Woman saved from hostage situation when daughter notices missed Wordle update

An Illinois woman was saved from a man holding her hostage in her home after her daughter suspected something might be wrong when she had not sent her regular Wordle update.

Denyse Holt, 80, had been held hostage for nearly 17 hours earlier this week after a naked man broke into her home in Lincolnwood, according to a local CBS station.

The man, who was not named, reportedly entered Holt’s home, dragged her around the house and disconnected her phone lines before locking her into her basement bathroom.

“I didn’t think I was going to live,” Holt told CBS Chicago.

Her daughter alerted police to check on Holt’s home on Sunday night when she realized that Holt had not sent her score for the daily word puzzle and had not answered the phone, the news outlet noted.

“I didn’t send my older daughter a Wordle in the morning and that was disconcerting to her,” Holt reportedly said.

When local authorities arrived on the scene, they discovered a broken window and found the suspect on the second floor of Holt’s home with multiple knives. They were able to safely remove Holt from her basement and she did not sustain any injuries, according to CBS Chicago.

The suspect was detained and placed into custody on Monday morning. He has been charged with home invasion with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault against a peace officer and aggravated kidnapping while armed with a dangerous weapon, the outlet reported.

Wordle, a puzzle game in which players have six chances to guess a five-letter word, has grown wildly popular in the last few months, with hundreds of thousands of players daily who often post their scores on Facebook and other social media.

It was purchased by The New York Times last month.