They attempted to anchor a pulley system to the walls of the cave, using several pulleys to pull the weight of John through the small space.īeing at such a steep angle, John’s legs were pulled upwards. “I really want to get out”, said John.Įventually rescuers tied a rope to Jones’ leg. ![]() Once crews eventually reached John, a small member of their team was able to establish contact with him. It would take over an hour for any rescue team to get equipment to where John was located in the cave. Being 400 ft into the cave, every entrance and exit took at least 30 minutes. Josh Jones, John’s brother, headed to the surface in order to call a rescue team to assist his brother. John was unable to do something as simple as scratch his face. His arms became pinned underneath his chest. Because of the smallness of the space he is in, he is unable to be assisted in any way. The passage way is angled so sharply that as John slides, his body turns nearly completely upside down. His brother Josh attempt to pull at his calves to no avail. A Slide Into HellĪs John attempts to wiggle and free himself from his tight position, he slides further and further down the passage way. Once through the passage, John exhaled, making his 6’1 body too large to even move at all. In order to fit through the incredibly small space, John inhaled. In an attempt to push forward to find space to turn around, John pulled himself through a 10 inch by 10 inch passage. After inching his way forward, John discovered that he was unable to make any kind of turn to get out. John moved into the passage head-first, using his fingers to inch forward. He had actually instead found a smaller tunnel in the are of the cave known as ‘Ed’s Push’. Unknown to John, he had not entered the passage seen above. See a photo of a woman in that ‘Birth Canal’ passage below… Josh Jones said the family is considering a fund to help educate young people on cave safety.Upon entering the cave, John Jones found a passage that he thought was called ‘the Birth Canal’. The family will also be allowed to place a memorial marker at the site.Funeral services for Jones are planned for Saturday. “It’s a very difficult experience to just be that close and still not be able to pull it off,” Valentine said.Ī uniformed deputy will remain at the cave’s entrance until it can be properly sealed, the sheriff said. The rescue took its toll on crews working at the cave, many of whom were grieving and struggling with their inability to free Jones. ![]() “This particular area is very, very difficult … where the cave peters out to virtually nothing,” said Valentine, who said he’d been in Nutty Putty some 25 times over the years. 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. Jones, his wife Emily and their 13-month-old daughter had come home to Utah for the Thanksgiving holiday and to share the news that another baby is expected in June.įamily said they knew Jones fought to survive throughout the rescue effort and was commended by rescue crews for “his remarkable good spirits and resilience to the end.”Īlthough 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. George native was attending medical school at the University of Virginia, hoping to pursue a career as a pediatric cardiologist. “We feel like it would be John’s will to protect the safety of future cavers,” his younger brother, Josh, said at a news conference Friday.įor the past two years, the St. Tom Hodgson, coordinator for Utah County’s search and rescue operations. A “Herculean effort” to free him was limited by the cramped space, leaving one rescuer chipping away rock with a ball-peen hammer just six inches to swing, said Sgt.
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