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A Woman Called 911 When Her Mom Didn’t Post Her Wordle Score. Turns Out, She Was Being Held Hostage.

A Woman Called 911 When Her Mom Didn’t Post Her Wordle Score. Turns Out, She Was Being Held Hostage.

Wordle has very quickly become as much a part of people’s mornings as a cup of coffee and walking the dog, with millions of people posting their daily score to social media or group chats with friends and family. In fact, it’s become so key, that many of us can’t imagine life without Wordle. And now, at least one woman can credit her daily World routine with saving her life.

A California woman grew concerned when her 80-year-old mother, Denyse Holt, failed to send her usual Wordle update. She texted her sister, who also hadn’t heard from their mother. The two women — Jennifer Holt and Meredith Holt-Caldwell — tried to call their mother’s home in the Chicago area, and discovered the phone line had been disconnected. Worried that she had fallen or suffered a heart attack, they phoned the police.

It’s a good thing they did.

Their mother was in the middle of a terrifying ordeal. She had woken up in the middle of the night to an armed, naked intruder who had locked her in her basement without food or her medication. She remained there for over 20 hours, using meditation techniques and regular walks around the tiny room to keep herself calm. Holt told the Washington Post that she feared the worst, but fought to keep a cool head no matter how bleak things got. Fortunately, almost a full day after she’d woken up to a stranger standing over her bed, police arrived, rescued her and arrested the man holding her hostage. “I still feel lucky to be alive,” she told WaPo. “I never thought I would come out of that alive.”

A good reminder to check in on your friends and loved ones if something is amiss. And a good reminder to develop a couple daily routines that might tip people off if something goes awry for you.

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