The harrowing last words of a man who ‘died the worst death imaginable’ after getting stuck upside down in a cave in Utah have been revealed.
John Edward Jones, 26, had been exploring Nutty Putty Cave, located approximately 55 miles from Salt Lake City, in November 2009 when the tragic incident occurred.
Credit: GoogleMaps
The cave was considered suitable for beginner cave explorers due to its winding passages and wide caverns, so John and his brother Josh – who was an experienced cave diver – decided to venture in with their group splitting up so the less experienced members could take on easier sections while the seasoned spelunkers ventured deeper into the cave.
Things began to go wrong when John decided to search for a narrow tunnel known as the ‘birth canal’, but took a wrong turn which led him to a different area of the cave, where he attempted to navigate a tiny crack in the wall which he believed would open into a larger cavern.
Unfortunately, he had miscalculated and became wedged inside the narrow crevice, only 10 inches across and 18 inches high, meaning the six-foot tall and 200lb man could not get back out the way he came and his only option was to continue forward, being forced to suck in his stomach so tightly that he became wedged in the gap when he released his breath.
Realizing he was trapped, John called his brother Josh to help, who pulled his legs in an attempt to free him – which actually made the situation even worse.
John ended up inverted, with his hands pinned under his chest and his head facing downwards, unable to move.
Josh said a prayer at the time, saying: “Guide us as we work through this,” to which John heartbreakingly added: “Save me for my wife and kids.”
Josh had to make the 400-foot journey back up through the cave to seek help, with the first rescuer, Susie Motola, finding John hours later with just his shoes visible.
He told her, per the Salt Lake Tribune: “Hi Susie, thanks for coming, but I really, really want to get out.”
Susie and a team of around 100 people worked tirelessly to try and rescue John for the next 24 hours, but the task was made worse by the fact he was in “absolutely the worst spot in the cave”.
Rescuer Shawn Roundy told press at the time: “It’s very narrow, very awkward, and it’s difficult to get rescuers down there.
“It’s a really tight spot, but we’ve been able to get around him. We were able to hold his hand at some point.”
After many failed attempts and around 19 hours after he first got stuck, the team eventually devised a complex pulley system to try and pull John out of the cave, ABC News reported at the time.
The plan initially seemed to be working as John even managed to partially free himself, however, tragically the pulley system broke at the last minute, sending him plummeting back down.
Harrowingly, he told rescuers: “I’m going to die right here. I’m not going to come out of here, am I?”
Despite his own horrifying predicament, John’s reported final words were those of concern regarding one of the rescuers, Ryan Shurtz, who had been badly hurt when a metal carabiner flew back and hit him in the face when the pulley system failed.
“Is he OK? I think he’s really hurt bad,” John asked.
A plaque now marks the place where John Edward Jones died. Credit: Google
The effects of the extreme stress and pressure John was under began to set in, and the young father began to panic, so rescuers put his wife Emily on the phone to calm his nerves, and he promised to get out so he could be there for her and their children.
Tragically, around 25 hours after becoming trapped, John became unresponsive after struggling to breathe while stuck upside down, losing consciousness.
A doctor who managed to reach him then pronounced him dead from cardiac arrest and suffocation.
John’s wife had vowed to have his body rescued from the cave, however, the dangerous conditions made it impossible for authorities to get him back out and the decision was eventually made to seal the passage entrance with controlled explosives, leaving John’s body entombed forever inside.
Nutty Putty Cave now stands as a memorial to John Edward Jones, with his name and face on a plaque as a memory of the tragedy that unfolded over a decade ago.
The 2016 movie The Last Descent tells the story of Jones’ heartbreaking final days.
