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TRAGIC

Woman Dies After 48-Foot Fall Through Hidden Well Shaft

Louise Downey, 83, was helping her daughter move in to a century-old home.

A picture of worn floorboards

Jessica Christian/Getty

By Alex Nguyen

An elderly South Carolina woman suffered a fatal 48-foot fall down a well shaft underneath her daughter’s century-old home on Sunday. Dorothy Louise Downey, 83, was helping her daughter move in, according to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office, when she stepped on a weakened floorboard and dropped through. WSPA reported that Downey’s lifeless body was pulled from the well almost four hours later by the Salem Fire Department and Oconee Emergency Service members. The coroner ruled the death as accidental and stated that family members were not aware that the well existed below the residence.

Read it at WSPA

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