Cave exploration, also known as caving, is a popular pastime. While venturing into these spaces can be rewarding and fascinating, it can sometimes be very dangerous.

One of the most famous and tragic caving accidents occurred 15 years ago in Nutty Putty Cave. It remains a sad and uplifting story.

Nutty Putty Cave is located in Utah.

Nutty Putty Cave was a popular caving destination in Utah County, Utah. The cave was discovered in 1960 and was known for being difficult to navigate due to its narrow passages and numerous turns.

Several cave areas have even been given names such as “The Birth Canal” and “The Scout Eater,” highlighting the difficulties of descending and exploring.

John Jones decided to go caving in Nutty Putty.

John Jones came from a large Mormon family and had six siblings and many nieces and nephews. As a child, his father took him and his younger brother to explore the caves of Utah. But he hadn’t done much caving as an adult.

When he set out to explore the cave, he had recently become a father and was expecting his second child. He was also in medical school studying to become a pediatric cardiologist.

The incident began on November 24, 2009.

That day, John went to Nutty Putty with his brother Josh. They arrived at 8 p.m. with nine other friends with the intention of exploring the cave.

The first hour went well, with the group exploring most of the cave. Then John, his brother, and two other members of the group decided to try to cross a narrow passage called the birth canal, which was supposed to open onto a larger space.

John was the first to cross the narrow passage.

John crossed this difficult section but didn’t see a wider area ahead. As he continued, the passage became even narrower and formed a sharp bend.

John continued to squeeze through the passage, probably thinking he would reach a wider area. But by this point, it was too late to back out.

He had mistakenly entered another passage.

Although reports are conflicting as to which tunnel he actually went into, it’s clear he missed the birth canal, which opened onto a wider area. Instead, he was either in Ed’s Push or Scout Eater, two areas that lead nowhere.

John moved forward until he could no longer move and entered a crack that dropped steeply. He could no longer turn back. 

At this point, he was 100 feet underground and wedged into a tunnel about 10 x 18 inches, smaller and more irregular than the opening of a washing machine.

The rescue attempt began fairly quickly.

Josh was behind John and tried to get him out of the cave without success. So Josh hurried out of the cave and called for help while another member of their group stayed in the cave with John.

Susan, a local emergency services volunteer, was the first on the scene around midnight. After her, many other rescuers arrived and tried to come up with a plan. They tried to use a rope system to drill through part of the rock, but the drilling didn’t work well.

John was trapped for hours while rescue teams worked.

Because John was almost upside down, with his feet facing the rescuers, it was particularly difficult to get him out of the water, despite the creation of a pulley system.

Being upside down for so long made John’s heart work even harder. He had trouble breathing. Eventually, the crews were able to lower a radio transceiver to John so he could speak to his wife, who was waiting for him on the surface. He had been stuck for 19 hours.

It looked like the rescue efforts were going to work…

After setting up their pulley system, rescuers slowly moved John out of the way. He was almost free when things went wrong. 

The rope came loose, and the team discovered a bolt had broken, causing John to slide down. Shortly after, John became unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at midnight on November 25, aged just 26.

The consequences of the tragedy.

Despite the efforts of 137 people who worked for 27 hours to rescue John, he tragically died. Authorities decided it would be too dangerous to remove him from the cave. A week later, they decided to seal the cave to prevent further caving accidents.

John Jones is still in the cave. His family placed a plaque in his honor at the entrance.

This tragedy still resonates in people’s memories today.

Although it happened more than 15 years ago, it is a tragic story that reminds people of the fragility of life and the importance of preparation.

Caving is a dangerous sport, and it’s important to have the necessary experience to navigate difficult systems. Otherwise, it could be disastrous.