By . Louise Boyle and Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 07:28 EST, 9 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:37 EST, 9 May 2013 . The daughter of Ariel Castro has made a tearful plea for her best friend's forgiveness after her father kidnapped the girl and held her captive for almost a decade. Arlene Castro choked back tears as she appeared in an interview on Thursday morning to say she hoped she could see Gina DeJesus soon and introduce her to her children. Ms Castro had been the last person to see DeJesus, then 14, before she was allegedly snatched by her father, Ariel Castro, in 2004 and imprisoned in his Cleveland home. Speaking to Good Morning America, Ms Castro said she never had any suspicions her friend was tied up inside the house, along with two other missing women, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight. Scroll down for videos . Emotional: Ariel Castro's daughter Arlene burst into tears as she apologized to her best friend Gina DeJesus, who was kidnapped by her father and held captive for nearly 10 years . Overwhelmed: She said she had no idea that her father was keeping three women locked up in his home . 'I'm absolutely so, so sorry,' she . told GMA as tears rolled down her cheeks. 'I really want to see you Gina . and I want you to meet my kids. I'm so sorry for everything.' Gina, . who said she was not close with her father, added: 'I'm really . disappointed, embarrassed, devastated about this whole situation.' A . year after DeJesus' disappearance, Arlene had appeared on America's . Most Wanted to recount their last day together and to plead for new . information, unaware that the girl was so close. The teenagers had been best friends at Wilbur Wright Middle School in Cleveland and, along with another girl, Kayla Rogers, were like 'The Three Musketeers', friends have said. Best of friends: Arlene Castro (right) was the last person to see Gina DeJesus (left) in 2004. Arlene's father Ariel has been charged in her abduction . Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. 'They were the best of the best of the best of friends,' Lupe Collins, whose daughter was also friends with the girls, told NBC. 'Kayla and [Arlene] and Georgina, they were tight, they were like three musketeers. They wouldn't leave each other's sight.' Kayla and Gina met in elementary school, and they both met Arlene in middle school. They would often go to each others' homes to listen to Spanish music and rap and practice their dance moves. 'We used to hang out on Gina's porch,' Kayla Rogers told NBC. 'We had a couple sleepovers.' They would chat on the phone and talk about boys, Rogers said. 'We were gossips. Gossip girls.' Rogers said she saw Arlene's father as he worked as a school bus driver. 'He was my bus driver, also,' Rogers said. 'He'd wink at me and… ugh.' Coming home: Gina Dejesus, now 23, who disappeared in Cleveland, Ohio in 2004, escaped from a home on Monday just miles from where she went missing - and is believed to have known her abductor . Last sighting: Arlene Castro told America's Most Wanted that she was meant to go to her friend Gina's house that day after school but her mother said that she had to come home . But following Gina's disappearance, . Rogers said she fell out of touch with Arlene Castro and that the girls . have not been in touch in nearly a decade. Gina returned to her family's home on . Wednesday, hiding her face but giving a 'thumbs up' to the crowd that . had gathered to greet her. On Thursday, her mother Nancy Ruiz grinned as she told Good Morning America about her excitement at her daughter's return. 'I'm still in a dream,' she said. 'I . pinch myself every morning and it's awesome. I'm unable to describe the . feeling I have. It's so awesome to have her home.' When she saw her daughter, who is now 23, for the first time since her kidnapping, Nancy Ruiz said they did not even speak. 'We just grabbed each other and held on,' she said. 'There was just hugging and kissing and crying.' Relief: Gina's mother Nancy Ruiz said on Thursday that it was 'awesome' to have her daughter home . Emotion: She said that she simply hugged and cried with Gina when they first saw each other again . Ruiz, who has continued to search for . her daughter since she was abducted, said that the three women, whom . she saw together in hospital, are 'doing great'. 'Captor': Ariel Castro, 52, has been charged with kidnapping and raping the three women . 'I knew she was strong,' she said of her daughter. 'I didn't know how strong she was.' Arlene . Castro had planned to go to Gina's house on the day she disappeared in . April, 2004. But when Arlene called her mother to ask permission, she . was told to come straight home and the girls parted ways. A year after her friend disappeared, Arlene Castro told America's Most Wanted: . 'She [Gina] gave me 50 cents to call my mom - and my mom said no I . can't go over to her house. So I told her and she [Gina] said ''ok'' and . just walked.' After Gina gave Arlene 50 cents to call . her mom, she didn't have enough money for bus fare and so began to walk . home - but never made it. Gina was not seen again until she . escaped from a home owned by Arlene's father Ariel - around three miles . from where she went missing. Further . details have emerged about the close links that Ariel Castro kept . to the families of the missing women, even attending vigils on the . anniversaries of their disappearances alongside distraught family and . friends. He has now been charged with kidnapping and raping the women in his home. Relief: A 'Welcome Home Gina' sign hangs on a fence outside her family home on May 7 in Cleveland . Joy: Nancy Ruiz, mother of Gina, hugs a police officer as her daughter arrives at her home on Wednesday . Return: Gina gives a thumbs-up for the crowds as she is escorted toward her home on Wednesday . Gina DeJesus, 23, Amanda . Berry, 26, and 32-year-old Michelle Knight were found at the house on . Monday after Berry managed to escape while Castro was away from the . home. Gina's aunt Sandra Ruiz said: 'Those girls, those women are so . strong. What we've done in ten years is nothing compared to . what those women have done in ten years to survive.' Gina's oldest cousin Robert Osorio told NBC Latino that it was a time of relief and happiness for their family, who come from Puerto Rico. He said: 'I saw her in the hospital. She’s happy - she’s in good spirits. She recognizes everybody by name. She’s just happy to be home.' In April, the DeJesus’ family had marked the nine-year anniversary since Gina disappeared . All three women were released from Metro . Health Medical Center on Tuesday morning. Never giving up hope: Gina DeJesus' father Felix holds up a post in shortly after her disappearance in front of a shrine to his daughter .
Arlene Castro was the last person to see Gina DeJesus, then 14, before she was kidnapped as she walked home in 2004 .
Gina's mother describes the moment she was reunited with her daughter: 'There were no words, we just grabbed each other and cried'
By . Louise Boyle and Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 07:28 EST, 9 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:37 EST, 9 May 2013 . The daughter of Ariel Castro has made a tearful plea for her best friend's forgiveness after her father kidnapped the girl and held her captive for almost a decade. Arlene Castro choked back tears as she appeared in an interview on Thursday morning to say she hoped she could see Gina DeJesus soon and introduce her to her children. Ms Castro had been the last person to see DeJesus, then 14, before she was allegedly snatched by her father, Ariel Castro, in 2004 and imprisoned in his Cleveland home. Speaking to Good Morning America, Ms Castro said she never had any suspicions her friend was tied up inside the house, along with two other missing women, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight. Scroll down for videos . Emotional: Ariel Castro's daughter Arlene burst into tears as she apologized to her best friend Gina DeJesus, who was kidnapped by her father and held captive for nearly 10 years . Overwhelmed: She said she had no idea that her father was keeping three women locked up in his home . 'I'm absolutely so, so sorry,' she . told GMA as tears rolled down her cheeks. 'I really want to see you Gina . and I want you to meet my kids. I'm so sorry for everything.' Gina, . who said she was not close with her father, added: 'I'm really . disappointed, embarrassed, devastated about this whole situation.' A . year after DeJesus' disappearance, Arlene had appeared on America's . Most Wanted to recount their last day together and to plead for new . information, unaware that the girl was so close. The teenagers had been best friends at Wilbur Wright Middle School in Cleveland and, along with another girl, Kayla Rogers, were like 'The Three Musketeers', friends have said. Best of friends: Arlene Castro (right) was the last person to see Gina DeJesus (left) in 2004. Arlene's father Ariel has been charged in her abduction . Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. 'They were the best of the best of the best of friends,' Lupe Collins, whose daughter was also friends with the girls, told NBC. 'Kayla and [Arlene] and Georgina, they were tight, they were like three musketeers. They wouldn't leave each other's sight.' Kayla and Gina met in elementary school, and they both met Arlene in middle school. They would often go to each others' homes to listen to Spanish music and rap and practice their dance moves. 'We used to hang out on Gina's porch,' Kayla Rogers told NBC. 'We had a couple sleepovers.' They would chat on the phone and talk about boys, Rogers said. 'We were gossips. Gossip girls.' Rogers said she saw Arlene's father as he worked as a school bus driver. 'He was my bus driver, also,' Rogers said. 'He'd wink at me and… ugh.' Coming home: Gina Dejesus, now 23, who disappeared in Cleveland, Ohio in 2004, escaped from a home on Monday just miles from where she went missing - and is believed to have known her abductor . Last sighting: Arlene Castro told America's Most Wanted that she was meant to go to her friend Gina's house that day after school but her mother said that she had to come home . But following Gina's disappearance, . Rogers said she fell out of touch with Arlene Castro and that the girls . have not been in touch in nearly a decade. Gina returned to her family's home on . Wednesday, hiding her face but giving a 'thumbs up' to the crowd that . had gathered to greet her. On Thursday, her mother Nancy Ruiz grinned as she told Good Morning America about her excitement at her daughter's return. 'I'm still in a dream,' she said. 'I . pinch myself every morning and it's awesome. I'm unable to describe the . feeling I have. It's so awesome to have her home.' When she saw her daughter, who is now 23, for the first time since her kidnapping, Nancy Ruiz said they did not even speak. 'We just grabbed each other and held on,' she said. 'There was just hugging and kissing and crying.' Relief: Gina's mother Nancy Ruiz said on Thursday that it was 'awesome' to have her daughter home . Emotion: She said that she simply hugged and cried with Gina when they first saw each other again . Ruiz, who has continued to search for . her daughter since she was abducted, said that the three women, whom . she saw together in hospital, are 'doing great'. 'Captor': Ariel Castro, 52, has been charged with kidnapping and raping the three women . 'I knew she was strong,' she said of her daughter. 'I didn't know how strong she was.' Arlene . Castro had planned to go to Gina's house on the day she disappeared in . April, 2004. But when Arlene called her mother to ask permission, she . was told to come straight home and the girls parted ways. A year after her friend disappeared, Arlene Castro told America's Most Wanted: . 'She [Gina] gave me 50 cents to call my mom - and my mom said no I . can't go over to her house. So I told her and she [Gina] said ''ok'' and . just walked.' After Gina gave Arlene 50 cents to call . her mom, she didn't have enough money for bus fare and so began to walk . home - but never made it. Gina was not seen again until she . escaped from a home owned by Arlene's father Ariel - around three miles . from where she went missing. Further . details have emerged about the close links that Ariel Castro kept . to the families of the missing women, even attending vigils on the . anniversaries of their disappearances alongside distraught family and . friends. He has now been charged with kidnapping and raping the women in his home. Relief: A 'Welcome Home Gina' sign hangs on a fence outside her family home on May 7 in Cleveland . Joy: Nancy Ruiz, mother of Gina, hugs a police officer as her daughter arrives at her home on Wednesday . Return: Gina gives a thumbs-up for the crowds as she is escorted toward her home on Wednesday . Gina DeJesus, 23, Amanda . Berry, 26, and 32-year-old Michelle Knight were found at the house on . Monday after Berry managed to escape while Castro was away from the . home. Gina's aunt Sandra Ruiz said: 'Those girls, those women are so . strong. What we've done in ten years is nothing compared to . what those women have done in ten years to survive.' Gina's oldest cousin Robert Osorio told NBC Latino that it was a time of relief and happiness for their family, who come from Puerto Rico. He said: 'I saw her in the hospital. She’s happy - she’s in good spirits. She recognizes everybody by name. She’s just happy to be home.' In April, the DeJesus’ family had marked the nine-year anniversary since Gina disappeared . All three women were released from Metro . Health Medical Center on Tuesday morning. Never giving up hope: Gina DeJesus' father Felix holds up a post in shortly after her disappearance in front of a shrine to his daughter .
person to see DeJesus, then 14, before she was daughter Arlene burst into tears as she was the last person to see Gina DeJesus (left) in grabbed each other and held on,' she said. 'There was 'awesome' to have her daughter home .