John Jones didn't go into the hole to die. He went because he was a 26-year-old medical student with a young daughter and another baby on the way, looking for a bit of adventure before his life got even busier. Most people who grew up in Utah in the early 2000s knew about Nutty Putty Cave. It was a rite of passage, a muddy, slippery playground tucked away on private land near the west side of Utah Lake. But in November 2009, this popular destination turned into a tomb, and the Nutty Putty Cave accident became one of the most agonizing rescue attempts in modern history.
He was stuck. Upside down. In a space so small that most people wouldn't even put their arm into it.
The cave was always a bit of a problem. Before John ever stepped foot inside, the cave had been closed multiple times due to safety concerns. It’s a hydrothermal cave, formed by hot water pushing up through limestone rather than water dripping down. This means it’s filled with smooth, slick surfaces and incredibly tight, vertical drops. It’s claustrophobia made manifest.
The Turn Into Bob's Push
On the night of November 24, John and his brother Josh were exploring. John was 6 feet tall and weighed about 190 pounds. He was athletic, but he wasn't a professional spelunker. He was looking for a passage called "The Birth Canal," which is a famous, tight-but-passable squeeze.
He made a mistake. A fatal one.
He found a small opening and thought it was the Canal. It wasn't. It was an unmapped, unnamed fissure that slanted downward at a 70-degree angle. By the time John realized the passage was getting too tight to maneuver, gravity had already done its work. He had exhaled to squeeze through a narrow gap, and when he inhaled, his chest expanded, locking him against the rock. He was pinned in a 10-by-18-inch space.
He was basically a human cork in a stone bottle.
Why Gravity Was the Enemy
When the first rescuers arrived, they found John’s feet sticking out of a tiny hole deep in the cave’s "Big Slide" area. He was roughly 400 feet from the entrance, but those 400 feet were a labyrinth of switchbacks and squeezes.
The physics were nightmare fuel.
Because the crevice sloped downward, John’s head was lower than his feet. The human body is not designed to be upside down for long periods. Your heart has to work double-time to pump blood out of your head against the force of gravity. Eventually, fluids begin to pool in the lungs. It’s a slow, terrifying process called pulmonary edema.
Rescuers didn't just have to pull him out; they had to do it before his own physiology betrayed him.
The Pulley System That Failed
Over 100 people joined the rescue effort. It was a massive operation involving the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and expert cavers from across the state. They spent hours drilling into the rock, trying to expand the space, but the limestone was incredibly hard. The sound of the drills in the confined space was deafening, and the dust made breathing difficult for everyone involved.
Eventually, they settled on a complex pulley system.
They used 15 different attachment points and high-strength climbing ropes. For a moment, it actually worked. They managed to lift John high enough to give him some water and let him talk to his wife over a radio. He told her he’d be out soon. He was optimistic. Everyone was.
Then, a "natural" anchor point—a protrusion of rock where one of the pulleys was fixed—shattered.
The system collapsed. John fell back into the crevice. The shock of the fall, combined with the hours of being upside down, took a massive toll. He lost consciousness shortly after.
The Impossible Geometry of the Rescue
You might wonder why they couldn't just "pull harder."
It’s a fair question, but the geometry of the cave made it impossible. The passage John was in had a sharp "S" curve. If rescuers pulled too hard on his legs, they risked breaking them or, worse, snapping his spine against the ceiling of the tunnel. There was no straight line of egress. To get him out, they had to move him forward, then up, then back—all while he was wedged in a space barely wider than a laptop screen.
The lead rescuer, Susie Motola, was the first to reach him. She spent hours talking to him, trying to keep him calm. But the sheer physical exhaustion of the rescuers was a factor too. They were working in shifts, crawling through mud and narrow gaps just to reach the spot where they could see John's boots.
After 27 hours of being trapped, John’s body finally gave out. He was pronounced dead of cardiac arrest and suffocation on the evening of November 25.
The Decision to Seal the Tomb
The Nutty Putty Cave accident didn't end with John's death. It actually got more complicated.
Rescuers realized that trying to recover his body was too dangerous. They had already nearly lost a rescuer when the pulley snapped. The risk of another death just to retrieve remains was a price the state wasn't willing to pay.
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With the family's permission, the decision was made to leave John there.
The cave was permanently sealed with concrete. They filled the entrance and used explosives to collapse the ceiling near where John was located. Today, a memorial plaque sits near the entrance, marking the spot where a young man’s life ended in the dark.
Lessons from the Deep
The tragedy changed how cave access is managed in the West. Nutty Putty wasn't just a "freak accident"; it was a combination of a lack of updated mapping and the inherent risks of hydrothermal caves.
People often underestimate the psychological toll of "tight" spaces until they are in one. Panic is the real killer in caves. It causes your heart rate to spike, your breathing to become shallow, and your muscles to tense up—making you physically larger and harder to move.
If you are a recreational hiker or interested in spelunking, there are very real takeaways from what happened to John Jones:
- Never enter a cave without a detailed, recent map. John thought he was in the Birth Canal; he wasn't.
- Know your limits. Cave exploration requires a specific type of fitness and mental fortitude.
- Check local closures. Caves are often closed for reasons beyond "bureaucracy"—sometimes the geological stability is compromised.
- Use the buddy system properly. Josh was able to get help quickly, but even that wasn't enough because of the cave's layout.
The site is now a quiet spot in the desert, but the story remains a stark reminder of the unforgiving nature of the earth beneath our feet. John’s family has been incredibly vocal about safety and has supported the decision to keep the cave a final resting place, ensuring that no one else ever has to face that "S" curve in the dark again.
Practical Steps for Wilderness Safety
If you're planning on exploring any subterranean environment, your first move should be connecting with a local "grotto"—these are chapters of the National Speleological Society. They have the most up-to-date information on cave conditions. Don't rely on old blog posts or word-of-mouth.
Always leave a "flight plan" with someone on the surface. They need to know exactly which cave you’re in and exactly when you’re expected out. In the case of the Nutty Putty Cave accident, help arrived fast, but the physical constraints of the rock were the ultimate deciding factor. Stay within known, mapped areas and never attempt a "squeeze" if you are exploring alone or without proper gear.