The story of John Jones Cave (A full account). Just shoot me if I was him. At the time of the Nutty Putty cave incident John Jones was attending medical school in Virginia and this 6 foot guy was in the prime of his life, no doubt, with a beautiful family and promising career ahead of him. Around 8pm, John Edward Jones entered Nutty Putty Cave. Life is still wonderful and beautiful and good, even though bad things happen, because Heavenly Father has a plan for us., Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. The cave system was named after the soft, brown, putty-like texture of the clay found in many of its passages. Roundy believes that the pulley came loose at its anchor point in the cave wall, which contain a substantial amount of loose clay. Rescuers tied John with a rope connected to a series of pulleys. John and Josh prayed at this point of the cave ordeal, and John said Guide us as we work through this, Save me for my wife and kids. "We're here to inform, teach and get people into caving safely.". The cave has always been popular with cavers and Boy Scouts who enjoy exploring the dark underground. It had been difficult to remain there anyway with John gone and looking toward a summer birth, so she and Lizzie moved in with her parents until John Edward Jones II was born in June. Wait, how am I able to reply to a 4-yr-old comment? She returned with Lizzie to their family apartment at Johns school in Virginia, but because it was student-family housing and there was no longer a student living there, they had to move. The rescuers worked through Tuesday night and into the day on Wednesday attempting to free Jones. Thanksgiving has now become a time when Emily hears from those who think of her and John and reach out. Utah County Sheriffs Sgt. At age 26, John was in the prime of his life. Its a hydrothermal cave that was first explored by Dale Green. https://www.deseret.com/2014/11/24/20553477/five-years-after-tragedy-nutty-putty-cave-remains-sealed, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutty_Putty_Cave. Jones died after being trapped for over 24 hours. While talking to Susie, John said, Hi Susie, thanks for coming, but I really, really want to get out.. Donovan has just been a huge blessing.. Web After those rescues in 2004 the Nutty Putty Cave was closed to the public. John Edward Jones entered the Nutty Putty Cave at around 8 p.m. local time on the evening of Nov. 24, 2009, as a means of spending some time with his family right before Thanksgiving doing something they had always loved doing. Unfortunately, there was no second chance for the rescuers to get John out. Visitors to Nutty Putty today will only find a plaque dedicated to Jones and poured concrete sealing over the entrance. Discovered in 1960 by Dale Green, he named it Nutty Putty because of the clay (the kind that likely caused that pulley to give out) found in most of the narrow tunnels in the underground structure. But no one will ever go in the cave again. Explosives were used to collapse the ceiling close to Jones' body, and the entrance hole was filled with concrete to prevent further access. The cave, first explored in 1960 by Dale Green and friends, is currently owned by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration,[2] and managed by the Utah Timpanogos Grotto. That decision was made last week when John Jones died in the cave after getting stuck. It was estimated the cave was receiving over 5,000 visitors per year, with many visitors often entering the cave late at night and failing to take proper safety precautions. Like I told her I'd rather die TRYING than die in that tunnel so squeezed up! Because the cave was formed upward because of superheated water forming limestone, many additional minerals make up the complex structure. They are picked up by John's brother Josh, who tells him that the Nutty Putty Cave has been opened after having been closed before. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A ZebraNetwork Additional comment actions Well that's terrifying. Josh Powell was, at the least, aware of the cave. It reminds her of all that she has been given. Jones was held in place like a hook, unable to move without causing serious harm due to the bends his body was placed in. The caves popularity had caused excessive smoothing of the rock inside the cave to the point it was predicted a fatality would occur in one of the cave's more prominent features, a 45-degree room called "The Big Slide". Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. Reading everything I can about it. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. They actually fed him through an IV to keep him conscious. We did our best.. I think my capacity to love has increased.. The cave entrance is narrow with even more cramped and twisty passages, making it a perilous cave, even to experienced cavers. For the first day of filming, Halasima flew in. Almost all caves form in limestone, which, over long periods of time, is slowly eaten away by slightly acidic groundwater. John Jones died in Nutty Putty Cave Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009. [3] The clay-like texture is composed of silicon dioxide commonly found in sand. Search and rescue personnel gather around the entrance to Nutty Putty Cave in southwest Utah County Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009. Rescuers and people with knowledge of the area also said that even if John Jones could have gone forward into the cave it could not have mattered, as there wasnt nearly enough space even further to do what John had been wanting to do, and he was going to be stuck either way because the chamber closed off after the point where he was at. He never made it past the entrance. But on May 18, 2009, the cave was reopened to the public after it was found to have met the new safety precautions. Uniformed deputies remained at the opening of the cave 24-hours a day from the night of Jones death until Nutty Puttys permanent closure the following week. The most recognizable characteristic of the cave was the strangely viscous clay oozing from some of its walls, which the cave's first explorer, a man named Dale Green, compared to Nutty Putty, the original product name for Silly Putty. Nutty Putty Cave is a hydrothermal cave located west of Utah Lake in Utah County, Utah, United States. The Nutty Putty Cave-John Edward Jones Case. Despite the heroic effort to save him, Jones died a few minutes before midnight, the day before Thanksgiving. That was such a burden, she said. She said Donovan has been understanding and encouraging. Its also a great place to understand some of the lesser-known facts about the death of John Jones and the Nutty Putty Cave. "As cavers, that's one of the things we're taught not to do, go head first into a tight squeeze going downward," says Paulson. My worst nightmare. (Photo: Utah County Sheriffs Office). John Jones tried to move forward by exhaling the air in his chest so that he could fit through a space that was barely 10 inches across and 18 inches high, about the size of the opening of a clothes dryer but when John inhaled again and his chest puffed back out, he got stuck for good. Heres how its spending your money, 2023 Sterling Scholars semifinalists: Southwest Region, 2023 Sterling Scholars semifinalists: Northeast Region. Im sure it was really hard on the Joneses when I got married, but they welcomed Donovan with open arms, she said. I feel like I can love John more, and better, because of my relationship with Donovan. John went into the cave on Nov. 24, 2009 with 10 other friends and family members on an excursion organized by his brother, Josh. It had only reopened under an online reservation system managed by a local caving organization in early 2009. Police also located thumbnail images on Josh Powells computer that had been retrieved from the internet late on the afternoon of Dec. 6, 2009, the last day Susan Powell was seen alive. Save me for my wife and kids, John said. Knock me out and if I wake up with broken or even amputated legs it's better than what really happened to him. 21 October 2021. Web Emily Jones-Sanchez discusses tragedy Jo. I knew John was still out there. He was actually beyond that in an unnamed, really unexplored part of the cave.. Neck pain can debilitate ones daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually. Considering what the past five years would bring, it is a stunning response. John Jones' Final Descent Into Nutty Putty Cave: On November 24, 2009, a few days before Thanksgiving, the Jones family and their friends decided to give the recently opened Nutty Putty Cave a try. According to Halasima, he had also tried to go spelunking in the Nutty Putty Cave. [4] It contains 1,400 feet (430m) of chutes and tunnels and, prior to closure, had been accessible via a narrow surface hole. Nutty Putty Cave Movie The Last Descent, Story Of Sanzhi UFO Houses and The Pod City in New Taipei,, Haunted Mansion of Billionaire John Caudwell, Taman Shud Case: Unexplained And Unsolved Mystery, 2 Most Mysterious And Unexplained Spiders, Mysterious Disappearance Of Virginia Dare And The Lost, Mysterious And Unsolved Death At The South Pole, Elisa Lam - Girl Who Died A Mysterious Death At The Cecil, Largest And Oldest Building Of South Africa Is Said To Be, Hammerhead Worm: Flat Head Worm With Neurotoxin, Tsuchinoko Mysterious Snake Like Creature in, Mystery Behind The Solway Firth Spaceman Photograph. He didnt even have room to wriggle back out the way hed come. So, both the devout Mormon brothers prayed, Guide us as we work through this. A survey conducted in 2003 was able to map 1,355 feet (413 meters) of cave to a depth of 145 feet (44 meters) from the surface. At 11:56 p.m. on the night before Thanksgiving, the search and rescue team determined Jones had died. She said she remembers thinking that she was sure there was something to learn from what happened. When the human body is stuck upside down for long periods of time, the heart has to work overtime to pump blood right, and especially to keep it moving away from the brain and lungs, where it tends to pool in this posture. When they got into Nutty Putty, John made the unfortunate decision to split up and explore an un-mapped route within the cave system. (Image: Jones Family Handout) But after more than 24 hours trapped upside down, the pressure and stress on his body . Once John had been declared dead, there were discussions about How do we get him out? There were some rather distasteful discussions as well, things that nobody really wanted to do, Cannon said. At least 100 rescue workers tried to free 26-year-old John Jones of Stansbury Park, Utah after Jones became stuck in a tiny section 150 feet below the surface in the Nutty Putty Cave in Utah . It was such a devastating Thanksgiving, because everyone told me: You dont have to figure everything out, give yourself a year, and it was the next year and I had nothing figured out, she said. He tried to exhale the air in his chest so that he could fit through a space that was barely 10 inches across and 18 inches high, about the size of the opening of a clothes dryer. "Traditionally, these types of caves are very complex and feature lots of domes and three-dimensional passages, which was true of Nutty Putty," says Paulson. Concern mounted in 2005 after the tragic drowning deaths of four young Utahns in a nearby cave on "Y" Mountain. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Dave Roos They did this frequently as a bonding moment as John and Josh, his brother Josh were young and living together with their father. His head pointed downward at an angle of 70 to 80 degrees. I think Heavenly Father puts us in families because thats where we progress, so Heavenly Father gave me that opportunity again, to be in a relationship where I could learn to love better and become, hopefully, a better person, she said. John Jones was in a part of the Nutty Putty Cave system that he thought was the Birth Canal and he inched his way into the narrow passage head first, moving forward using his hips, stomach, and fingers but he realized hed made a grave mistake when he found the passage getting narrower and not giving way like the Birth Canal should have been. John Jones and the Nutty Putty Cave | The Scare Chamber John Jones and the Nutty Putty Cave For those who love to explore, spelunking is a favorite activity. I heard about John and his devastating fate when I watched Isacc Halasimas The Last Descent that was recommended by a friend. A film about the tragedy titled The Last Descent was released on September 16, 2016. While wriggling forward through one particularly tight passageway in a far reach of the cave, Jones became stuck. Its so great.. Explorer Emily Vinton Maughen at the entrance of Nutty Putty Cave. This was also why the cave was closed in 2006 and only reopened in 2009. The day was November 24, 2009, around 9 a.m., when John entered the Nutty Putty cave in the state of Utah, along with his brother Josh and several other friends. Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday after being convicted of murdering his wife and son. Then came the tragic death of John Edward Jones in 2009, when the 26-year-old father and medical student became hopelessly trapped upside down inside a narrow fissure and couldn't be rescued. John Jones would have turned back at this stage of his cave exploration when he realized that he wasnt in the right branch of the cave, but the problem was that it was too narrow to even wriggle back out the way hed come which meant that he had to try to press forward because he thought that there was a widening of the crevasse in front of him which would allow him enough space to twist and turn and come back out. Jones Family Photo 8 of 15 An unidentified rescue worker, works near John Jones in the Nutty Putty Cave, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009. All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of, everything I hoped and everything I prayed for, couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given; I've been given what I need, she said, paraphrasing from Michael McLeans "The Forgotten Carols.". She said that was the last thing she was interested in after John died. John hadn't gone cave diving in quite awhile, so he never should've received a permit to even go down into the cave. It was to be a fatal crawl in the deepest part of the cave and one that led to one of the most shocking and disturbing deaths imaginable. The suffering and PAIN! Johns family and the officials agreed to leave his body in the cave because it was too dangerous for it to be retrieved. Unable to escape, communicate, or even speed up the process, Apparently he sucked the air out of lungs to fit into that crack and when he got to the very end it was just a dead end.. absolutely terrifying. John was returning to Utah to spend time together with family members when they decided on caving, which is also called spelunking. The probability of Susan Powell or anybody else being placed in Nutty Putty Cave after John Jones died inside Nutty Putty Cave is zero, Cannon said. Cannon said given the fact Susan Powell was seen alive after the concrete plug was poured, it is not possible for her body to also be entombed with John Jones. They chose to visit Nutty Putty Cave. (Photo: Jones family). Shaun Roundy, one of the rescuers on the scene, explained the difficulties facing anyone, even experienced spelunkers, who went into Nutty Putty Cave. In fact, I was recommended this movie by one of my friends who has also tried caving before. After the death of John Jones, the cave was permanently closed and sealed off to the public. Many of the passages in this cave are this narrow or even narrower. At 28 hours upside down in the Nutty Putty Cave, rescuers attempted one last pull using a series of complex pulleys. A rescuer working near John Jones in Nutty Putty Cave on Nov. 26, 2009. This was because John was stuck 100 feet below the surface and 400 feet into the cave system. Motola introduced herself to John, even though all she could see of him was a pair of navy and black running shoes. John Jones, 26, of Stansbury Park, died Thursday in Nutty Putty Cave. Officials sealed off Nutty Putty Cave for good a week after Johns death. John Jones, 26, set out to explore the Nutty Putty cave in Utah but ended up stuck in the cave, upside down, in a narrow passage for 27 hours but eventually died from suffocation and heart failure (source in the comments) .