In Springfield Township, Ohio, one house lay quiet for months, its neighbors not noticing anything unusual or alarming, according to the Toledo Blade.
But inside that house, a 75-year-old woman was living in squalor, surrounded by feces and trapped in one chair for months.
According to police reports, Barbara Foster was finally rescued Thursday from her house, where she had been trapped for as long as a year, so long that her skin had begun to mold itself into the very fabric of the chair, per WCMH.
Foster, who weighed 550 pounds when she was rescued, was transported to a Toledo hospital, but as she was removed from her house by emergency responders, she screamed in pain because her bones were so frail, the movement caused them to break, according to WTOL.
Her current condition is unclear, per the Blade.
Police discovered Foster’s condition after a church volunteer who had been caring for her for a decade called 911 to say that Foster was “not acting herself,” per WTOL. The volunteer also told police he had not seen Foster anywhere but her chair since at least July.
According to local media reports, police and first responders needed to wear hazmat suits in order to enter the house, but the volunteer said that the residence has smelled the same since he first began helping her. WTOL, however, reported that the smell reached the sidewalk.
Multiple neighbors told the Blade that they had not seen Foster in years, with one couple who had lived in the area since 1995 saying they never even knew her name. However, WCMH interviewed one neighbor, Leirin Snyder, who claimed to be Foster’s goddaughter and said she knew Foster was a hoarder but was unaware of her condition. Snyder said she had not visited Foster in some time.
According to the Blade, police received two calls from Foster’s house in May, but no reports were ever filed regarding the incidents. The police are currently investigating the current incident to determine if any crime was committed.
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