Elderly Couple Found Dead In Elevator
Delivery Woman Noticed Newspapers Piling Up In Driveway


Caroline and Sherwood Wadsworth
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- An elderly couple were found dead inside an elevator in their St. Simons Island home Wednesday after police said they got stuck inside.

Glynn County coroner Jimmy Durden said it appears 90-year-old Sherwood Wadsworth and his wife, 89-year-old Caroline Wadsworth, died of natural causes. They had been dead for several days before their bodies were discovered.

Glynn County police Capt. Marissa Tindale said the elevator was stuck between the second and third floors of the couple's home. She said they had no way to call for help.

An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday at the state crime lab in Savannah.



Wes Wadsworth said he believes his parents' bodies were in the elevator for seven days before they were found because the oldest newspaper in their driveway was dated July 9.

Newspapers In Driveway
Police say a newspaper delivery woman who noticed newspapers piling up in an elderly couple's driveway notified officers.
"My father religiously would get the paper, took my mother breakfast, then he'd send it up the elevator," Wadsworth said. "So I would imagine it had to be they got stuck in the elevator sometime on Thursday the eighth."

Wadsworth said his parents used their elevator every day. He said the elevator had a history of getting stuck during the 10 years his parents lived at the house. He said it was last inspected in April.

The elevator is much smaller than a commercial elevator.

"You know they're old, and you know they're getting close, but you don't expect it like this," Wadsworth said.

Neighbors said they knew something was wrong. One neighbor left a watermelon on the doorstep that was untouched for days. Neighbors also noticed the buildup of daily newspapers in front of the garage.

Police said the newspaper delivery woman noticed the newspapers piling up outside, and she called police Thursday morning.

Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said it's hard to imagine the couple's final hours.

"Being in a position where they have no control -- you're talking about a confined area," Doering said. "Can you imagine? Terrible."