A 65-year-old Georgia woman reported missing by her family was found in Alabama, where sheriff’s deputies said she was held captive for days after being violently beaten by her 33-year-old boyfriend.
Marshall County Sheriff Scott Walls said the woman suffered a collapsed lung, a cut to her head and severe bruising to the face during the alleged incident, which began when she was beaten overnight July 21, according to AL.com. Lance David McClendon was arrested five days later after the woman was rescued from his home in Albertville.
"She was locked in the living room of the home, and wasn't given access to her prescribed medications, fresh water or a toilet," Walls said in a news release.
Walls, who described the scene as “shocking,” said that all interior doors of the house were screwed shut and all windows were covered with black plastic.
"The woman was not able to get away, and had no way to call for help as her attacker had taken her phone from her," Walls said, according to AL.com.
McClendon had texted the woman’s family with random information about their whereabouts, Walls said.
WHNT News 19 in Huntsville reported that the woman's family reported her missing after not hearing from her in several days. They pointed investigators in the direction of McClendon, who they described as a male companion that the woman had known for two years.
The family was able to give sheriff’s deputies McClendon’s address in Albertville, the news station reported. Deputies who went to McClendon’s home for a welfare check found the woman’s car hidden in a wooded area behind the house.
Neighbors told the deputies that they hadn't seen the woman in a few days, WHNT said. Investigators watched the house overnight until they could obtain a search warrant.
They found the victim when they went inside, the news station said. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
AL.com reported that McClendon is charged with unlawful imprisonment, second-degree domestic violence and unlawful use of a credit card. He is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond on those charges.
He is also being held on outstanding warrants out of Mississippi, jail records show.
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