Texas woman found barely alive, maggots eating her flesh

TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP) - A 62-year-old woman has been hospitalized after authorities found her barely alive with maggots eating her flesh, Texas City police said.

Police found the woman after someone called 911 late Friday night claiming to be her son and said his mother had bedsores and needed an ambulance, police Capt. Brian Goetschius said. The caller, who police are searching for, said the back door of the house would be open and hung up, Goetschius said.

The officer who entered the house said it was in deplorable condition and there were several cats running around inside. He said he was overcome by a smell similar to that of a decaying body. The person who made the 911 call was not there.

The officer then saw what he first thought was a dead woman on the living room floor. Goetschius said that the officer then saw the woman blink.

"She was teetering on the brink of death," Goetschius told The Daily News in Galveston.

He said the woman is Linda Sue Sainz, a retired Galveston County Sheriff's Office dispatcher.

Sainz was taken to Mainland Medical Center in Texas City. Hospital officials said early Tuesday morning that they could not release a patient condition.

Police Chief Robert Burby said his department contacted Adult Protective Services, which is conducting its own investigation.

Police said that the 911 call came from a phone in the house.

"The circumstances with the 911 call were unusual. I think this whole case is unusual," Goetschius told Houston television station KHOU.

Family members told police they had not seen Sainz since January.