Mitch McConnell

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has revealed that he received calls “suggesting” that Sen. Mitch McConnell was actually dead during his weeks-long hospitalization.

Beshear, a Democrat, tells Katie Couric that he received two different calls from “agencies” that led him to believe that the 84-year-old McConnell was no longer alive—prompting him to demand answers for Kentuckians who were left in the dark about his weeks-long disappearance.

“It had been a month before anything had been put out, not even an official statement from Senator McConnell,” he said. “In fact, I’d gotten two calls from different agencies—not state agencies—suggesting he’s passed.”

Those calls came before McConnell’s team posted a photo of him in his hospital bed on Sunday, smiling next to his wife, Elaine Chao, and gripping the morning edition of The Washington Post’s sports section.

Chao, who has faced scrutiny over a trip to China during the Kentucky senator’s hospitalization, was spotted leaving the rehabilitation center where McConnell was recovering this week. The former transportation secretary was wearing a mask, dark sunglasses, and a long, seemingly heavy trench coat.

McConnell’s staff has declined to provide details about the rehabilitation facility or what it specializes in. It is in Washington, D.C., which was facing record-breaking heat at the time, making Chao’s bundled appearance all the more eyebrow-raising.