Stuck In A Cave Alone | Nutty Putty Cave

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Tatiana: Time had run
out, but it didn't matter.

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Rescuers didn't care that they'd
been working for over 20 hours

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straight to free a man named John.

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A promise was made that they
would work until he was out.

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Breathing or not.

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Little, did they know John would never
escape the tunnel he was trapped in.

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This is the story of John Edward
Jones and his fateful misadventure

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into nutty putty, cave, in Utah.

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I'm Tatiana and this is occurrence.

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Nutty putty cave located in
Utah is no ordinary cave.

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First explored in 1960.

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This cave is famous for its
slippery narrow passageways filled

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with twists and tight squeezes.

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That challenge even the
most experienced Splunkers,

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it was a local favorite attracting
boy scout, troops, college students,

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and adventure seekers alike.

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With around 5,000 visitors a year, despite
being considered a beginner friendly cave.

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Nutty putty consists of multiple sections
each with unique names, like the birth

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canal, the scout eater and the maze.

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Surprisingly the entrance to
nutty putty is not the starting

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point of the tunnel system.

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To access it.

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You have to hike up a large hill

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and then descend in to
a hole in the ground.

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The formation of nutty putty is
the result of hypogenic process.

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Superheated water forced its way through
limestone, eating away at the rock above

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and creating the intricate cave shafts.

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Fun fact, the cave would even ooz goo,
which led to the naming inspiration

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for the popular toy, silly petty.

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With a length of over 1300 feet
and a depth of nearly 150 feet.

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nutty putty is not for the faint of heart.

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Now onto John Jones.

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John a 26 year old medical student
studying to become a doctor,

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lived with his wife and
one-year-old daughter in Virginia.

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Despite being far away from the caves
John's love for, Spelunking never waned.

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In his youth, he would join his
father who co-founded Utah's cave

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rescue organization to volunteer as
a trapped victim for rescue practice.

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This passion for exploration
would ultimately lead him to

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a terrible situation though.

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On the night of November 24th,
2009, it was close to Thanksgiving.

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So John, Emily, and their
daughter returned to Utah to

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celebrate with John's family.

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Excited for adventure.

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Uh, John, his brother, Josh, and
a group of family and friends

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obtained, permits to explore.

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Nutty putty cave, which had
recently reopened to the public.

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It had been a while since John
had last spelunked and he was

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excited for the challenges, awaiting him.

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The group ventured into the cave,
navigating through its intricate twists

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and turns as they descended deeper.

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John's confidence grew.

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It was like getting back on a
bike after not riding for awhile.

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Hesitations faded and
muscle memory took over.

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John and Josh.

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Accompanied by two friends.

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Decided to tackle the challenging
final section of the cave

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called the birth canal.

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John was determined to be the
first to find its entrance.

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But as they split up in
search of the entrance,

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John unknowingly took a wrong turn.

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Thinking he had found the birth canal.

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He entered a narrow tunnel.

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The further he went.

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The narrower it became until he reached
a section that appeared to widen a bit.

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He was trying to find a place
big enough to turn around.

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Because with the birth canal,
it's known to get really tight.

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And when you reach the end, there will
be an opening just big enough to turn

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around and make your way back out.

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But instead he found himself trapped
in a 10 inch wide, 18 inch high Fisher.

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Panic set in.

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As John realized he was stuck
with one arm pinned beneath him.

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And unable to move.

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John's desperate cries for help
caught the attention of his brother,

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Josh, who tried to pull it out,
but it only made things worse.

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John ended up sliding further
down once his brother let go.

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John was trapped in a narrow
fissure at a 70 degree angle

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and he couldn't use his arms.

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He was completely unable to move.

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Josh realized how dire the situation was

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and left John with a friend
while he went to call for help.

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Hours passed before rescuers arrived.

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But the first one to reach
John was named Susie Mattola.

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She introduced herself and
asked John how he was feeling.

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And he says, hi, Susie, thanks for coming.

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But I really, really want to get out.

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And she told him not to worry.

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She would have them out of there quickly.

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She felt like she would be able
to do this rescue in a snap.

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But as she tied rope into a
knot around John's ankles.

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She realized she miscalculated.

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For the next few hours,
she tried to free him.

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She had a rope around her waist
so that if she got stuck, other

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rescuers could pull her out.

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She tried to cut away at his jeans
to make more room for him to get out.

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She wrapped a rope around his
ankles to have other rescuers pull,

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but there wasn't enough leverage.

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Once she tried everything
she could think of.

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She made her way back to the surface.

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And someone else took her place.

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Time passed as over 130 rescue
workers worked nonstop to free John.

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They devised intricate systems
drilling into the cave walls

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and installing pulleys.

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But drilling

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into just six inches of rock would
take about an hour and each pass

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to deliver the gear, to install.

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The pulleys also took an hour.

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The clock was ticking and
the odds were against them.

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Time became the enemy.

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As John's organs faced increasing
danger from the inverted

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position he was trapped in.

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His heart struggled to pump blood
against gravity while his lungs and

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brain were at risk of pooling blood.

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The risk of stroke and cardiac failure
loomed over the rescue efforts.

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Eventually John began
hallucinating and panicking.

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Despite the unwavering
dedication of the rescue workers.

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Due to how engulfed in
the tunnel John was.

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He had now been trapped
for about 19 hours.

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But the police system was finished and
it was finally time to get him out.

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A team of eight descended into
the cave to the pulley locations

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and began pulling him out.

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The progress was slow because they
could only pull a little at a time.

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Each movement was painful for
John, but after a few pulls, he

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was in a much better position.

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They had hoped he would
actually make it out.

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But his feet hit the ceiling
and it caused him a lot of pain.

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So they let him rest.

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For 20 minutes, they let him rest.

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And during this time, Ryan, the rescuer
closest to John managed to slide

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down some food and a drink and had
him speak to his wife with a radio.

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They had lifted him enough to where
they made eye contact with him.

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Ryan said John looked tired.

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His eyes were red from
crying, but were alert.

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He wasn't bleeding and he had a
dirty face, but he managed to smile.

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It was time to pull again.

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They had 16 more feet left to
pull John before he would be

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free and able to leave the cave.

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So they went to pull, but this time

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the rope went slack and
everyone fell backwards.

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Ryan felt something hard.

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Strike his face before
he lost consciousness.

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When he came to, he realized
his blood was everywhere.

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The stone arch above John, the one that
they anchored the rope to had shattered.

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A, keybolt broke off the wall and a metal
Carribeaner struck Ryan in the face.

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His jaw was broken.

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His tongue was practically in
half and his eyes were swollen.

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There was so much dust in the air
and Ryan could barely talk, but

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he realized that John slid all the
way back down into the fissure.

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Unfortunately, Ryan had to leave
John because of his injuries

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and get medical treatment.

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But Ryan was replaced by
his own father, Dave shirts.

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John was obviously in despair and he kept
cycling through repeating that he would

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never get out and asking about Ryan.

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Dave worked to try and free
John while he waited for more

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gear to re-install the pulley.

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He wrapped rope around.

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John's waste to try to
get him out that way, but

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he got stuck himself and it
took him 15 minutes to get free.

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Eventually John fell silent
and his breathing slowed.

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They tried to have Emily speak to him
on the radio one more time, but he

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was unconscious and didn't respond.

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He never woke up.

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They sent a paramedic down
to check on John, just before

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midnight on November 25th, 2009.

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And John Jones was declared dead.

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The devastating loss of John
shook his family to the core.

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They grappled with the fact that the cave,
which had once been their playground.

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Had become John's eternal resting
place because the rescuers were

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unable to retrieve John's body.

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He couldn't help them anymore.

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He couldn't push himself up.

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He couldn't twist himself around
the rocks that were causing them

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so many issues to begin with.

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So the family agreed.

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They didn't want to put any
more rescuers in danger.

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The decision was made to seal
off the cave permanently.

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And on December 2nd.

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The entrance to 90 putty cave was
sealed with concrete and explosives.

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Ensuring that no one else would
experience a similar fate.

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A plaque now stands as a Memorial.

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Honoring John's life.

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And the love you shared with his family.

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And it says

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on November 25th, 2009.

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Our beloved, John passed
away at this site.

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He was a loving father.

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Uh, kind husband a loyal son.

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And a true and cherished friend.

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Those who knew John Best will remember
his faith and his caring heart.

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Thank you for showing us how
to make eternity, our covering

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and our rock and our salvation.

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As we journey here on earth.

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We love and miss you.

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End quote.

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So, what do you think could
John have been spared or saved?

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Something, I didn't know
before researching this topic

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is that the Sheriff's office
originally closed nutty petty.

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Five to six years earlier.

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They closed it because they
were tired of the regular trips.

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They had to take out there to rescue
tourist previously rescues, ranged from

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single adventures to groups of people.

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All of them lived, but in 2004, a
16 year old boy got stuck in the

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same exact tunnel that trapped John.

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He also thought the tunnel continued,
even though it didn't, it took

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14 hours for them to rescue him.

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And he was hospitalized
for three days after.

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Apparently that rescue
was a very close call.

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And not even a month after that another
person had to be rescued from nutty petty.

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All of that combined cost them to
feel the cave was just too dangerous

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to stay open to the general public.

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But over time, people
protested and petitioned.

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So they reopened the cave

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six months after reopening.

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One of the most infamous caving
deaths happened with John.

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Knowing that do you think they
should have reopened the cave?

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Leave your thoughts in the comments.

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I'd love to read them.

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All sources can be found at the
website linked in the description.

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This podcast is available wherever
you prefer to stream podcast.

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And a video version is
available on YouTube.

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Stay safe and.

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I'll see you next time.