80-year old woman saved from home invasion because of phone game Wordle

A woman in Illinois was saved from a hostage situation after her daughter suspected something was wrong when she did not update her Wordle.

Denyse Holt, 80, was held hostage for almost 17 hours after a man broke into her house in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood when she was in bed on February 5. The man appeared in front of her naked with scissors in his hand.

The man dragged her around and disconnected her phone lines before locking her up in the basement bathroom for 17 hours.

"I didn't think I was going to live," Holt told CBS Chicago in an interview.

Holt’s daughter, who lives in Seattle, said she was worried when her mom was not answering texts and had not updated the mobile phone game Wordle. She alerted the police that something was wrong.

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

When police arrived at the scene, they found a broken window and the man with multiple knives.

"I never thought in a million years this is what was happening, but it was," she said. "I'm very lucky".

The man has been identified as James H. Davis III, 32, and faces felony charges, including home invasion, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. The police believe Davis had a mental health crisis.