I received a text from my friend Josh with the unexpected news that John had passed away. And we felt there was nothing we could do but get in the way, so a group of us left, leaving Josh and Mike and another brother-in-law with John.įor the next 27 hours I followed the news closely and waited. The search and rescue vehicles started to show up and we decided we needed to get the teenagers home.
They had all been gathered around the entrance praying and singing church hymns. I crawled out of the cave and joined everyone else outside of the cave. I crawled out and Josh crawled in to see what he could do. But after an hour I was becoming tired and scraped up and started to get psychologically messed up. Mike, John's brother, was outside of the tight spot talking to me, which I much appreciated because it helped keep my spirits up. I did the best I could to keep him in good spirits by giving him little goals to reach. So I crawled in above John (it was a very tight spot and I often would panic because it was difficult to move) and John and I tried several things to move him up. He came out in a mix of calm and panic and said he was going to go up and call for help and asked that I go in a comfort John and maybe try to help, because I was the only adult that would fit. After about 15 minutes I hollered to Josh if things were okay. We could not find where it continued, so sat waiting near the area. The rest of the group joined us at this point. When he did we told him (without much thought) to go in and see if John needed help, meanwhile Jessica and I explored two other spots where the cave could have continued. Jessica and I waited for Josh to get out of the hole he was exploring. We didn't know he was stuck for several minutes. He went in to the spot face first because he was climbing up, but then it curved and started heading downwards, then it got too small for him to push himself backwards up against gravity, so he slid down further and became wedged. It is this part of the story that I keep recalling over and over in my head, because at this point I asked John if he wanted to explore the spot, which we later would learn is called the "Ed's Push" area. The rest is hard to explain unless I can use my hands, but for simplicities sake: We had a map of the cave and got to a part where we couldn't find where it continued, so we each took a route that looked like it could be the right way. Because of this it was a little more difficult to breath, but also nice because it was around 30 degree Fahrenheit above ground. The cave is a geothermal hotspot and so it is very warm and moist in there. When we entered the cave Josh, John, Jessica (friend of Josh), and I went first, while two other adults and four teenagers followed behind. I have gone on several caving expeditions with Josh and thought it would be an enjoyable new cave to visit. I was invited by a great friend and old roommate, Josh Jones, to come along with he and a few family members. I was part of 11 people who went to the Nutty Putty Cave on November 24th, 2009, just two days ago. Even after his passing I have talked to him in case he can hear me. Someone who I knew for only a couple of hours, but who is someone I feel very close to now. This morning I am grieving the loss of John Jones. And so I knew there would be times ahead (sooner than later) where I would lose a loved one.
My father made me aware of this fact not too long ago. I have been blessed to never have any relatives pass away unexpectedly or while I was old enough to understand. I am almost 26 years old and up until today I have never grieved for anyone. Its multiple, tunnels and passageways lead to room-like openings, a Web site for Utah cave-enthusiasts explains.I wanted to write some things here before I forget them (because I am away from home and can not write them in my journal) and I want to share my thoughts. The naturally formed thermal cave is about 1,500 feet long. Nutty Putty cave is actually a hole on the top of hill about seven miles west of State Road 68. "I wasn't able to see more because he was engulfed in the crevice itself." "I was only able to see his two feet that was hanging there in the crevice," Josh Jones said. "He thought he could kind of keep going on his belly down further, but it got to point where he couldn't go any further and he got wedged in," Stocking said. Jones was going headfirst into the crevice when he got stuck. "It basically got to a point where we were trying to figure out if the cave went any further, and that's the route John decided to take," 25-year-old Joey Stocking of Logan told the Tribune. The group split up, with several children and some adults staying in a less dangerous area of the cave while others decided to explore further, 23-year-old Josh Jones, another brother, told The Salt Lake Tribune.
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