Polish neighbors were told the teenager next door had been missing for 27 years, and they were left in shock when she was found in the home after allegedly being held captive by her parents.
Police revealed that the woman, Mirella, was rescued in July from the alleged captivity in her parents’ home in the Poland town of Świętochłowice, according to local outlets TVP3, Super Express and Fakt.
Despite being found in July, the case did not become public in Poland until October.
Mirella, 42, was found when neighbors heard a commotion in her parents’ apartment and called police. She was then found at the residence, according to Fakt and Polska Agencja Prasowa.
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“It all started with voices coming from that apartment. It was very late at night when we called the police,” a neighbor named Luiza told Fakt.
Police said Mirella and her mother both told authorities there were no issues in the family’s apartment, though Mirella’s physical condition prompted police to transfer her to a hospital, according to Super Express. Additionally, Luiza told Fakt that Mirella appeared to look unwell when she was found and resembled “an old lady.”
Neighbors explained that Mirella’s parents allegedly said she went missing when she was 15 years old 27 years ago, according to the outlets. Meanwhile, Fakt and TVP3 reported that the parents allegedly said Mirella had been reunited with her biological parents when further pressed about her whereabouts.
Friends and neighbors are now caring for Mirella, who has allegedly shared horrifying details of what her life has been like for the past three decades. Mirella was confined to a small room and did not have access to basic hygiene such as underwear and menstrual pads, according to a fundraiser that’s been set up to help with her physical and mental treatment and her upcoming living expenses.
Additionally, her friends said her leg has been “suffering increasingly” over the years and that “even a gust of wind” causes her excruciating pain.
Luiza, who is involved with the fundraiser, told Fakt about Mirella’s childhood while discussing the case. “She was a normal, healthy child; we ran around the yard, climbing trees, and nothing ever happened to her. She was a healthy teenager,” she revealed.
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Now that she’s been found, Luiza and her other friends are hopeful Mirella can have a healthy and normal life.
It’s not currently clear if there will be charges against Mirella’s parents, according to People, and the Polish media has said there were no charges brought against them yet. Additionally, local prosecutor Agnieszka Kwatera told Super Express that police are investigating the case as potential abuse.
