Frau Kissel, our next-door neighbor was found dead this morning. She was. 88 years old and lived alone. She apparently fell during the night and the people who checked on her didn’t get a response and broke their way in to find her lying on the floor – dead.
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A Woman was discovered sleeping in Göcklingen Protestant Church
The Protestant church is left unlocked for the past several years to accommodate those who stop by to pray or for a respite. Someone goes by the church and peeks in to see if all is in order. The lady who looked in the church for the past several days didn’t walk to the front of the church, but this morning she did, and saw a woman sleeping on folding chairs (the church benches are very narrow). The woman was dirty, barefooted and her feet bloody. She called Hilda and Guenter (the couple who look after the church). Guenter called the Pfalz Klinik to see if they were missing a patient and they said no. He next called the police in Landau to see if there was a missing person that they sought. Again, the answer was no. The woman was taken to Hilda’s home where she was afforded a bath and some clothes. Little by little, the woman divulged some information. As for food, she only wanted water, but was given a meal. Then the woman said that she had slept in the church for the past three nights. Upon inquiry, it was learned that the woman walked to Göcklingen from a town about a 100 kilometers east. Hilda was able to get a telephone number from the woman and called it. The man, who answered, presumably the husband, was elated and said that the local police and dogs were searching the countryside looking for her. He got directions and drove to Göcklingen. He was so grateful to Hilda that he hugged her with many thanks. Hilda says the woman was pretty and 34 years old. Why she took the walk is unclear, but it is thought that it may have been depression. (I'm wondering if she ran away from her husband). Whatever the reason, perhaps this experience will help to heal.