A missing woman has been rescued after spending nine days inside a tow yard amid near-freezing temperatures, police say.
The woman, who has not been named but is said to have a disability, was reportedly inside a vehicle taken to the Skyway Towing and Recovery yard in St Burien, Washington state, earlier this month.
Her sister told police that she had not been since her mother, aged 45, abandoned a car at a gas station about 10 miles away from St Burien on 5 February. St Burien is approximately 10 miles south of Seattle.
The vehicle was towed to the Skyway tow yard at the request of the gas station, the Kent Police Department said, following standard protocols for taking away vehicles.
Skyway were however unaware somebody was inside the vehicle until asked by police on 14 February – more than a week after the car was towed, the tow yard said in reports.
“We sent one of our drivers out, he unlocks the car and had to go through it,” said Bonafacio Pauza, the general manager of the tow yard to to Seattle’s KING-TV, of a call received by police.
“She was laying in the backseat and had a whole bunch of clothes and stuff on top of her. Whoever it was that called us and said ‘please search the car,’ they saved her life”.
Despite near-freezing temperatures in Washington, the disabled woman was found inside the car alive but unresponsive.
“She had been inside the car for nine days alone in the tow yard during near-freezing weather,” said police in a statement, detailing how first aid responders were called to the scene.
The woman was taken to a nearby Kent County hospital “in serious medical condition” to receive treatment, the statement added.
“[I’m] happy that the lady is alive,” tow yard owner Mr Pauza told FOX 13 Seattle. “I’ve been in this industry for over 30 years, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it. It’s never happened before.”
An investigation is underway.
