SPANISH FORK, UTAH (ABC 4 News) Josh Jones says the decision to close Nutty Putty Cave permanently was not taken lightly. He and his brother, and father, today shared their opinions, along with other representatives from Utah County Search and Rescue, the Utah County Sheriffs Office, The Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, who owns the property, and members of the caving community. The decision to close the cave was unanimous.
Josh Jones says his brother John’s death came after numerous close calls in the cave. “This isn’t an isolated incident. There’s been five other similar to this in ten years, and we feel it would be John’s will to protect the safety of future cavers.”
In fact, Utah County Search and Rescue was able to successfully save the life of a teenage boy in Nutty Putty in 2004. He was in the same area of the cave, lodged four feet from the where 26 year old John Jones died. But the young teen was smaller in stature, more limber, and not as tightly wedged. Rescuers were eventually able to get him out. It’s an area at the end of the cave, fraught with tight turns, and extremely narrow passageways. Much of it remains un-named, and unexplored, including the passage where John Jones became fatally stuck.
In 2004, it’s estimated that between five and ten thousand visitors entered the Nutty Putty Cave every year. The cave was closed in 2006 for safety reasons, and a large metal gate was installed to keep explorers out.
For the next three years, plans were formulated to manage access to the cave, and to create a permit process that would allow spelunkers to explore the cave with proper equipment and experience. The cave re-opened in May of 2009. Michael Leavitt, Nutty Putty Cave Access Manager, says thousands of hours were invested in the process of trying to keep visitors safe. “It tears at you to know that you have invested time into bringing back something, and the final result is for John’s family to have to go through this.”
It’s an accident that shook the more than 100 rescuers who worked to save John Jones to the core. Counseling is now being offered to help them cope with their grief. Utah County Sheriff, Jim Tracy, says “It’s very frustrating to be arms length from a victim and still not be successful at rescuing that individual.”
Much of the difficulty was the narrowness of the passageway where Jones was stuck. The 6-foot-tall, 190 pound medical student became wedged in an area only 18 inches wide and 10 inches high on Tuesday night. Normal equipment used to carve away rock would not even fit into the narrow crevice.
John Valentine is a 29 year veteran of Search and Rescue, and has been in the cave dozens of times. He says “he got into an area that is just beyond the scope that anybody can really physically get into.” And it’s one that made it very difficult to get him out. Sgt. Tom Hodgson says “We had one gentleman working with a ball pene hammer, and with the hammer, he had about a six inch swing trying to know rocks off with a six inch swing. It’s just the confined space, and the restricted area is contradictory to trying to go in and remove rock.”
It is because of the risk to others that the recovery effort will not move forward. John Valentine says ‘For the same reason that John got hurt, and stuck, if we put other people in that same location, they could likewise get stuck.”
A spokesman for the Trust Lands Administration says the cave will be permanently closed within the next three weeks. Until that time, a uniformed deputy will stand guard at the opening to the cave. A meeting will be held Monday to decide how to best go about sealing Nutty Putty.
A memorial monument bearing John Jones name will be placed at the site. Josh Jones says “We feel it will be the final resting place of our son, brother, and husband. It is a place of honor and respect for our brother.”
John Jones leaves behind his wife Emily, a 13-month-old daughter, and another baby due in June.
