The heartbreaking last words of a man who experienced “one of the most horrifying deaths imaginable” have been revealed.

John Edward Jones was just 26 years old when he headed on a trip to Utah’s Nutty Putty cave in 2009 alongside his brother and a group of friends. Known for its narrow and winding passages, the Nutty Putty cave system was popular among cavers and those with an adventurous nature – like John – and thousands made their way to the spot every year.

However, when John headed to the cave system in November 2009, little did he know that it’d be the last expedition he’d do. While the cave was widely seen as being a ‘beginner cave’, different parts were labelled according to varying levels of difficulty.

After making their way to Nutty Putty, John and his brother Josh decided to explore a section of the cave known as ‘The Birth Canal’. The route was a challenging one and featured a long and narrow passageway which would open up to a larger area, though John mistook an uncharted portion of the cave for the opening of the ‘birth canal’ that he was looking for.

Sadly in his misstep, the keen explorer became trapped upside down in a narrow passage that measured just 10 by 18 inches. Although his brother attempted to free him from the cave, he was unable to – leading Josh to raise the alarm with volunteers and professionals.

Having heard of the incident, local rescue volunteer Susie was first on the scene and made her way to see John. In order to get down to him, Susie tied ropes to her feet and gradually inched her way down the tunnel.

Three hours after becoming trapped, John was met by Susie and he initially appeared happy to be in contact with another person. “Hi Susie, thanks for coming but I really, really want to get out,” he said, it has been reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.

However, the panic of the situation later kicked in. “I’m going to die right here. I’m not going to come out of here, am I?,” he tragically asked.

As the hours passed, the rescue party and emergency services worked together to devise a plan of rescuing John from the cave. In their deliberations, they decided to work using a system made of ropes and pulleys to get him to safety.

Throughout it all, volunteers checked on John. He reportedly told them: “It sucks. I’m upside down. I can’t believe I’m upside down. My legs are killing me.”

At one point tragedy struck when a pulley failed during the extrication process, though John, despite being trapped, was allegedly more worried about a volunteer who’d suffered an injury during the rescue mission. “Is he OK? I think he’s really hurt bad,” he reportedly asked.

After asking for an update on the volunteer, the strain of being stuck inside the cave began taking a toll on his body. He was soon devastatingly pronounced dead, though responders were still unable to retrieve his body from the space and instead they had to cordon off the cave with his body inside.

In the wake of his death, those involved in the rescue efforts needed to figure out how to proceed. In consultation with John’s family as well as the land owner, it was decided that retrieving John’s body would be too dangerous.

In turn, the cave was permanently sealed with John’s body inside. Explosives were used to collapse a ceiling near John’s body, and the entrance to the cave was filled with concrete in the hopes of preventing history from ever repeating itself.

In 2016, the film The Last Descent was released to memorialise John’s memory. John’s family were supportive of the film, according to LadBible.

“John will always be remembered for his genuine love of his family and friends, passion for adventure, goofy sense of humour and unwavering faith. The heroic acts of the men and woman who worked tirelessly to free him will never be forgotten,” they said in a statement at the time,

“We hope those who view the movie are inspired to live and love selflessly, and are comforted knowing that hope can be found in the wake of tragedy.”

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