A 51-year-old Ukrainian woman was recently arrested after it was discovered that she had been digging an underground tunnel near the walls of a prison, with the intention of helping her convicted son to escape.

The unnamed woman reportedly hails from the Ukrainian city of Nikolaev and had rented a house near the prison where her son was serving a life sentence for murder. Every night, she drove a silent electric scooter to an empty field near the Zaporizhia maximum security prison and used rudimentary tools to dig a 10-foot-deep tunnel toward the penal colony. She worked only during the night, using an improvised trolley to take the dirt out of the narrow tunnel. She had been working for at least three weeks and had almost reached the prison walls when she was discovered and arrested.

Photo: Ukrainian police

The loving mother allegedly stayed inside the rented house during the day, and only came out at night, as to avoid attracting attention or later being identified by the locals. That part of her plan actually worked, as when showed pictures of the woman following her arrest, none of the neighbors recognized her.

According to Ukrainian media, at the time of her arrest, the woman had managed to single-handedly dig a 35-foot-long tunnel at a depth of about 10 feet, which even police admitted was pretty impressive. She reportedly carried the dirt near an abandoned garage, close to where the dig site was located. During the three weeks of work, she managed to move three tons of soil.

Photo: YouTube screengrab

It’s unclear how the woman was eventually caught, but local news sources reported that digging tools were also found inside the rented house and the mother admitted her guilt, adding that she was only trying to break out her son. She has been taking into custody and now risks spending time behind bars. Despite technically committing a crime, the dairing woman’s actions have earned her praises from the Ukrainian public.

“This mother prepared thoroughly. Perhaps she is a miner’s daughter. To dig three meters deep would be hard enough. She had no excavator or anything of the kind,” local resident Serhey Pilnyansky told reporters.

 

“This is a real mother – not one of those who abandon their children,” another local said.