The courageous amateur cavers captured some of the only footage inside the Utah attraction
If you’ve ever wondered what was running through the mind of John Edward Jones while he was trapped in the Nutty Putty Cave, this claustrophobia-inducing footage will give you a good idea.
Thankfully, no one will ever have to go through an ordeal like the 26-year-old explorer did, as the entrance points to the tourist attraction in the US state of Utah were permanently sealed following the tragedy in December 2009.
Despite the fact he suffered one of the ‘worst death’s imaginable‘ inside the cave, it hasn’t stopped people from being curious about the place – but fortunately, we can take a look at what John saw from a safe distance.
Before the fatal incident which spelled the end of the Nutty Putty Cave, a gang of gutsy blokes headed inside the popular site which used to welcome thousands of amateurs and professionals each year.
The grainy footage, originally shot in 2005, was uploaded to the YouTube page ‘CBG’ nine years ago to give people an idea of just how much of a tight squeeze it is – especially in the ‘birth canal’, which is where John fatefully headed.
For those who don’t know, the father-of-one headed inside the cave system with his brother Josh and a few pals, before they split off into two groups.
He was keen to find the birth canal, but ended up taking a wrong turn and entered an unmapped section of the cave.
John is said to have essentially ‘crawled into his own grave‘ when he ventured into this area, as the six foot tall and 200lbs caver suddenly became pinned between rocks while upside down.
He was wedged around 400ft from the cave’s entrance with no way to turn around, while one arm rested above his head and the other dangled down by his side – prompting a huge rescue mission.
John never made it back out of the Nutty Putty cave (Family Handout)
With each breath the medical student took, the more trapped he became, as his chest expanded.
Despite a huge rescue operation, John – who considered himself an experienced caver – could not be freed, and he was pronounced dead on 25 November, 2009, after he suffered a cardiac arrest.
It was deemed far to dangerous to try and retrieve his body, prompting his family and the landowner to come to an agreement to permanently close the cave with John still inside.
The Nutty Putty Cave became a memorial to John, while the entrance hole was filled with concrete to prevent further access – while the explorer’s story lives on as a cautionary tale to cavers around the world.
But back in 2005, it was still open to the public and the group managed to capture eerie footage of what would later become John’s final resting place.
One caver pointed out how tight the entrance was (YouTube/CBG)
Although they admitted they ‘didn’t have the best cameras’, the video still managed to capture the narrowness of the cave system’s passageways – and the lads realised just how confined it was as soon as they entered it.
As the camera is pointed down an ominous hole which sits among the barren landscape, one of the men who had already climbed inside looks up and says to his pal: “Dude, you’re gonna look at this and be like ‘Holy crap, can I fit through this small hole?'”
Their visibility immediately took a nosedive as soon as they gained access to the Nutty Putty cave, with the group explaining it was extremely humid inside.
One remarked that the ceiling was ‘dripping’, while the others began to navigate through the darkness.
“It’s surprisingly wet in here, but it’s so…muddy,” one said.
“That’s why it’s the Nutty Putty cave,” another responded – and he was bang on, as it literally got it’s name from the soft, putty-like clay found in some of its passages.
The lads chillingly joked about how dangerous it was down there (YouTube/CBG)
Chillingly, the friends later began to joke about how difficult a rescue operation would be.
As they started to abseil down a small hole with a rope, one of the men said: “Can you imagine if one of these rocks just let loose, it would just kill you so quickly.
“Or if there’s an earthquake and everything collapsed…smash you like a pancake. There’d be nothing left of you. And there’s no way they could get back down here and dig through all this, we’re so far down.”
But in the same breath, they added: “This is beautiful, absolutely beautiful.”
Another asked their mates to remind them ‘why they brought a knife’ for the risky excursion, to which one of his pals replied: “Incase it’s one of those cliffhanger situations where you got to cut yourself free to save the life of your friend above you. Or, to cut yourself free so he can die and you don’t.”
The cavers thankfully all made it out okay and in the process, they captured some footage which reminds us all why the Nutty Putty cave is best left closed.
One viewer wrote: “Little did they know they were making some of the only footage that will ever be seen of the inside of the Nutty Putty cave system. RIP John Edward Jones.”
Another remarked: “Seeing footage of inside the cave just a few years before John died in there is really eerie.”
A third commented: “Creepy how they talk about being buried there… in light of what happened a few years later to the poor guy who met exactly that fate.”
A fourth added: “It’s crazy seeing that hole that led down to this nightmare. Interesting seeing what it was like. It’s a miracle more didn’t die in this cave.”
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/CBG/Family Handout
