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The shocking death of John Jones in the Nutty Putty Cave in Utah

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john jones nutty putty death

When John Edward Jones was a kid, he often explored cave systems in Utah with his father, Leon, and his brother, Josh.

The recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems is called “spelunking” in the United States and Canada and potholing or caving elsewhere.

John, 26, his wife Emily, and daughter Lizzie arrived in Utah to see family over the Thanksgiving weekend in 2009 at their parents’ Stansbury Park home. They were picked up by Josh, who told John that the Nutty Putty Cave had been re-opened for six months after an extended closure due to safety and erosion concerns. He suggested they head out for some spelunking to relive their childhood experiences.

So John, Josh, and several friends headed to Nutty Putty Cave at around 8 pm on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. The cave is west of Utah Lake and about 55 miles from Salt Lake City.

When they got into Nutty Putty, John decided to split up and explore an un-mapped route within the cave system. It was to be a fatal crawl in the deepest part of the cave and one that led to one of the most shocking and disturbing deaths imaginable.

John eventually died on the evening of November 25, 2009, stuck upside down in the narrow passage from heart failure after a colossal rescue effort by over 100 volunteers. They tried desperately to get him out of the position he was wedged in. All the efforts were unsuccessful. Within days, Nutty Putty Cave was sealed with concrete forever as a memorial to John Jones.

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