“Save me for my wife and kids,” John said.Įventually, Josh scrambled toward the exit of the cave to get help. “Guide us as we work through this,” Josh prayed. His arms were now pinned beneath his chest and he couldn’t move at all.Īll John and Josh, both devout Mormons, could do at this point was pray. But then John slid down into the passage even further, becoming trapped worse than before. Josh tried to pull at his brother’s calves to no avail. John Edward Jones’s brother was the first to find him. He tried to exhale the air in his chest so that he could fit through a space that was barely 10 inches across and 18 inches high, about the size of the opening of a clothes dryer.īut when John inhaled again and his chest puffed back out, he got stuck for good. He didn’t even have room to wriggle back out the way he’d come. John knew he was now just about stuck and had no room to turn around. This is the passage that John Jones thought he had found when he got stuck. Jon Jasper/ Explorer Cami Pulham crawling out of the passage known as the Birth Canal in Nutty Putty Cave. But within minutes, he realized he’d made a grave mistake. He found what he thought was the Birth Canal and inched his way into the narrow passage head first, moving forward using his hips, stomach, and fingers. And at six feet tall and 200 pounds, he wasn’t the little kid he used to be.Ībout an hour into the caving expedition, John decided to find the Nutty Putty Cave formation known as the Birth Canal, a tight passage that spelunkers must crawl through carefully if they dare. It had been years since John was in any cave. He had come back home to Utah to spend some relaxing holiday time with his family.

He was married, had a one-year-old daughter, and was attending medical school in Virginia.

John, 26 at the time, and Josh, 23, along with nine other friends and family members, decided to explore Nutty Putty Cave as a way to connect with each other ahead of the holiday.Īt age 26, John was in the prime of his life.

24, 2009, a few days before Thanksgiving. John Edward Jones entered Nutty Putty Cave at around 8 p.m. Jon Jasper/ Explorer Emily Vinton Maughen at the entrance of Nutty Putty Cave.

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