TEXAS CITY — A woman is recovering in a hospital after police found her barely alive — so close to death that maggots were eating her flesh — during the weekend.
Police officers are searching for the person who made the 911 call that alerted them about the woman.
Police Capt. Brian Goetschius said a man called on the emergency line about 11:50 p.m. Friday. The caller said his mother had bedsores and needed an ambulance. The caller then said the back door to the house would be open and hung up, Goetschius said.
When patrol officer J.A. Patterson entered the house, he reported that the residence was in deplorable condition and that he was overcome by a stench similar to that of a decaying body. He also noted that several cats were running free inside the house.
He did not find the person who had made the 911 call, however.
Patterson then found what he at first thought was a dead woman on the floor of the living room. As he was securing the scene, Patterson noticed that the woman blinked, Goetschius said.
“She was teetering on the brink of death,” Goetschius said.
Goetschius confirmed the woman is Linda Sue Sainz, 62. Sainz, a retired Galveston County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher, rented the home on Pecan Street.
Emergency Medical Service workers were called to take the woman to the hospital. The medical responders discovered maggots eating the woman’s flesh, according to the police report.
Fecal matter covered the floors of the house, and a bed in the living room was also soiled, police said.
Sainz was taken to Mainland Medical Center in Texas City where she was in critical condition on Monday.
Meanwhile, police are trying to find out who made the 911 call and how Sainz ended up near death.
Police confirmed that the call came from a phone in the house and was made by a man.
“My mom has laid here and gotten bad sick,” the caller told a police dispatcher in a recording of the 911 call released by Texas City police on Monday. “She has open sores and other problems and she needs to get to a hospital.”
Family members told police they had not seen Sainz since January.
Neighbors also said they had not seen Sainz recently.
“I was assuming she moved away because we hadn’t heard from her in awhile,” Pascual Valdez said. “After the hurricane, I spoke with the son and he was just acting, talking as if was alone by himself. I didn’t know she was in the house.”
Police Chief Robert Burby said his department contacted Adult Protective Services, which is conducting its own investigation.
Police had no records of any previous calls to that house, Burby said.
He also said cases of neglect of the elderly or disabled are rare but not unheard of.
“One is too many,” he said. “We have had a couple since I’ve been here, and they are always devastating.”
KHOU reporter Courtney Zubowski contributed to this report.
911 caller reports woman in need of help
Linda Sue Sainz, 62, is recovering in a hospital after police found her barely alive during the weekend. Police are searching for the person who made the 911 call. Credit: Texas City 911
