She drove her Toyota 4Runner, purchased with an eye toward rescues, around the southern end of Utah Lake and down the long, dark dirt road leading to the cave. Susie had been moving into a new house, but dropped everything when her rescue pager went off just after 9 p.m. She knew Nutty Putty, and she could go where others couldn’t. She couldn’t fully extend her arms and legs, but she was confident.Īmong the smallest of the dedicated band of search-and-rescue volunteers in rugged Utah County, Susie couldn’t carry the biggest packs and she got cold faster. He was trapped nearly upside down, his 6-foot, 200-pound body seemingly swallowed by the rock.Ībove John, Susie ‘s slight, 5-foot-3-inch frame was also encased. “Hi, Susie, thanks for coming, but I really, really want to get out,” said 26-year-old John Jones. The reply seemed to come from the other end of a long hallway. In one instance, it took rescuers 14 hours to free a 16-year-old Boy Scout - who weighs 140 pounds and is 5-foot-7, much shorter than John - using a complex series of pulleys.“Hi, John, my name is Susie. The two Boy Scouts were captured within a week. In 2004, in the same area of Nutty Putty Cave where John was trapped, two Boy Scouts nearly lost their lives in separate incidents. Most passages are dangerously narrow, even at the entrances where warning signs are posted. One of the rescuers on the scene, Shaun Roundy, explained the difficulties everyone, even seasoned cavers, faced getting into Nutty Putty Cave. Their best plan is to use a system of pulleys and ropes to free John from the dangerously tight position. Over the next 24 hours, more than 100 rescuers worked frantically to free John Edward Jones from the depths of Nutty Putty Cave. “Hi Suzy, thanks for coming,” John said, “but I really, really want to get out.” Motorola introduced herself to John, even though all she saw was a pair of dark blue and black running shoes. At this point, John had been trapped for three and a half hours. The first rescuer to find John was a woman named Susie Motola, who arrived around 12:30 a.m. It took an hour to get people, equipment and supplies this far. But even with rescue, John was still trapped 400 feet into the cave and 100 feet below the surface. “Save me for my wife and kids,” John said.Įventually, Josh climbed to the exit of the cave for help. “Guide us as we work through this,” Josh prayed. His arms are now pressed against his chest, unable to move at all.īoth John and Josh were devout Mormons and all they could do at the time was pray. But then John slid deeper down the aisle and got trapped worse than ever. Josh tried to pull his brother’s calf, but in vain. John Edward Jones’ brother was the first to find him. He tried to exhale the air in his chest so he could fit through a space only 10 inches wide and 18 inches high, about the size of a clothes dryer opening.īut when John inhaled again and his chest bulged again, he finally got stuck. He didn’t even have room to squirm back from the way he came. John knew he was almost trapped now and had nowhere to turn. This is the passage that John Jones thought he found when he got stuck. Researcher Cami Pulham climbs out of the birth canal at Nutty Putty Cave. But after a few minutes, he realized he had made a serious mistake. He found what he thought was the birth canal, and headed down the narrow passage, pushing himself with his hips, stomach, and fingers. At 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, he’s not the kid he used to be.Īfter about an hour of caving, John decided to look for Nutty Putty Cave, known as the “Birth Canal,” a narrow passage that cavers must carefully crawl through. He’s back home in Utah for some relaxing vacations with his family. He is married to a one-year-old daughter and is attending medical school in Virginia. John, 26 at the time, and Josh, 23, and nine other friends and family members decided to explore Nutty Putty Cave to communicate before their holiday.Īt 26, John was in the prime of his life. Local time on the evening of November 24, 2009, a few days before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, John’s first expedition to Nutty Putty Cave, about 55 miles southwest of Utah Lake, about 55 miles from Salt Lake City, was his last.Įxplorer Emily Vinton Maughen at the entrance to Nutty Putty Cave.Īround 8pm, John Edward Jones entered Nutty Putty Cave.
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