A woman, identified as Mirrella, has been freed after being restricted to an apartment, shut away from the world for 27 years, by her parents in Southern Poland.
The victim was last seen by neighbours in 1998 at the age of 15 when she last stepped outside of her family’s apartment.
When neighbours asked after the teenager, the parents claimed she had been kidnapped.
Freedom came for her in July when police were called to an apartment block in the city of Świętochłowice because neighbours heard a noise.
When the police arrived, they interrogated Mirrella’s mother, who claimed that there was no disturbance.
The husband was also interrogated, and he equally denied that there was any disturbance.
They were still talking with the police when Mirrella walked into the living room, drawing the attention of an officer because of the difficulty she had walking.
The officer noticed she was emaciated, and she had wounds on her legs. Doctors were to announce later that she had only days to live due to an infection.
She had spent 27 years inside her parents’ flat without seeing a doctor.
Now 42, the victim was rushed to the hospital where she was treated and later discharged to her family, according to Polish media outlet Fakt.
The media outlet shared images of the interior of the two-bed apartment where Mirrella has spent close to three decades.
Among the pictures shared was one featuring Mirrella lying on a sofa in a room filled with toys from when she was a child.
The room also contained a shelf above the sofa, where children’s books and stuffed animals – including a Donald Duck soft toy were displayed.
Another image shows her mother, who told reporters: ‘We used to go out with her and visit friends at the garden’, but admitted she could not remember when that was.
The mother was asked about the display of children’s toys in her adult daughter’s bedroom. She simply said: ‘I’ll throw those toys away, but I haven’t gotten to that point yet’.
The police do not have proof that any force was applied to the victim to restrict her movement. They also did not see any evidence of violence.
They have now launched an investigation into the incident, which has shaken the entire country.
The Director of Emergency Medical Service in Katowice, Łukasz Pach, told Polish newspaper Fakt that Mirrella told paramedics while being transported to the hospital that she had not left her house in over 20 years.
Although she was found in July, her case only came to the limelight after locals decided to publicise her plight and start a fundraiser to help her.
One of the organisers posted on social media that much of the information surrounding the case was yet to unravel
She said the victim herself said she had never seen her city develop, never been to a doctor, never obtained an ID card, never gone for a simple walk or even to the balcony.
A neighbour told Fakt she recalled her to be polite and very pretty. She said she could still remember almost 30 years ago, being told that Mirrella was missing.
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