The tragic final words of the man who suffered the ‘worst death imaginable’ have been revealed.
John Jones, 26, died after becoming stuck for more than 24 hours in the infamous Nutty Putty Cave in November 2009 after he, his friends and relatives decided to explore it.
The medical student, who considered himself a keen and experienced explorer, was described as having ‘essentially crawled into his own grave’ upon his death more than 15 years ago.
After setting out to explore the extremely tight ‘Birth Canal’ area of the cave, Mr Jones, who stood at 6ft tall, took a wrong turn and mistakenly entered a tiny passageway head-first which measured just 10 inches by 18 inches.
Stuck in the crevice and unable to turn or move backwards, the 26-year-old father endured ’27 hours of claustrophobic hell’ while his brother Josh could only watch on helplessly.
Despite a major rescue mission being launched, volunteers were unable to help him escape and initial efforts sent him even further into the hole.
Tragically, Jones was pronounced dead having suffered a cardiac arrest, leading some to describe it as the ‘worst death imaginable’.
Now, one of the volunteers who tried to rescue him has revealed Jones’s harrowing final words.
A rescuer from Utah Cave Rescue works to free John Jones from deep in the Nutty Putty Cave
An avid caver, John along with his brother and friends sought to explore the infamous cave on a day of fun before tragedy struck
Susie Motola was part of the rescue mission launched to save the 26-year-old and when she arrived on the scene, John was still positive about getting out.
However, as time passed and the job became evidently more difficult, the father made the chilling realisation that he wouldn’t make it back out of the cave, located around 55 miles from Salt Lake City.
Initially, John was happy to see Susie, saying: ‘Hi Susie, thanks for coming but I really, really want to get out.’
But the panic quickly set in, when he devastatingly said: ‘I’m going to die right here. I’m not going to come out of here, am I?’
More than 100 responders tried to remove Jones from the crevice, even attaching a rope to him in the hopes of being able to pull the 26-year-old out.
When volunteers checked in on him, Jones responded, saying: ‘It sucks. I’m upside down. I can’t believe I’m upside down. My legs are killing me.’
John with his wife Emily before the accident; Mr Jones is survived through his two children but did not get to meet his baby boy before his death
A memorial plaque to John Jones outside the Nutty Putty cave
The entrance to the Nutty Putty Cave was collapsed with controlled explosives and filled with concrete in order to prevent any future accidents
Despite the rope efforts failing and plunging the 26-year-old deeper into the confinement, Jones was reportedly more concerned about one of the volunteers, who had suffered a facial injury while trying to rescue the caver.
He allegedly asked: ‘Is he OK? I think he’s really hurt bad.’
After asking, Jones’s breathing quickly became more shallow and less frequent as he struggled to cope with the pressure of being stuck for more than an entire day.
He was soon pronounced dead, with responders unable to even retrieve his body from the area, forcing them to cordon the cave off with Jones still inside.
A memorial of Mr Jones can now be seen at the Nutty Putty Cave as a reminder of its dangers to future cavers.
In 2016, the tragedy was dramatised for the big screen in a film titled The Last Descent.
John left behind his wife Emily and their baby daughter Lizzie.
Emily was also expecting their second child at the time of the accident. A baby boy was born the following year who she named after his father.
