A week of shock, elation and tragedy in Cleveland, as Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight emerged from the home of Ariel Castro after years of captivity.
Gina DeJesus returned home on Wednesday, and her mother Nancy spoke to a crowd of reporters through tears. “Even the ones that doubted, I still want to thank them the most because they’re the ones that made me stronger, the ones that made me feel the most that my daughter was out there,” she said.
As a member of Cleveland’s Puerto Rican community, Arielle M. Rios distinctly remembers the day of Gina DeJesus’s disappearance. She describes the community’s reaction DeJesus’s release, and learning that Ariel Castro, who hung a Puerto Rican flag on the porch of the home where he kept the three victims, is the lead suspect in this kidnapping case.