An American woman was found chained to a tree after being left to die in an forest halfway around the world.

Lalita Kayi Kumar was discovered in India – where she is said to have lived for at least a decade – with an iron chain wrapped around her securing her to a tree.

The 50-year-old was located in the forest in Maharashtra in the coastal Sindhudurg district – an area known to be the home to a vast tiger population – and was more than 500 miles from her home in Tamil Nadu.

In her possession, officials found a copy of her US passport on her as well as other ID cards and medical prescriptions; it was also discovered that her visa had expired.

An attempted murder probe has been launched by Indian police, and a case has been registered against her ex-husband – who is yet to be tracked down by the force, as Kayi recovers in a hospital in Goa.

She was found on Saturday evening (July 27) after a Shepherd heard her crying out for help – although she herself explained via a distressing note while in hospital that she was suffering from lockjaw.

Immediately, after seeing her secured to the tree he alerted the police.

Kayi wrote a chilling note when she was taken to a nearby hospital. (India Today)

Speaking to NDTV, Saurabh Agrawal, Superintendent of Police of Sindhudurg district, said: “Based on the note written by the woman at the hospital, a case has been registered against her former husband on charges of attempted murder, act endangering life or personal safety of others and wrongful confinement under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).”

Although Kayi is yet to give a statement to the police.

So, what did her note read?

“Injection for extreme psychosis, which caused sever locked jaw and inability to drink any water,” she wrote.

“Need intravenous food later – 40 days without food in the forest – husband tied me to a tree in a forest.”

The 50-year-old wrote a distressing message. (India Today)

Intravenous feeding commonly takes place when digestive system cannot properly absorb nutrients, and occurs in severe malabsorption disorders.

Agrawal added: “Police are also trying to verify if the woman’s claim that she was chained by her former husband was genuine. We are verifying every claim and information in the note written by her.”

Amol Chavan, an inspector at Sawantwadi Police Station, was the police officer who located her.

He added: “When we discovered her, she was seriously dehydrated. It appears that she was stuck there for a minimum of 48 hours. Although she was mute.”

UNILAD has contacted Maharashtra Police for further comment.