Wordle has become a small source of joy for many, but in one instance, it helped save a life.
A grandmother, from the Chicago area, had a habit of sending her daughter a Wordle game every morning. According to CBS News, she didn’t send a game on Feb. 6, and her family knew something was wrong.
Dense Holt, 80, woke up to a naked stranger in her room with scissors in his hand and covered in blood.
“I was in shock,” she told the station of the 17-hour ordeal. “I was trying to survive — that’s all.”
The man told her he had cut himself while breaking into the house and ordered her to take a shower, and then a bath, with him while still in her nightgown.
According to Fox News, he trapped her in a basement bathroom with a chair for 17 hours as he unplugged her phone and stayed in her house.
Daughter Meredith Holt-Caldwell said she was uneasy that morning when she noticed that her mother hadn’t read any texts or sent her Wordle score.
“I didn’t send my older daughter a Wordle in the morning. And that was disconcerting to her,” Holt said.
Holt-Caldwell said she instinctually called the police in Lincolnwood, Illinois, and requested a welfare check. After a long standoff, the SWAT team took James H. Davis III into custody, according to the reports.
He was charged on several counts, including felony home invasion with a dangerous weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed with a dangerous weapon, and aggravated assault against a peace officer. Police said he was having a mental health breakdown.
“I didn’t think I was going to live,” Holt said. “I’m very lucky.”