Every day, she shared with her daughter the result of her game. An American octogenarian was saved from a hostage situation that lasted several hours thanks to her Wordle pun ritual.
Denyse Holt, a resident of Lincolnwood, located in the suburbs of Chicago (United States), was alone at home the night of February 5 when a man broke in and threatened her with a pair of scissors, reported CBS.
The hostage-taking lasted 17 hours. The man, who was naked and bloodied, smashed a window to sneak into the apartment. He then forced the octogenarian 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,” she told the American media. Police say the man is mentally ill.
Millions of users around the world
The alert was given by the victim’s eldest daughter, who lives in Seattle. She became concerned because her mother had not shared her result on Wordle.
This game consists of finding a five-letter word every day, in a maximum of six tries. The popularity of the game has exploded in recent weeks, to the point of reaching several million daily players around the world.
According to Denyse Holt, her daughter knew she never missed her ritual. The police then checked the octogenarian’s accommodation and discovered that she was being held hostage.
After several hours, the police intervention unit, SWAT, intervened to incapacitate the suspect with a taser.
In a state of shock, the victim was rescued by law enforcement and was not injured.
