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Uncensored footage from Nutty Putty Cave shows where one caver died one of the most terrifying deaths ever
Recently released video footage of the Nutty Putty Cave rescue display the chilling final moments of a young father’s life after he was left stranded inside a cave in Utah.
John Edward Jones was just 26 years old when he became stuck, and was left upside down in Utah’s infamous cavity in November 2009, having entered the cave while visiting the state for Thanksgiving.
The former medical student at the University of Virginia had been exploring the cave before he became lodged in the rockface, with rescue crews unable to save him.
The chilling new footage shows rescuers efforts
Now, in the new footage captured by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, we are offered a different perspective of the rescue.
John was on a family outing, with 10 others at the time, before he became separated from the group, having decided to enter the underground tunnel headfirst, despite it being known as the Corkscrew, an increasingly tight segment of the cave.
John eventually became trapped, after traveling 30 feet into the passage, slipping headfirst into a narrow gap.
In this version of the footage, we are offered a first-hand look at the rescue operation, showing rescuers squeezing through the cave's claustrophobic passages, attempting to maneuver equipment into position and coordinating increasingly desperate efforts to pull John free.
Audio captures the team issuing instructions as they work, while rescuers explain the almost impossibly tight conditions they are facing.
The footage also provides a glimpse into the challenges of reaching John's trapped body, although it does not directly show his death.
The rescuers can be heard discussing how they could potentially rescue John, including explaining how the removal of some of the rock in the cave wouldn’t be possible, despite having initially cut some of the rock away.
Rescuers can be heard discussing their efforts
In the dialogue between the rescuers one can be heard saying: “Yeah. To get it through, we would have to probably take this whole chunk off right here, which is really thick.
“See, my legs barely fit through this where he came through. And this is where they've drilled out more. And the space that you have to drill for, see my foot right here is going now.
“Okay. So the victim is probably about, his feet are about maybe a foot and a half to two feet below my feet right now."
The other rescuer then replied: “So you're standing straight up right now, right?”
“I'm still kind of laying, kind of standing. It's pretty steep here. It's like maybe 60 or 70 degrees.
“Trying to turn around here so you can see back up. Oh, it's too dark. You can see where we've got to go back up through that crack up through there.”
While there appears to be no clear footage of John's face, the moment he became trapped, or his devastating death, the video offers a disturbing insight into the tightness of the cave, as well as the reactions of those trying to free him from the cavity.
Despite the rescue crew’s best efforts to save John, he died just over a day after getting stuck.