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The accident took place in Ulster County in the Town of Esopus around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31.
The woman was found when deputies responded to a home on New Salem Road for the report of an elderly woman who had fallen down an embankment, said Lt. Jospeh Sciutto, of the Ulster County Sheriff's Office.
The woman's identity is not being released by the Sheriff's Office.
The woman was located at the bottom of the embankment near the edge of the Rondout Creek and was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained from the fall, Sciutto said.
The preliminary investigation suggests she had been doing yard work with a family member earlier in the day and the family member returned inside for lunch while she stayed outside to work, Sciutto said.
The woman was dragging a tarp with brush and leaves to the edge of the property when she lost her balance and fell approximately 50 feet down a steep embankment, he added.
When family members realized she had not returned inside, they searched the property and located her.
The woman was recovered and extracted from the scene with the assistance of the department's navigation patrol vessel M27, Sciutto said.
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