheap. She climbed out with her daughter.'
When Amanda fled the home and ran across the street to call police, she was holding the hand of a young girl. The two other women followed her out of the home when law enforcement arrived.
'Help me I'm Amanda Berry... I've been kidnapped and I've been missing for ten years and I'm here. I'm free now,' Berry is heard saying in the call to police that has been publicly released.
'I need them now before he gets back!' she said in the frantic phone call to 911, going on to identify her captor as Ariel Castro.
The Plain Dealer reported that Castro was arrested at a nearby McDonald's.
Castro has lived in the house since 1992 and he was arrested for domestic violence in 1993.
Sources close to local station WOIO are telling the station that the women were reportedly tied up during their captivity and police found chains hanging from one of the ceilings
They also reported that there were signs that dirt had recently been moved in the backyard of the house, though police continue to investigate whether or not the dirt will lead to any new evidence in the case.
Michelle went missing in 2000 when she was 20.
Amanda disappeared on April 21, 2003, a day before her 17th birthday.
A year after Gina, then 14 went missing on April 2, 2004, on her way home from school.
Amanda disappeared shortly after she called her sister to say that she was getting a ride home from her job at Burger King.
Amanda'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.
In November 2004, she even turned to a psychic, Sylvia Browne, on Montel Williams' television show.
'She's not alive, honey,' Browne told her. 'Your daughter's not the kind who wouldn't call.'
But Councilwoman Dona Brady said she had spent many hours with Miller, who never gave up hope that her daughter was alive.
'She literally died of a broken heart,' Brady said.
At the hospital Amanda with her daughter was photographed with her older sister Beth Serrano, who has maintained the search for her sister since their mother died in 2006.
Beth's husband Ted Serrano told local station WOIO that his wife is overjoyed about her sister's return.
'She said (Amanda)'s okay, she's got a daughter. She said she's okay, she looks good,' Mr Serrano told the station.
Beth has worked closely with the DeJesus family, whose daughter Georgina 'Gina' DeJesus was found in the same home as Amanda.On Monday evening, DeJesus' cousin Sylvia Colon spoke to CNN, saying that the missing girl's mother Nancy Ruiz confirmed to relatives that Gina is alive and well in hospital.
'What a phenomenal mother's Day gift this is,' Ms Colon told the station.
Earlier in the case, DeJesus' mother Nancy Ruiz raised the alarm that her daughter was the victim of human trafficking.
'I always said it from the beginning; she was sold to the highest bidder,' Ms Ruiz said in April 2012.
The disappearance of Knight did not attract the local media attention of the Berry and DeJesus cases.
Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, told the Plain Dealer that some family members had concluded, based in part on suggestions by police and social workers at the time, that she had run away.
But her mother Barbara Knight, who now lives in Florida, told the newspaper she never believed her daughter would have vanished without a trace on her own and that she kept searching long after police gave up looking for her.
'I'm praying that if it is her, she will come back with me, so I can help her recover from what she has been through,' the mother was quoted as saying.
'So much has happened in these 10 years. She has a younger sister she still has not met.'
Relatives were emotional throughout the night on Monday, with some unable to speak through their tears.
'I'm going to hold her, and I'm going to squeeze her and I probably won't let her go,' Amanda's cousin Tesheena Mitchell told The Cleveland Plain Dealer.A childhood friend of Gina, Kayla Rogers, said she couldn't wait to hug her.
'I've been praying, never forgot about her, ever,' Rogers told The Plain Dealer newspaper.
Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson was the first public official to speak out about the case, confirming the identities of the three women.
'I am thankful that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have been found alive. We have many unanswered questions regarding this case and the investigation will be ongoing. Again, I am thankful that these three young ladies are found and alive,' he said.
Charles Ramsey, the neighbor who rescued the girls, said that he was shocked about the discovery because the man who owns the home - who is thought to be the kidnapper- did not stay hidden from those around him.
'I've been here a year. I barbeque with this dude, we eat ribs and what not and listen to salsa music.
Not a clue that that girl was in that house or that anyone else was in there with,' Mr Ramsey said of Castro.
'He's somebody you look and then you look away because he's just doing normal stuff.
'You got some big testicles to pull this one off because we see this guy every day,' he told NewsNet5.
Local news reporters told CNN that Castro is said to have worked as a bus driver for the Cleveland Metropolitan schools, though it is unclear whether that was the case when the women were kidnapped.
He was a school bus driver in the Cleveland area. He was once the subject of police investigation after inadvertently leaving a boy on the school bus when he returned to the bus depot, authorities said at the press conference.
Only Ariel Castro lived at the home. The brothers lived elsewhere and authorities said they are now interested in searching other properties in relation to the investigation.
Castro's Facebook page depicts a man with a passion for motorcycles and the bass guitar.
His last post to the social networking site on May 2 says: 'Miracles really do happen, God is good :)'
Remarkably, Castro's son - also named Ariel who now goes by 'Anthony' - penned an article for the Cleveland Plain Press about the disappearance of Miss DeJesus back in 2004.
Anthony Castro told WKYC-TV reporter Sara Shookman: This is beyond comprehension… I’m truly stunned right now.
Also struck by the allegations, the suspects' uncle, Julio Castro, told CNN: 'I never want to see them again.'
In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to 4 1/2 years after admitting he provided a false burial tip in the disappearance of Berry.
A judge in Cleveland sentenced Robert Wolford on his guilty plea to obstruction of justice, making a false report and making a false alarm.
Last summer, Wolford tipped authorities to look for Berry's remains in a Cleveland lot. He was taken to the location, which was dug up with backhoes.
Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of DeJesus in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers didn't find her body during a search of the men's house.
One of the men was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail on unrelated charges, while the other was allowed to go free, police said.
In September 2006, police acting on a tip tore up the concrete floor of the garage and used a cadaver dog to search unsuccessfully for DeJesus' body.
Investigators confiscated 19 pieces of evidence during their search but declined to comment on the significance of the items then.
Source: DailyMail, BBC
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