The Nutty Putty Cave, located approximately 100 kilometers south of Salt Lake City, is renowned as one of the most dangerous caves in the world due to its narrow passages. A hydrothermal cave, it features a complex network of chambers, twists, turns, and bottlenecks, earning names such as the Birth Canal, the Aorta Crawl, the Scout Eater, and the Maze. The cave has a total surveyed length and depth of 1,355 and 145 feet, respectively.
On November 24, 2009, John Edward Jones, a 26-year-old medical school student from Virginia, tragically lost his life while exploring Nutty Putty Cave with his brother Josh and nine friends. Despite his previous experience in cave exploration, John had never been to Nutty Putty Cave. The group split into two, with some members exploring the less dangerous part of the cave, while John’s team ventured into the more challenging areas.
John was born on January 21, 1983, in Sandy, Utah. He grew up with four brothers and two sisters. In 2001, John graduated from high school as senior class president. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he completed a mission in Ecuador before attending Brigham Young University. He met his future wife, Emily, during this time. The couple married in 2006. After college, John enrolled in medical school at the University of Virginia, aiming to become a Pediatric Cardiologist. By 2009, John and Emily had a daughter, and Emily was pregnant with a son.
In November 2009, John, Emily, and their daughter traveled to Utah for Thanksgiving with John’s family. John’s brother Josh organized an excursion to explore Nutty Putty Cave, a hydrothermal cave located about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. The cave was known for its complex features, including narrow passages and large open areas. Discovered in 1960, the Nutty Putty Cave had become a popular destination for cave explorers, receiving approximately 5,000 visitors annually. Despite some safety concerns leading to temporary closures, the cave had been reopened in 2009, allowing one group at a time to explore.
On the day of the incident, John, Josh, and two friends separated from the group to search for the “birth canal,” a narrow passageway in the cave. However, John entered an unmapped passageway that became progressively tight. He went first and continued wriggling forward, unaware that the space he was entering had a diameter of barely 10 centimeters and a height of 18 centimeters. Eventually, he realized he had made a mistake and became stuck upside down in the tightest part of the opening.
Despite his experience in cave exploration, John made irrational decisions, climbing headfirst into a dead-end crevice. He became stuck, with one arm bent under his chest and the other forced backward. He was 700 feet into the cave and 125 feet below ground. Unable to move John any further, Josh said a prayer: “Guide us as we work through this.” John added: “Save me for my wife and kids.”
Josh found John and attempted to pull him out, but John slid back into the crevice. The first rescuer on the scene, a volunteer named Susie, arrived at 12:30 a.m. on November 25. Over 130 rescuers joined the effort. The passageway leading to John was extremely tight, allowing only smaller rescuers to reach him. The rescue plan involved using drills and chisels to create more space around John and constructing a rope and pulley system. The rescuers faced challenges due to the narrow space and John’s position, lying at a 70-degree angle.
A diagram of how John Edward Jones was stuck for 27 hours in nutty putty cave before passing away. pic.twitter.com/IRTZVV8G7P
— Gypsy (Asim Rehman) (@gypsygalexy) November 29, 2023
The drilling and chiseling efforts progressed slowly, and building the rope and pulley system took time. The rescuers faced challenges due to the narrow space and John’s position. During the attempt to pull John out using the rope, a catastrophic failure occurred when the rope snapped. John slid back into the crevice, and his condition deteriorated.
Speaking to rescuers, John said: “I’m going to die right here. I’m not going to come out of here, am I?” He then asked after one of the rescuers, Ryan Shurtz, who had been badly hurt after a metal carabiner slammed into his face. John said: “Is he OK? I think he’s really hurt bad.”
Despite the efforts of 137 rescuers, John was pronounced dead at the age of 26 on November 25, 2009. The Nutty Putty Cave was permanently closed to the public after this tragic incident. The entrance was filled with concrete to prevent further access, and a plaque in memory of John was placed at the entrance.
In this analysis of the John Edward Jones case, Dr. Todd Grande explores various aspects of the incident. John Edward Jones, born on January 21, 1983, in Sandy, Utah, was a 26-year-old medical school student and father of two. He tragically lost his life in the Nutty Putty Cave on November 25, 2009.
Dr. Grande offers several thoughts on the case. Firstly, he acknowledges that John made several mistakes, including entering a passageway too small for his size and climbing headfirst into a dead-end crevice. Dr. Grande speculates that John might have been a high sensation seeker, making decisions that defy rational explanation.
Secondly, Dr. Grande discusses the tremendous suffering John endured during the 27 hours, with symptoms ranging from panic to calmness, extreme pain, and screams of agony during rescue attempts. Some rescuers experienced symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Thirdly, Dr. Grande questions the decisions not to recover John’s body and to permanently seal the cave. He suggests that recovering the body might have been technically possible, though challenging, and disagrees with the permanent closure, expressing concerns about an overreaction.
This fatal accident was not the first at Nutty Putty Cave. Previous incidents included two boys nearly dying in 2004 and a group of six cavers getting stuck in 2006, although they were successfully pulled out. Concerns were raised about the dangerous nature of the cave, with experts estimating around 5,000 visitors exploring it annually, often late at night and without proper safety measures. Following John Edward Jones’s tragic incident, the cave was closed permanently in 2009.
A film titled “The Last Ascent” was released on Netflix on September 16, 2016, documenting the events at Nutty Putty Cave. The closure of the cave serves as a somber memorial to John Edward Jones, marking the end of a dangerous chapter in its exploration history.
I don’t think the tweet used here is appropriate.
Thanks for noting this. We have corrected it.