Woman rescued from kidnapping after not posting Wordle

A naked man allegedly crept into a woman’s bed and held her hostage — but she was finally rescued after it was noticed she didn’t post her daily Wordle.

Wordle to the rescue!

A naked man allegedly crept into an 80-year-old Chicago woman’s bed and held her hostage for 17 hours — but she was finally rescued after her daughter called the cops because the woman hadn’t texted her the day’s Wordle answers, WBBM-TV reported.

Denyse Holt was held hostage for 17 hours by a man who broke into her house but was saved when her daughter called police after not receiving a text regarding that day’s Wordle answer. Picture: CBS Chicago

Denyse Holt was asleep on Saturday when the mentally ill man broke into her home in the Windy City’s Lincolnwood neighbourhood, according to the outlet, the New York Post reports.

The intruder — identified as 32-year-old James H. Davis III, who was reportedly bloodied from a broken window — slipped into Holt’s bed while clutching a pair of scissors, the station said.

According to the victim’s daughter, she realised that something was off when her mother didn’t send her a text regarding the popular social media game Wordle. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

“I was in shock,” said Holt, who tried to remain calm during the ordeal. “I was trying to survive, that’s all. He said, ‘I won’t harm you or molest you.’”

He ordered her to take a shower with him in her nightgown but “then he said, ‘No, I’m not warm enough. We have to take a bath,’” she recounted.

Meredith Holt-Caldwell allegedly called police after not hearing from her mother all day, which led to the woman being saved. Picture: CBS Chicago

After the bath, she said, he dragged her around her house, disconnected the phones and took a couple of knives from the kitchen before taking her to a bathroom in the basement, which he blocked with a chair.

To pass the time, Holt did exercises in total darkness.

A mentally ill man, identified as James Davis, broke into Denyse Holt’s house while she was asleep. Picture: CBS Chicago

“I didn’t think I was going to live. I was doing marching and stretching as much as I could,” she said.

Eventually, Holt’s daughter Meredith Holt-Caldwell, who lives in Seattle, noticed that her mother had not texted her about the word-logic puzzle, as she usually does.

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

According to police, Davis slipped into Denyse Holt’s bed holding a pair of scissors. Picture: CBS Chicago

According to Denyse Holt, Davis was naked at the time and demanded that they take a shower and bath together. Picture: CBS Chicago

The family then called police, who responded to Holt’s home about 9.40pm. Sunday. A SWAT team used a stun gun to overpower the man after an hours-long standoff, the outlet reported.

“I never thought in a million years this is what was happening, but it was,” Holt-Caldwell told WBBM.

Davis was charged with home invasion with a dangerous weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed with a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault against a peace officer.

James Davis dragged Denyse Holt to the bathroom in the basement and while he showered, she did exercises. Picture: CBS Chicago

SWAT and police had a 17-hour standoff with James Davis and were eventually able to overpower him with a stun gun. Picture: CBS Chicago

“I’m very lucky,” said Holt, who was physically unharmed.

Wordle, developed by New York City-based software engineer Josh Wardle, is the latest viral trend among English-language puzzlers on social media.

Players have to guess the correct five-letter word in only six attempts, using only the letters on the board as hints.

This story was published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission.