Woman Found Dead After Falling 100 Feet in Virginia Cave

In a tragic incident, a woman was found dead on Friday afternoon inside a cave in Staffordsville, southwestern Virginia. Authorities reported that the woman had fallen approximately 100 feet within the cave. The incident is currently under investigation.

The rural community of Giles County, located along the West Virginia border about an hour's drive from Roanoke, was where the cave is situated. Sheriff's deputies, along with fire officials from Pearisburg and a county rescue squad, quickly responded to a 911 call made around 4:15 p.m. on Friday. The call reported the woman's fall within the cave, leading the responders to her lifeless body.

Giles County Emergency Services stated in a news release on Saturday that additional specialized resources were needed at the scene, prompting another emergency response crew and a technical rescue cave team to join the recovery efforts. Together, they successfully extricated the body of the deceased woman.

The woman has been identified as Autumn Nicole Draper, 38 years old, who resided around 30 miles away from the cave in Fairlawn. According to CBS affiliate WDBJ, Draper's identification was made through DMV records.

The circumstances surrounding why Draper was inside the cave and how she fell from such a height remain unknown at this point. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation has identified over 4,400 caves across the state, with a dozen of them developed for tourism and known as "show caves."

Giles County alone boasts 253 caves, as reported by the Virginia Speleological Survey, a volunteer organization studying caves and owning a nature preserve in the area. Considered one of the largest caves in the county, reaching a depth of 718 feet, the area also houses a cave stretching over 118,000 feet in length. However, the average length of caves in Giles County is much shorter, at approximately 1,287 feet.

As authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident, the community mourns the loss of Autumn Nicole Draper and hopes for clarity and closure for her loved ones.