The day before Thanksgiving in 2009 I was invited to assist with the Nutty Putty Cave rescue of John Edward Jones. I ended up being the last person to see him alive, though at the time I arrived he was mostly unconscious. Since that time I have received numerous questions from reporters and curious individuals. Recently there has been an uptick in those requests as a result of some viral videos that have been posted. This is my attempt to provide information and help answer the questions that I am qualified to answer.
The day after the rescue efforts failed I wrote up a detailed account from my perspective of the rescue while it was fresh in my mind. Keep in mind that this is only one perspective from someone who arrived at the scene toward the end of the rescue efforts.
For a more well-rounded perspective I would encourage you to read Lindsay Whitehurst’s two-part Salt Lake Tribune article.
I will provide some commentary below my report with the footnote number indicated in report in parenthesis.
WARNING: This report contains descriptions of John Jone’s condition, passing, and post-mortem condition that could be disturbing to some readers. Out of respect for John and his family, I have tried to keep descriptions as general possible while addressing the challenges we were up against.
Nutty Putty Rescue Report
Written for SAR on November 25, 2009
I received the first call at 9:00 or 10:00 AM from Spencer Christian and Rodney Mulder that there was a rescue underway at Nutty Putty. They asked me if I could assist, but after asking a few questions about what was going on it seemed there were already enough people on site to carry out the rescue. I told Spencer and Rodney that if the rescue went on for a while and people started getting exhausted, and they absolutely needed me, that I would come.
About 5 hours later Spencer called me up and asked me to respond, saying that people were getting tired and they really needed small cavers. So I left work at about 4:00 PM, ran home to grab my caving gear and then headed out to Nutty Putty. I arrived at the site at about 6:00 PM and was put on the next group to go in the cave at about 6:30 PM.
When I arrived to the main passage at the opening of the Birth Canal people were working on the 4 to 1 haul system they had installed. I assisted for about 5 minutes, until it was decided that the system didn’t seem to be working (1) and the people by John Jones (the victim) needed a break. So the cavers that were working with John headed out.
On the way out I spoke with Andy Armstrong. I asked him how John was doing and he said that he was quickly going downhill, that he was in and out of consciousness and had started talking about seeing angels and demons around him.
As soon as they were out, we decided that I would head in first to assess the situation and see if I had any ideas for removing him, and then Debbie would work with John, since she had already spent some time with him getting to know him and she thought he would feel more comfortable with her.
So I went in first. In the back of the passage, right before you arrive at where John now is, there is an extremely tight crawl perhaps 18 inches wide and about 8 to 10 inches tall that takes a sharp 90 to 120 degree turn that you have to enter feet first. You have to maneuver yourself very carefully and you cannot see where your feet are standing until you pass the restriction. As I wormed my way in I felt my feet touch something soft which ended up being John’s feet. I felt them move and immediately lifted my feet and worked my way horizontally into the crack.
John’s feet were about 6 feet past the constriction and I was able to shift myself to the side of him and down the 4 foot wide fissure. After stabilizing myself by jamming my body into a narrower section of the crack I began speaking to John asking him how he was and introducing myself. There was no response. I shifted my position a little and tapped him on the leg. I could hear him breathing a deep gurgling breath, as though his lungs were filling with fluid. Then his feet shifted as though he were trying to maneuver his legs out of the crack he was jammed in. The kicking looked fairly frantic and after a second he stopped and it looked as though he had drifted into unconsciousness. (2) I continued tapping him on the legs and hip to see if I could get a response, but there was no response.
From there I spent a few minutes studying the passage, the positioning of John, and the rig that was set up, to see how we could get him out from here. It looked very bleak. I wondered if it was even possible to get him beyond this point. We could continue trying the rig, but it looked like he could only be lifted another foot or two in his current position because of where the webbing was anchored around his knees. After a foot or two his feet would hit the ceiling. And then once he reached the ceiling, there was no way to tilt him to a horizontal position. He would have to do it himself, but he was now unconscious. And even if we could get him into a horizontal position, he would then have to maneuver the most difficult sections of the passage he was trapped in. If he were conscious and had his full strength there was a minute chance he could possibly do it. But even if that was the case it looked grim. It was even difficult for me, weighing 125 pounds, to get myself out. At the bend where the restriction was I had to creatively contort my body to slip through. So to get a 210 pound, unconscious person out seemed pretty much impossible. The other option I saw was to use a jack hammer to widen the crack he was and remove a couple of knobs and then widen the tight spot, and then pull him straight out. He would be cut up very badly and probably end up with several broken bones, but if nothing else would work, that seemed like the best option.
Between me climbing out and Debbie taking my place there was a request to take the radio down to John so that his family could say some words to him. I think it was his father, mother, and wife who spoke to him, telling him that they loved him and were praying for him and that his father had given him a blessing. His wife mentioned a feeling of peace, that everything would be OK. She talked to him about 5 to 10 minutes before I told her that we needed to get back to working at getting him out.
At that point I crawled out to let Debbie squeeze past and take a look and assess the situation, but when she got to the tight hole, both legs cramped up and she was unable to make it down. At that point I decided to try using the jack hammer. So we waited for it to arrive and then I carried it down to where John was located. The tool was much heavier than I anticipated and to hold it up while wedging my body in the crack took everything I had. Even then, I couldn’t get a good angle on the rock because of the confined space and limitations in my own mobility and positioning. I only got three tries at a small lip just below Johns foot, but because of my angle the hammer just kept sinking into the sand at the side of the rock lip. I tried shifting my position, but it seemed like everywhere else I moved I couldn’t get a handle on the jack hammer because of it’s length. I only had about 2.5 feet of space between me and the rock that needed drilled and the jack hammer was probably 3 to 4 feet long. And then trying to hold it in such an awkward position wore me out pretty quick.
At that point I requested something smaller, but there didn’t seem to be anything available, and even if there had been I don’t know if a small hammer drill would have done much against the solid limestone walls. So we returned to the Birth Canal to have a quick meeting to decide what to do.
At that point it sounded like the drills were having issues or something like that, and the only option we had for drilling was to use the compressed air hammer. It took probably an hour or so to get hose down so we could use it. While we waited, we decided that perhaps the best bet was to try widening the hole from the top down, working our way towards John instead of away from him. Once the drill arrived Debbie, Max, and I spent about an hour and a half chipping at the passage a couple of feet above the tight spot – about 7 to 9 feet away from John. Areas where the rock was softer came apart fairly easy, but the harder formations took an incredible amount of effort. The main problem was that because space was so limited it was difficult to hit the rock at the right angle, so instead of chipping off the knob you would end up cutting a hole straight into the floor.
After an hour and a half we had only knocked off about a 18” x 4” section of rock on the ceiling and on the ground. And that was at the wider section of the passage. From that point on the cave was even tighter so that if you were laying in the passage and weighed 125 pounds you only had about 3 to 6 inches of space above you. Not very ideal for holding a jack hammer or even being able to choose the most effective angle. To continue the process, or even if we switched to micro-blasters, my estimate was anywhere from 3 to 7 days to get back to where John was. So once again we regrouped to decide what the next plan of action was.
By now it was close to midnight and we were asked to check vitals on John. They sent in a smaller paramedic to see if he could get back to John. In the event he couldn’t he showed me how to use the stethoscope and thermometer and where to check for a pulse. It was 11:30 PM when we left the group by the birth canal and ventured down the passage. It took about 15 minutes to get to John. I went first to check, just in case the paramedic couldn’t fit. I first tried the stethoscope and was only able to get it about 3 inches up and to the right of his naval. I didn’t hear a distinct heart beat, only some ruffling, fluttering sounds that were probably a result of me shaking as I tried to steady myself in an awkward location. I then jammed my hand between the rock and pressed as far up his torso I could go to feel for breathing. I didn’t think I felt anything, but again it was difficult to tell as I was shaking from trying to steady myself. His chest, where it was pressed up against the rock, felt warmer than the rest of his body and was sweaty, but every where else his body temperature was close to the temperature of the rock on the cave walls. From there I removed his shoe and attempted to check his temperature. The thermometer read nothing, which the paramedic said was because the temperature was below the range. As I took his shoes off and moved his feet I noticed that his feet and legs were significantly stiffer than they had been earlier and it was difficult to his leg more than a few inches.
I reported my findings to the paramedic above and then crawled out so that he could see if he could squeeze in. He was able to get dow to the point where he could feel his feet and confirm he had passed away. John Edward Jones was pronounced dead at 11:52, I believe it was.
At that point we decided to return topside for a debrief to discuss what our next plan of action would be. As everyone headed out, the paramedic and I went back in to take pictures of the passage and John’s position.
With John now deceased the effort required to remove his body would be exponentially more challenging. His stiffening body wouldn’t be able to make the bend through the tight spot above his feet, without significant alterations to the passage, which could take days or weeks with a hammer drill, perhaps slightly faster with micro-blasters. Any swelling would make it next to impossible to get him out of the crack he was wedged in until the swelling had reduced. There was no way to connect him to a rope other than by his feet. After a few days, we would need a hazmat suit and masks to work with the body, which would severely overheat any rescuers trying to get him out. With pants and a short sleeve shirt a person is usually dripping with sweat in about 10 to 15 minutes and can work for about 30 to an hour before needing a break. With a hazmat suit and mask you could probably work for 5-10 minutes before needing a break, not to mention the limit to your mobility. The body recovery idea looks very grim. (3)
Photos from the Rescue
NOTES
- The 4 to 1 haul didn’t work because there were so many twists and turns in the cave between where there was room for a group to stand and haul and John’s position that the friction, even with pulleys in place was enough to render the haul system ineffective.
- This was the moment he passed away.
- Ultimately it was decided it would be too risky to rescuers to attempt to remove the body, and to this day Nutty Putty Cave is the final resting place of John Jones.
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COMMENTS
Comment about Comments Below
I really appreciate everyone’s kind and encouraging words in the comments below, as well as your questions. Unfortunately, I no longer have time to respond to questions and comments. I will continue to approve the comments you post as long as they are family friendly, but just know that I only log in to approve comments every few weeks.
Thanks again for your kind words!
They both have separate entrances.
Thanks Janine!
Those are good thoughts. Life is fragile and can be taken away in an instant, but that doesn’t mean we should live in fear. I think taking well calculated risks is one of the things that makes life beautiful and worth living.
I believe some cavers have done this. Back in the early 2000’s when we surveyed Nutty Putty, getting access to that kind of technology would have been very expensive. Plus it would be hard to snake something through a hole that is lined with cracks, edges, and rocks that you would have to work your way around. I have taken my cell phone though and plunged my arm back in tight holes and taken pictures that’s worked pretty good.
Hello Brandon, reading through the comments I feel the need to express my deep respect for you finding the resources and taking the time to answer all the questions, how you manage to convey to people your experience of this incredibly tragic event, which I guess must still be alive after all the years. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Hello Brandon,
I learned about this tragedy a few weeks ago. I don’t have much experience with caves, but I have gone caving a couple of times in my youth, with an instructor. It was scary and fascinating, like diving into a parallel or alien world. The Nutty Putty incident really struck a chord with me. I spent days shuddering at the thought of being stuck the way John Jones was stuck. I admit I’m a bit ashamed of being fascinated by such a gruesome and tragic event. It is the stuff of nightmares.
Thank you for sharing
Dear Brandon!
I am writing about Hungary, unfortunately not in very good English.
I hope you understand… 🙂
Hungary is in Europe, very far from the USA. We only recently heard about this shocking case, and we have been under its influence ever since!
Our deepest condolences to John and his family. We sympathize with them even all these years after the tragedy!
Brandon, we thank you for your rescue efforts and your writing!!!
We are grateful for the information!
We wish you and your family a successful and beautiful life!
God bless America!
Thank you very much! <3 <3
Great blog and post. It sounds like there is a lot of misinformation about where Brock Clark got stuck. Most of the information out there is saying he got stuck 15 feet from where John Jones was, but I’m seeing here that your brother was a part of the rescue and that he was actually in the Scout Eater. Correct? How are people so far off here?
Also, curious about where Dave Crowther, Chris Morrow/Hales got stuck?
One more question – did they really blow up the cave? Part of me wonders if they are bluffing to keep people from trying to find another way in. Also, not clear to what extent they went with a demolition if they did. Any insight there?
Thanks Dora!
That is correct. They were in the Scout Eater section. As far as I know John was the first person to be stuck head first in the Ed’s Push section.
No. No one blew up the cave. They just tapped the entrance with cement.
There is a lot of misinformation out there because most individuals and even organizations don’t want to bother checking their sources. They take things at face value and allow the emotion to convince them that what they read must be true.
Hi Brandon,
I’ve read about this and it made me sad but the documentary had the most impact on me, it’s touching and sad at the same time. I definitely cried watching it, one of the many questions I have is why was the cave reopened? It seemed too dangerous to explore so it should have been sealed off before this occurred, I also want to say that I couldn’t have squeezed myself into such a small place without being in a panic. I don’t know how John or those that went in there (such as yourself) were able to do that without panicking, my main question is how are you doing? I know that had to have had an impact on you, I hope you’re doing well
Brandon,
One question only. Since this happened several years back, wouldn’t it be possible to retrieve his remains now since they should be only skeletal remains? Or does the family want him to stay where he passed away at?
So I just watched the movie and I didn’t care for it. I didn’t like all the fields with the man in black and I didn’t like the ending. I thought we would see him till he passed and rescuers/paramedic checking him for pulse and so forth but it ended without him passing on on the movie. No after math of the failed pulley system or anything.
Hello Brandon,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to all the comments and also to provide details on this dramatic event.
If my reading is correct, you said on May 17 that you went down into the same hole where John was stuck but feet first.
But everywhere we read that John was in a place where no one had been.
But actually yes, and it was you. it’s correct ? Can you say more?
As an uninitiated person, I can’t read the map of the cave and I was wondering if the place where John was stuck was on the “main” map, at the end of Ed Push.
Thank you very much and good luck to you.
I’m doing great. Thanks for asking. I think the biggest problem is that many people feel entitled to go into caves, even when they have no training or skill. They don’t think they are that dangerous and brush off experts who tell them otherwise. Most of the time people don’t die when they are caving, and that statistic gives a lot of people overconfidence. It is those people who make demands to the land managers that the managers feel powerless to stand up against. Many land management agencies are also highly under resourced, which makes it difficult to manage anything like that.
I don’t think anyone knows for sure what conditions his remains are in. Since it is not a dry cave (it’s very humid) I think there is a good chance it could be hazardous to remove those. I’ve encountered dead animals in very humid caves that are several years old and it isn’t pretty.
The claim that he was in an unexplored section of the cave was made my news organizations who were looking for a good story. There have been so many thousands of people in Nutty Putty since the 1950s that I would be very surprised if there is any section of Nutty Putty that hasn’t been visited by someone, especially by one of the many expert cavers who have been there. The reality is no one knows and that claim is not well founded. When we were surveying it. I could stick my feet down it and it felt like it may have continued or may have ended. It was hard to tell and I didn’t feel like it was substantial enough to push, so I marked it as a lead, something to look at in the future, for someone who was smaller than I was and could contort their body enough to fit into it.
Thank you for honestly, openly and patiently answering so many questions! It has answered all mine but one. What are the gray areas of the map? Is there another entrance or exit besides the one? And would every visitor or explorer have to find a way to turn around?
Thanks in advance. I really admire your help of knowledge of not just this incident, but of all things cave exploring, to everyone. And especially your efforts to help and rescue others. <3
Hi Brandon,
I just want to say thanks a TON for writing this up and taking your time out of the day to answer everyone’s questions. After becoming extremely interested about the rescue and cave itself, I have been reading all the different articles and watching videos about the rescue and it leaves you with so much questions due to all the inconsistencies between story’s. You cleared up a lot of those on this page, such as Brock being stuck in the scout eater section and not in eds push 14 ft behind where John got caught like all the articles say. I don’t wanna hammer you with questions, but I do have a few I was hoping you could answer.
1. It’s been said he received some sort of medication intravenously through the foot by some, possibly morphine for the pain or maybe a benzo for the panic? Do you know if this is true?
2. You mentioned that you had to go in feet first through that tight constriction that was right before John. How were the rescuers able to assist him (rig the pulley, give him water etc.) being feet first. It sounds like you were able to scooch your legs past him a little so you could get closer. Some of the diagrams I’ve seen of the rescue make it took like you guys went in head first, but reading what you said above that doesn’t sound like the case, was it?
3. Dale Green mentioned in a article that he’s been stuck in the same section as John.
“I got down enough so my feet weren’t quite sticking up the hole, and I realized I couldn’t back out of this. There was no way to push, and I couldn’t get a grip with my feet. I was slanted upside down and started to get a little worried,” says Green. He had to yell for a friend to get him out. “He kept pulling and pulling and finally I just popped out,” says Green. “I never went back to that section again”. Do you know if he was talking about the same crevice John was in?
4. Can you confirm if explosives were used or not in sealing the cave. Some articles I’ve read mention that explosives were used to seal eds push as well as the concrete poured at the entrance. Was this the case or was it just sealed with the concrete up top?
6. When you surveyed the cave in 2004 and were able to get your feet down where John was, were you far enough into that crevice to feel the bottom with your feet where you say it flattened out at the bottom of that 70 degree slant?
7. I was also trying to figure out if John was on his head or not? I know he had asked Ryan who put him on his head or something along those lines but I didn’t think you would have seen his feet if he was that far into it.
Ah crap, sorry man. That’s definitely more questions then I meant to ask you. I just wanted to say too, what all you rescuers did that day is very VERY brave. To put your life on the line like that to help someone you don’t even know is preety awesome of you guys. It can be a pretty dark world but people like you bring a lot of light to it! Thank you, much love.
Good questions. The gray areas are underlying passage. In other words, where one passage overlaps another. There is only one entrance and yes, every visitor would need to figure out how to get back to that one entrance.
I’ll do my best to answer based on what I know:
1. I don’t know about this one. I had to remove his shoe to try and determine if he was dead, so if they didn’t administer some sort of medication it wouldn’t have been through the foot.
2. Everyone besides John went in feet first. In the area where John was stuck it was just big enough to fit two people. He was upside down and the rescuers were right side up.
3. I’m not sure which section Dale was talking about, but I knew Dale and he was a slim fit guy.So I could see him getting himself out with enormous effort if he had indeed gone down that passage head first. John was much heavier than Dale and not as active and so I could see if that was indeed the location where Dale was stuck, that John would have had a much more difficult time.
4. As far as I know they just filled the entrance with concrete, but I wasn’t there when they actually did it. I don’t remember anyone ever mentioning explosives.
5. Yes. I was standing on the bottom and could bend my knee at a 90 degree angle so that I knew it must have continued at least two feet horizontally at the bottom, but I wasn’t about to put myself at risk to find out, so I called that good enough.
6. John put himself in head first and that is the same position he was in when he died. Ryan would not have put him on his head. The goal of the rescue was to try and get him right side up. At that point he would have been able to get himself out with some assistance.
Hope that answers all your questions.
I hope we didn’t bore you with questions 🙂 Another thing I wonder about is that some people say they will definitely go in there because they are curious about where John is. It was said that too much cement was spilled, can it really be entered after all these years?
I last remember hearing that there were photographs of John’s location where he was stuck. Does it really exist? If so, was it not shared with the permission of his family and out of respect for them?
Hi Brandon,
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions. It seems that over the years, a lot of misinformation got mixed in with the actual facts, and it’s good to be able to get answers from someone with first hand knowledge of the facts.
I have some questions, hope they’re not repetitive of things you already answered.
1. I have seen a claim (sorry, can’t remember by whom) that the entrance to the cave John went in head first could not easily be confused with the birth canal entrance, and that the appearance of the cave should have been a giveaway that it was not appropriate for inexperienced cavers. Do you think it would have been easy to mistake Ed’s push for the birth canal? You said John was to your knowledge the first person to get stuck head first in that location, so that would seem to indicate not many people chose to enter that section. I’m very curious how easy of a mistake that was to make, and if something about it’s appearance should have given off a warning sign.
2. The original recollection stated that once John went in head first, he kept pushing forward because he assumed he was in the birth canal and knew there should have been a way out. However at some point he seemed to have realized his error and tried to find a place wide enough to turn himself around. You said that by the area where he was located, there was enough room for two people (just). Do you think there was enough space there for him to turn himself around so he would be able to go back? Did the cave only slope down at the final section and he could have been saved if he didn’t push ahead so far?
3. It was stated that the section of the cave John found himself in was unmapped. However the maps you attached to this post seem to indicate that it was indeed mapped as “Ed’s push”. Did the location where John die appear in the original 2003 map you drew? I tried looking at the drawings you provided in this post, however I’m not familiar with caving maps so it’s a bit difficult to understand how this 2-dimensional drawing related to a 3-dimensional cave.
Thank you very much for your time and effort to answer all of these questions. Appreciate it greatly.
Thank you so much, Brandon.