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| Elderly people illustration |
It took three years for authorities to discover a woman who was lying dead in her apartment, according to press reports in France.
The remains of the woman who is believed to have died in 2010 have been discovered in her Toulouse, France, apartment, police said.
Firefighters and police entered the apartment of Fernande Broca, who was 76-years-old, and found her lying dead on Thursday. Neighbors described her as quiet and lonely, and said she only left her house to go shopping.
Although her financial statements and other correspondence piled up at the front of her door, neighbors assumed she had moved away, according to a local newspaper.
The newspaper also said that her rent and utility bills were paid electronically.
"When I realized that her windows were closed for a long time I thought she had gone away to live in a retirement home," a neighbor said.
“It is puzzling that her neighbors and family members didn't realize something was amiss for three years. This incident should remind us all to check on our friends and family members as often as possible,” Frank Wang, 47, of Paris, France told YourJewishNews.com after learning about the discovery.
A preliminary medical examination indicated that Broca died three years ago, but it did not identify the cause of death.