When Wordle, a popular mobile gaming app and New York Times daily puzzle, indirectly saved an elderly woman’s life from a home intrusion, it shocked many around the world. 

Recently bought by the New York Times, Wordle is a web-based word game where players have attempts to guess a five-letter word and receive feedback for each try. The app has risen in popularity due to its addictive tendency. 

“I like Wordle because of how it challenges me in a fun and creative way. I also like that it is always a different word, and because it is so random, you really have to think about it. I also like to see my 100% success rate,” Sawyer Lofstrom, junior, said. 

The game has recently been in the news after it played a key role in saving the life of Denise Holt, an 80-year-old woman in Lincolnwood, Illinois. Holt was asleep in her bed when James H. Davis III, a mentally ill man, broke into her home, bloodied after shattering a window, and held her hostage for over 17 hours. When Holt’s older daughter, Meredith Holt-Caldwell, failed to receive a daily Wordle result or any other communication from her mother, she began to worry. Holt-Caldwell requested a wellness check from the Lincolnwood police, who arrived at the house shortly thereafter. 

“I did not send my older daughter a Wordle in the morning, and that was disconcerting to her,” Holt said in an interview to local CBS affiliate WBBM. 

Davis entered the home to find Holt in bed and pointed a pair of scissors at her as a threat. He then dragged her out of the house and disconnected the phones, taking two knives from the kitchen with him. Holt attested that Davis then forced her into the windowless bathroom in her basement, where she spent many hours during her confinement doing breathing exercises to stay calm. 

“I did not think I was going to live (…) I was in shock. I was trying to survive,” Holt said to CBS. 

After the police located Holt barricaded in the basement, they were then confronted by Davis and had a standoff with the intruder for several hours. The standoff ended with a member of the SWAT team shooting Davis with a stun gun and taking him into custody. He was charged with felony home invasion and aggravated assault, among other accusations.  

“I never thought in a million years this [kidnapping] is what was happening, but it was (…) I am very lucky,” Holt said. 

To stay updated about the case and the charges against the suspect, visit here.