Getting thrown in jail is some people’s worst nightmare, which makes this story even more frightening. A woman was accidentally locked up overnight in the visiting area of a California jail.
The unnamed woman was visiting an inmate at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange County, California, in early November 2023. The woman in her early thirties was directed to the public visiting area of the facility to wait for the inmate.
While waiting for the prisoner, the woman fell asleep in the visiting booth, which closed at 5 p.m. the day she visited. She ended up getting locked in the area and wasn’t found until the next morning.
Orange County sheriff’s spokesperson Carrie Braun said that the woman was treated for a cut on her hand, which was a mystery as to how the laceration happened. As she was banned from bringing her cellphone into the facility, the woman was unable to contact authorities to let her out.
An investigation is currently underway to figure out how the woman was locked in. An emergency phone will also be installed in the waiting area.