PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A Florida couple was held without bail, charged with kidnapping an elderly woman, stealing $250,000 from her then stashing her in a Polish nursing home.
Janina Zaniewska, 93, was rescued last week from the nursing home where, police allege, she was dumped by Aron Bell, 80, and his wife Henryka Bell, 59, who took $250,000 from her bank account, ABCNews.com reported. The Bells were charged with kidnapping, elderly exploitation, grand theft from a person older than 65 years of age and fraud.
Authorities from the U.S. Embassy in Poland were led to Zaniewska at a nursing home near Warsaw four months after she was last seen at her condo complex, the Palm Beach Towers. The woman said the Bells told her they were taking her on a vacation to Poland, a Palm Beach Police Department report said.
Police accused the Bells of befriending Zaniewska then stealing her savings, spending it on their mortgage and other personal expenses.
Authorities were tipped off by Pamela Leikala, a bank manger who alerted police after she became suspicious of the Bells' involvement with Zaniewska's finances.
"This is a bad story with a great ending," Leikala told ABCNews.com.
