An 83-year-old woman died after falling through rotten floorboards in her daughter’s home and into a well shaft beneath the home.
Dorothy Louise Downey died after the accident in the 100-year-old home in Salem, South Carolina, on Sunday.
Local police said Downey was helping her daughter move out of the two-bedroom property on Park Avenue when she walked into the kitchen and stood on the rotten floorboards.
Tragically, the boards gave way and Downey fell through into the well shaft beneath the property.
Downey’s daughter crawled under the house to try and locate her mother, but she could not find her, deputies said.
The property was built in 1920 and was listed as in ‘poor condition’, local records show
The Salem Fire Department and Oconee Emergency Services extricated Downey from the well at around 5:45 pm.
The property was built in 1920 and was listed as in ‘poor condition’, Oconee County records show.
In August, the property was sold for slightly more than $300,000 and included 25 acres of land.
An investigation into the incident by the Sheriff’s is still ongoing.
‘I’ve never heard anything like this’ one shocked Facebook user wrote about the incident.
‘So sad. My heart goes out for this family’ they added.
‘My deepest condolences to all the family. May God comfort all the family’ another wrote.
A third posted: ‘That is the saddest most awful thing I’ve seen. Prayers for her family and all involved with this situation.’