

She arrived at approximately 12:30am – John had been trapped for about 3.5 hours. The first rescue person to arrive was a volunteer named Susie Motola. It had reopened just six months before John Jones had entered the cave. After those rescues in 2004, the Nutty Putty Cave was closed to the public.
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It took 14 hours to free him from the tunnel.

In one of those instances, a 16-year-old boy, weighing 140 pounds and standing at 5’7” tall, was rescued using a complex pulley system. Many of the passages in this cave are this narrow or even narrower. Or somewhere along the tunnel to the Birth Canal, they took a turn into the Scout Eater, named for the incidents where two boy scouts, within a week of each other, got trapped, and thankfully, rescued.Įxplorer Kory Kowallis in the crawl to the aptly named Scout Trap passage in Nutty Putty Cave. Sources are unclear as to the exact path they had taken, they could have missed the Birth Canal completely and entered a tunnel just next to it called Ed’s Push. What they didn’t know was that they had taken a wrong turn. He was able to move him mere inches, and when he let go, John slid right back down.Īfter a quick prayer, Josh retreated from the tunnel, knowing he needed to get help. He tried pulling John back, grasping his calves and ankles, but to no avail. Josh was behind him and quickly realized what had happened. With one arm beneath him and one pressed backward, only his ankles and feet were free. Unable to turn back now, he exhaled the air in his chest, hoping to make himself smaller, but when he inhaled again, he was stuck. Not enough space for a man of John’s size. Head down, he reached an area that was just barely 10 inches wide and 18 inches high. Feeling confident that the tunnel would get wider at the bottom, he pressed on and that’s when everything went wrong. He inched forward little by little until reaching a drop-off, or sharp downward turn. At six feet tall, 200 pounds, he squeezed and wriggled for some time, but never came upon a larger room. Living in Virginia, he was studying to become a pediatric cardiologist.Įxplorer Cami Pulham crawling out of the passage known as the Birth Canal in Nutty Putty Cave © Jon Jasper/ In November 2009, he was married with a daughter and a baby on the way. He was a devout Christian known for his sense of humor, excellent work ethic, and his love for family. John was one of seven children five boys and two girls. Perhaps you’ve heard of one, named “The Birth Canal”? It is one of several famous caves known for its narrow and slippery passageways. The Nutty Putty Cave, located in Utah, is a hydrothermal cave, with a total surveyed length and depth of 1355 and 145 feet, respectively. As an adult, despite having grown up, the love was still there, so it was no surprise when John and his brother Josh decided to explore the Nutty Putty Cave. For John Jones and his family, caving and spelunking was a cherished part of childhood. The art of exploring caves on an increasingly difficult level adds to the adrenaline, easily making it an addictive form of pleasure. The rescue took its toll on crews working at the cave, many of whom were grieving and struggling with their inability to free Jones.For those who love to explore, spelunking is a favorite activity. where the cave peters out to virtually nothing," said Valentine, who said he'd been in Nutty Putty some 25 times over the years. "This particular area is very, very difficult. Jones found himself in one of the areas off the cave's main passage during an outing with 11 friends and family Tuesday night and was unable to get out. It reopened in May and had once again become popular, especially among amateur cavers, said Mike Leavitt, who managed access to the cave.Īlthough the cave was popular, it had never been fully mapped. The cave hosted 5,000 to 10,000 visitors per year until 2006, when it was temporarily closed while managers implemented a stricter system of access that included a permit system, requirement that cavers be with someone experienced and a locked gate. The last time was in 2004 when a teenage boy had to be pulled out of an area not far from where Jones got stuck. Although Jones' death is the first known fatality since cavers began exploring Nutty Putty's narrow passageways in the 1960s, rescuers have been called to the cave five times in the last 10 years.
