South Carolina woman, 83, dies after falling into ‘unknown’ well shaft below home’s kitchen

An 83-year-old woman has died in South Carolina after falling nearly 50 feet into a well shaft that was hidden underneath the kitchen floor in a home outside of Greenville, a coroner says. 

The Oconee County Coroner’s Office says Dorothy Louise Downey showed up at the property in Salem on Sunday afternoon to help her daughter “in the process of moving from the home.” 

“An area of the kitchen floor had weakened with age; the deceased stepped onto the weakened floor and fell through the floor into a well shaft, unknown to the family,” the office said in a statement. “She fell approximately 48 feet to her death; there was some water in base of the well.” 

The coroner’s office, citing property records, said the home was built in 1920. 

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The fall was reported to have happened around 2 p.m. Sunday.  

Around 5:45 p.m., nearly four hours later, Downey was removed from the well by the Salem Fire Department and Oconee Emergency Services, according to the coroner’s office. 

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An autopsy performed Monday on Downey determined that she died from blunt force injuries and the manner of her death is accidental, it added. 

“I have not had a death like this occur in my 31-year career as Oconee County coroner,” coroner Karl Addis told WYFF.