The Nutty Putty Cave Rescue & the Death of John Jones – One Rescuers Perspective

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)

Rescuers at the staging area outside the entrance.

Me between D7 and D9 just above John. I”m showing how I can touch the ceiling and floor at the same time with my hand. 

Looking at the paramedic’s feet from my perspective, between D7 and D9 just above John. In this shot and the previous shot my feet would have been just above John. Again showing how I can touch both ceiling and floor with my hand to show the tightness of the passage.

This is me and the legs of the paramedic in the passage leading down to where John is trapped. We are at the between the D5 and D6 survey stations on the illustration above. You can see where we were attempting to jack-hammer the passage. Notice how the passage is just about as tall as the paramedic’s boots.

1. 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.
2. This was the moment he passed away.
3. 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.

Resource

Post Rescue Map

This is the rescue map I put together after the rescue. Jon Jasper, Spencer Christian, Chuck Acklin and I mapped the cave in 2003. We had surveyed the passage where John Jones was trapped. So I used the survey data to generate two different profile views showing where he was trapped and the position he was in. I will also include the photos that I have of the rescue to give you a sense of what the area is like.

My Final Thoughts on the Rescue

It has been well over a decade since the tragic night at the Nutty Putty Cave, and the questions, misconceptions, and rumors still continue to surface. In this video—my final and most comprehensive Q&A on the 2009 attempted rescue of John Edward Jones—I, Brandon Kowallis, am addressing the more than 50 most common and difficult questions about that operation.

How to Read a Cave Map

Watch this video to learn how to read a cave map. A lot of people wonder how John might have gotten turned around. This video helps you understand some things about cave maps that most people including John likely didn’t know.

Visualizing the Cave

This video gives you a unique 3D perspective of the cave so you can get a sense of the vertical extent of the cave or what the cave might look like from a side or profile view. Also, you can see geologically how the cave is formed.

A Virtual Tour of the Cave

Thanks to developers at 3R Games you can now explore Nutty Putty Cave virtually with your Oculus. In this video I take you on a tour through the virtual model of Nutty Putty Cave and talk about similarities and differences between the game and the actual cave and show you where John Jones was trapped.

Find out more about this game on Meta Quest.

The Nutty Putty Entrance Today

Here is a short video I shot with my phone of the entrance to Nutty Putty today.

Recent Salt Lake Tribune Short

The Salt Lake Tribune recently interviewed me about the incident at the Nutty Putty Cave entrance. You can check out the accompanying article here: 15 years after a man died in the Nutty Putty Cave, his family and rescuers still struggle to escape the darkness.

Tight Squeezes

To give you a sense of what it is like to squeeze into some of these tight areas in caves. I’ve posed two videos below that were taking during the survey of one of Utah’s desert caves. In the first video Mitch attempts a tight downward squeeze. In the second, I am coming out of a passage I crawled into to see if it went. It dead-ended about 12 feet below me. For many people passages like these are their worst nightmare, for serious cavers it’s no big deal and kind of fun.

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!