An American octogenarian has been rescued from an hour-long hostage situation after her daughter realized she hadn’t sent her her daily score on the popular ‘Wordle’ word game, CBS has reported. .
Denyse Holt, a resident of Lincolnwood, a suburb of Chicago in the northern United States, was alone in her home on the night of February 5 when a man broke in and threatened her with a pair of scissors, before hold her hostage for some 17 hours, according to local CBS television.
According to Ms Holt, the man, who was naked and bloodied after smashing a window to get in, assured her he wouldn’t hurt her, but he forced her to take a shower and then a bath — fully clothed — with him before locking him in the basement.
“I didn’t think I was going to survive,” the octogenarian told CBS.
Lincolnwood police suspect the hostage taker may be mentally ill, the outlet also reported.
Ms. Holt’s eldest daughter, who lives several thousand miles from Chicago in the big city of Seattle, realized something was wrong when her mother didn’t send her her ‘Wordle’ score that day .
The principle of the game is to find a word of five letters each day, in six tries maximum. The popularity of the game has exploded in recent weeks, to the point of reaching several million daily players and being adapted around the world.
According to Denyse Holt, her daughter knew she never missed her now daily ritual of sharing the result.
“I didn’t send Wordle to my eldest daughter in the morning. And it troubled her,” the octogenarian told CBS.
Her daughter therefore called the Lincolnwood police for a routine visit to her mother’s home. Officers then discovered that she was being held against her will.
The hostage situation remained deadlocked for several hours before SWAT, a police response unit, used a stun gun to incapacitate the suspect and save the old lady.
Denyse Holt, in shock after this ordeal, was not injured.