Police in Florida said they discovered a tragic scene when they were called on to conduct a welfare check by the family of an elderly woman. They say she fell into her septic tank and died while gardening.
The tragic incident was discovered on Tuesday, according to North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor.
Taylor said the family contacted the police after not hearing from the 74-year-old woman.
When police arrived at the property, they found her deceased in the septic tank outside her home.
“It appears where she either a fell into a hole that was created from her septic tank caving in or her weight itself it caved in right as she was standing on it,” Taylor said.
However, he said that it didn’t appear that she had drowned.
A medical examiner will conduct an autopsy of the body to determine the cause of death.
According to a report from WBBH, the woman had spoken to an appraiser about possibly selling her home, and they had warned her about a crack in the septic tank.
“Whoever did come out that day said they had a bad septic tank and I feel like if it was that bad they should have known and flagged it off,” said a neighbor to WBBH.
Residents in the North Port neighborhood said the woman was a great neighbor and would spend a lot of time outside caring for her garden plants. She would also bake and drop off food for other people in the neighborhood.
“She had a green thumb,” said neighbor Chuck Westenberg. “She was always doing something. Morning and night, watering and planting.”
Police are still investigating to find out if the septic tank was already exposed when the woman fell through.
Here’s a local video about the alarming incident:
Florida woman dies after falling into septic tank while watering plants, police say
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