VIDEO: Elderly Diabetic Janitor Locked in Florida Holding Cell for Days Without Food

An elderly custodian in Florida who became trapped inside an Orange County holding cell recently for three nights does not want anyone else to experience the same thing.

While recovering in the hospital, 72-year-old Libia Vargas De Dinas told WESH last week her faith helped her survive the ordeal.

“I prayed to God that he would take care of my health, body, mind, soul and spirit,” she recalled.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the ordeal began the night of January 27 when the custodian was inside the courthouse working.

However, an inmate holding cell door shut behind her and locked while her janitor’s cart and cellphone were on the other side of it.

The woman noted it was the weekend and no one was expected to be on the 23rd floor where she was trapped. She was eventually rescued early Monday, but spent three nights without food.

While inside the cell, she was able to drink water from a faucet in the space and rest on a bench.

The situation was even more dangerous because Vargas De Dinas is a diabetic who had not taken her insulin since the door shut behind her.

There are different kinds of diabetes, but whatever type a person has can result in excess sugar in their blood, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“Too much sugar in the blood can lead to serious health problems,” the clinic’s site read, noting that insulin is used in diabetes treatment.

Attorney Bill McAfee recently told reporters his client is traumatized by the incident, and he also shared photos of what he said are the woman’s hands that were injured when she banged on the door:

He claimed the security company the county contracts for the building, called Allied Security, did not see that the woman did not check out or turn in her keys, as per the rules.

“There had to of been at least seven shifts where new security folks came in, should’ve seen the driver’s license sitting there, should’ve seen that the keys had never been turned in, and that the log had never been signed out,” McAfee noted.

Authorities with the sheriff’s office said deputies are scheduled to patrol the building during regular business hours, the WESH report said, adding that over those several days, guards employed by Allied patrolled the area.

There are apparently no cameras in the cells, and officials said after the incident that “Orange County has mandated that the security company walk every space within the janitorial footprint.”

The automatic door closer had also reportedly been removed so the same thing does not happen to anyone else.