US3 min(s) read
Published 11:50 05 May 2026 GMT
New footage of the incident where a man was trapped in a cave, never to be seen again, has been released to the public.
Back on November 24 2009, cave explorer John Edward Jones took it upon himself to explore the Nutty Putty Cave in Utah, which was notoriously difficult to squeeze through.
Despite the tight passages and several unmapped areas within its walls, Jones and his spelunking enthusiast brother took the challenge on.
Sadly, it would end in tragedy for the family, as Jones would become stuck inside the cave and suffer a horrific death, despite desperate efforts from rescue teams to get him out.
He had suffered "one of the worst deaths imaginable" while in the former tourist attraction, which is located southwest of Utah Lake and 89 kilometers from Salt Lake City.
Once the father-of-one and medical student entered the cave, he was unaware that it'd be the last thing he'd ever do, effectively wedging himself "into his own grave".
While making their way through the cave, Jones took a wrong turn and became stuck head-first in an unmapped passageway known as "the birth canal."
Measuring just 0 inches by 18 inches wide, this passage was located just 122 meters from the cave's entrance.
Jones would be stuck upside down for over 24 hours in the cave, and once rescue teams were called, they tried for hours to set the dad free, but to no avail.
Eventually, the decision was made to close the cave off and leave him inside.
Jones spoke to his family over a radio, which was lowered down before he died, as his wife recalled a feeling of peace that she gathered from a five to 10-minute conversation that they had.
He has been honored with a plaque and a wreath at the cave's entrance in memory of Jones, with a film eventually being made about the harrowing incident.
The cave's entrance would be filled with concrete to close it off from the public, as Jones, standing at six feet tall, could not be saved.
Uploaded to EWU Unsolved, the short documentary delved into the details behind Jones' death, revealing never-before-seen footage for the first time.
It's the first time that footage from the cave itself has been released, with rescuers trying everything they can to save Jones.
Several ropes and equipment can be seen in the footage, as rescuers discuss different methods which could be used to save Jones, though they eventually conclude that it would be too difficult and risky.
They had even tried to chip away at the cave to widen the passage for the cave explorer to come through, but progress was slow-going.
Jones tried to make small kicks with his feet near the end of these rescue efforts, though these would stop.
The video also featured diagrams of Jones in the birth canal, and how with every breath, the father's chest would expand and wedge him further into the tight space.
The last attempt to pull Jones out, in fact, left John dropping deeper into the cave than before, after the rope and pulley system used to pull him up had broken.
He would eventually suffer cardiac arrest after being stuck in the cave for so long, which put a significant strain on his body.
