John Edward Jones

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John Edward Jones
Born	(1983-01-21)January 21, 1983
💀Died	November 25, 2009(2009-11-25) (aged 26) Nutty Putty Cave, Utah County, Utah, U.S.November 25, 2009(2009-11-25) (aged 26)
Cause of death	Suffocation and brain hemorrhage
🏳️ Nationality	American
💼 Occupation
Known for	Passing away in Nutty Putty Cave
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
💪 Weight	200 lb (91 kg) 200 lb (91 kg)
👪 Relatives	Josh Jones (brother) Emily Jones (wife) Lizzie Jones (daughter)

John Edward Jones passed away while spelunking in the Nutty Putty Cave of Utah on November 24th, 2009. He was a medical student at the University of Virginia who was married to a woman named Emily and had a daughter named Lizzie, with a second child on the way, to be born in June 2010. John was 26 at the time of his death and was exploring the cave with his brother, Josh, who was 23 at the time. John was a devout Mormon who was strongly connected with his religion.

Caving Incident and Death

While visiting family in Utah, he decided to go spelunking with his brother, a hobby they frequented as children. On Tuesday, November 24th, 2009, John and Josh, along with two friends, entered the Nutty Putty Cave and explored an area called "The Big Slide" before separating to find challenging areas within the cave. In search of an area called "The Birth Canal", a curvaceous subsidiary of the cave, John found a waist-high alcove to explore; however, his situation worsened when he tried to turn back. The cave he had crawled into was too narrow for him to rotate, so he proceeded forward to find an area where he could turn around, but fell headfirst into a five-and-a-half-foot crevice. The area of the cave John was exploring was an unmapped area that branched off of The Birth Canal. His brother crawled into the alcove after him and spoke with him for a while before searching for help; eventually, a volunteer rescue team came to his aid.

One of these volunteers, Susie Motola, was the first to greet John and kindly told him that he would be out "lickety split". Upon further assessment, however, there were several complications. John hung upside-down in the crevice for hours, causing excessive blood flow to his brain, which eventually caused a brain hemorrhage that impaired John's ability to communicate. The crevice's shape prevented John from contorting backward enough for escape in a harness without breaking his legs, which would have caused fatal shock. Tools for expanding the tunnel were ineffective; powerful excavation tools could harm him, and smaller ones would not operate fast enough.

During his time stuck in the crevice, John prayed and talked about his life and future plans to Ryan Shurtz, a man overseeing his rescue. He apologized to Ryan for being overweight and made lighthearted comments with his rescuers while they attempted to pull him out. After 28 hours trapped in the crevice, John Edward Jones became unresponsive and was declared dead.

The Nutty Putty Cave was sealed after the incident, and John's body remains there.

Controversy Over the Cave's Closure

The cave's closure sparked controversy among the spelunking community, especially from those who explored it earlier in their lives and felt nostalgic about it. Petitions were created to save the cave from being sealed off; however, the cave was sealed on December 2, 2009, with a plaque in John's name on the site. Those opposed to sealing the cave expressed grief over not being able to revisit it, and many blamed John for his death causing the site's closure.

The Utah School and Institutional Trust and Lands Administration (SITLA), which owns the Nutty Putty Cave, along with several government bodies, believed the closure was justified for public safety; however, this statement was contested by several in the caving community, many stating that a tragedy does not justify the closure of an entire site, among other grievances with the situation.

An editorial was published on the official Nutty Putty Cave website by the cave access manager, Michael Leavitt. He stated that the cave's closure would harm the wildlife within the cave due to the blasting and cement sealing, cutting them off from the outside world. He did, however, believe that the Jones family's wish to close the cave and preserve it as John's grave was reasonable.

When asked about the possibility of another death in the cave, Leavitt said, "We all know the answer to that question. Absolutely not. Caving is risky, and cavers assume risk whenever they enter a cave.", and that "Caving is all about allowing risk and personal choice and has nothing to do with making money. If John Jones’ body had been recovered, then I am certain that SITLA would have entertained offers from any rich philanthropist who offered to buy the property and open up “Nutty Putty Caving Land” with a steep entrance fee in order to pay for the hefty monthly insurance policy that would be necessary to maintain such an experience." The Nutty Putty Cave is owned by SITLA and was open to the public as an avenue to generate revenue for their local schools; it is considered their private property even after its closure with John's body still inside.

Notes

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