Three women who had been missing for years -- two of whom disappeared as teenagers -- were found alive in a house in Cleveland, police in the US state of Ohio said.

A neighbor spotted one of the women -- Amanda Berry -- screaming and trying to get out of the house.

"I heard screaming... And I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside of the house," Charles Ramsey, a neighbor who found the women, told the local ABC affiliate.

"I go on the porch and she said 'Help me get out. I've been here a long time.'"

Ramsey said he tried to get her out through the door but could not pull it open, so he kicked out the bottom and she crawled through "carrying a little girl."

Police arrived a few minutes later and discovered the two other women.

"All three women, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight, seem to be in good health," Cleveland police said in a statement.

"A 52 year old Hispanic male has been placed under arrest regarding this incident."

Berry was last seen at approximately 7:40 p.m. on April 21, 2003, after leaving work at a fast food restaurant that was just a few blocks from her home. She was 16 when she disappeared.

DeJesus was 14 when she disappeared while walking home from school on April 2, 2004.

She was last seen at a pay telephone booth, sometime between 2:45 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. that day.

The story of Knight's disappearance was not immediately known.

Source: AFP