Fatal mistake of man who died 'worst possible death' that left him stuck upside down in cave
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: AP Photo/Courtesy of Utah County Sheriff’s Office/Family handout
If you had any upcoming caving plans, this tragic story might make you want to cancel them.
Caving is a popular pass time for a lot of Americans, but the exhilarating and adrenaline fuelled sport can sometimes go very, very wrong.
In a study looking at caving incidents between 1980 and 2008, it was reported that 81 deaths had occurred as a result of caving in the US, with those who died ranging is ages as a young as 10 to 59.
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And this total sadly went up by one more in 2009 following John Edward Jones' passing.
John, who was 26 at the time, had gone exploring the Nutty Putty Cave with a group of others ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
But John never made it back out of the Utah-based cave after becoming stuck inside.
John was trying to find what was known as Nutty Putty's Birth Canal and, thinking he'd discovered it, inched his way into it as he believed that he could fit through the narrow passageway.
It's located around 120ft underground and John - who was around 6ft and weighed 200lb - quickly became stuck.
He was unable to turn round or go backwards, so his only option was to try and press on.
But John became even more wedged into the cave as he tried to squeeze through the space that was barely 10 inches across and 18 inches high.
The father-of-two, who had a one-year-old daughter and a second child on the way at the time, tried to narrow his chest by breathing out - but it didn't work.
He was with his brother at the time who was able to make it out of the cave and get help.
Over the course of 24 hours, more than 100 rescue personnel tried to save John.
They used a system of pulleys and ropes to try bring him back up, but their efforts were in vain.
Eventually, John died in the cave from a cardiac arrest and, making matters worse, rescuers weren't able to exhume his body for his family.
Over a decade on from his death, John's body remains stuck in the Nutty Putty Cave.
The cave was sealed off following his untimely death, and it now serves as a memorial for the late medical student.
The cave had only reopened six months prior to John's death.
The attraction closed in 2004 after two Boy Scouts became stuck in the cave in separate incidents as well.