In a tragic incident, a woman was found dead on Friday afternoon after falling approximately 100 feet inside a cave in southwestern Virginia. The cave, located in the rural community of Staffordsville in Giles County, sits along the West Virginia border and is about an hour's drive from Roanoke. The woman's body was discovered after a 911 call was placed at around 4:15 p.m., reporting that she had fallen within the cave.

Sheriff's deputies, fire officials from nearby Pearisburg, and a county rescue squad all responded to the call. Upon arrival, they quickly realized the need for additional specialized resources. Another emergency response crew and a technical rescue cave team were called in to join the recovery efforts. Together, they were able to extricate the woman's body.

The woman has been identified as 38-year-old Autumn Nicole Draper, who lived about 30 miles from the cave in Fairlawn. Her identity was confirmed through DMV records. However, the reasons why Draper was inside the cave and how she fell from such heights remain unclear.

Virginia is known for its vast number of caves, with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation tracking at least 4,400 caves throughout the state. Around a dozen of these caves have been developed as "show caves" for tourism purposes. Giles County alone boasts 253 caves, according to the Virginia Speleological Survey.

While the exact nature of the cave where the incident occurred is yet to be determined, officials have not specified if it is an established tourist attraction or an unregulated cave. The incident is currently under investigation by the Giles County Sheriff's Office.

The tragic death of Autumn Nicole Draper serves as a reminder of the inherent dangers associated with cave exploration. Authorities will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident in order to shed light on what led to this unfortunate accident.