But you couldn't call that a cave rescue then :) On Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 1:09 PM, Bill Bentley <ca...@caver.net> wrote:
> I was rescued and was outside of the cave... > > Bill > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Charles Goldsmith <wo...@justfamily.org> > *To:* Don Cooper <wavyca...@gmail.com> > *Cc:* jerryat...@aol.com ; Texascavers@texascavers.com > *Sent:* Sunday, November 29, 2009 1:07 PM > *Subject:* Re: [Texascavers] Utah cave to entomb spelunker : > > Don't you have to actually be in a cave before you can get rescued? :) > > just joking wavy > Charles > > On Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 8:27 AM, Don Cooper <wavyca...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> If I ever need a cave rescue - get together a caver rescue team. PLEASE >> don't call 911! >> >> -WaV >> >> >> On Sat, Nov 28, 2009 at 9:38 PM, <jerryat...@aol.com> wrote: >> >>> Utah cave to entomb spelunker >>> Tragedy » Officials say it's too risky to retrieve John Jones, will seal >>> cavern with his body inside. >>> >>> By Lindsay Whitehurst >>> >>> The Salt Lake Tribune >>> >>> <lwhitehu...@sltrib.com?subject=Salt+Lake+Tribune:+Utah+cave+to+entomb+spelunker> >>> Updated: 11/28/2009 10:46:43 AM MST >>> >>> The cave that claimed the life of John Jones will also be his tomb. >>> >>> Nutty Putty Cave will be sealed permanently with the 26-year-old medical >>> student's body inside, a decision supported by his family and rescue >>> officials, who said retrieving him is too great a risk to rescuers. They >>> also cited a desire to protect the safety of future cavers. >>> >>> "The cave will serve as the final resting place for John Edward Jones," >>> said Utah County sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon. The Jones family will place >>> a permanent memorial at the cave's entrance. >>> >>> "It will be, as they describe it, a sacred place for them and for a lot >>> of other people," he said. >>> >>> Officials considered closing only the part of the cave where Jones rests, >>> >>> >>> <http://www.sltrib.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2754117> >>> John Edward Jones, 26, will have his final resting place in the Nutty >>> Putty Cave, the Utah County Sherriff's Office announced Friday. There will >>> be no more recovery efforts because of the dangers of the cave. (Rick Egan / >>> The Salt Lake Tribune) >>> but as Kim Christy, assistant director at the state School and >>> Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), said, "We decided it >>> probably wasn't appropriate to have recreational activities going on in the >>> same area that has a final resting place." >>> >>> Jones died late Wednesday after becoming stuck in an unmapped finger of >>> the cave near the end of the main passageway, about 100 feet below the >>> surface and 400 feet from the entrance, not near "Bob's Push" as previously >>> reported. >>> >>> Rescuers briefly pulled him out of the crevice using a pulley system and >>> ropes tied to his feet, but he slipped back in after an anchor broke free of >>> the cave wall. >>> >>> The 137 people who tried to free Jones are physically and mentally >>> exhausted after the 27-hour effort, and will be offered critical stress >>> counseling, said Utah County sheriff's Sgt. Tom Hodgson. >>> >>> "It isn't in our makeup to leave anything undone," he said. "They still >>> feel like there is work left to be done, that they didn't bring closure to >>> the Jones family." >>> >>> He described the "Herculean effort" as the most difficult rescue he's >>> worked on in 30 years. >>> >>> Jones' brother Josh said the family stands behind the crews, and are >>> grateful for their efforts. >>> >>> "There are some who feel like they failed our family," he said. "We know >>> they did their best. We want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts." >>> >>> John Valentine, a state senator and longtime search-and-rescue >>> participant, said the crevice is simply too small, and the passage too >>> winding, for anyone to crawl inside and pull him out without being at risk >>> themselves. >>> >>> "He is in an area that is really beyond the scope of what anyone can get >>> into," he said. It's "where the cave peters down to nothing." >>> >>> Jones entered the small passage as he and a group of family and friends >>> fanned out to explore the cave. About 400 feet in, he found himself unable >>> to move, stuck at a 70-degree angle with "a good portion of his waist and >>> torso" pinched in an approximately 10-inch-wide space, Cannon said. His head >>> was out and unsupported at one end, and his feet stuck out at the other end. >>> After crews got him out of the crevice, they still would have had to pull >>> him through the difficult stretch of cave behind him, which twisted and >>> turned in 90-degree angles over uneven ground, Cannon said. >>> >>> But Jones fell again less than 30 minutes after he was unstuck. He wasn't >>> injured in the fall, but started struggling to breathe about two hours >>> later. He later fell silent after relaying messages to his family, Hodgson >>> said. Rescuers, who also have medical training, threaded a stethoscope in >>> the crevice but could not find a pulse. He was pronounced dead at 11:57 p.m. >>> He is thought to have died of the effects of the constant pressure on his >>> body. >>> >>> "I don't think we'll ever be certain, and I don't think that's >>> important," said Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy. >>> >>> Jones was home for Thanksgiving in Stansbury Park from Charlottesville, >>> Va., where he was a second-year medical student at the University of >>> Virginia. He planned to become a pediatric cardiologist. >>> >>> He graduated from Dixie High School in St. George, where he played >>> basketball and was senior class president, said friend Morgan Miles. >>> >>> He met his wife, Emily, at Brigham Young University. They married in 2006 >>> and had a 14-month-old daughter, Elizabeth, whom they called Lizzie. The >>> couple recently found out Emily is pregnant and expecting a second child in >>> June. >>> >>> Jones had explored many caves and loved the outdoors, so his family >>> struggled with the decision to close Nutty Putty to future visitors, said >>> 23-year-old Josh Jones. >>> >>> But "we feel it would be John's will to protect the safety of future >>> cavers," he said. >>> >>> Officials have not decided how to close off the cave, which is now >>> restricted by a metal grate and fencing under the ground, Cannon said. One >>> option would be to fill in the entrance, which is a hole at the top of a >>> hill west of Utah Lake. They expect to decide on what will be done within >>> two to three weeks, and until then, a deputy will stand guard. >>> >>> The popular cave attracted about 5,000 to 10,000 people a year, despite >>> its remote access point at the top of a hill west of State Road 68. On >>> Friday, a draft of warm, moist air drifted out of the moss-lined entrance at >>> the top of the cave as if the earth were exhaling. >>> >>> It was named for its soft brown "nutty putty" clay, which is found >>> nowhere else in the country, said Mike Leavitt, the leader of the caving >>> group Timpanogos Grotto. Because it is has no long rappels, it's a popular >>> spot for beginner and intermediate cavers. >>> >>> "It is special in its own way," he said. "There are many safe parts of >>> the cave, and there are extreme parts." >>> >>> There have been five high-profile rescues in the past 10 years, and it >>> was closed temporarily in 2004 after two people became trapped in separate >>> incidents within a week of each other, including a 16-year-old who got stuck >>> in the same place Jones did. >>> >>> "There's no place else where we respond on five calls and have one >>> death," Hodgson said. "That is significant." >>> >>> In 2006, officials of SITLA, which owns the cave and surrounding land, >>> turned over management to the Timpanogos Grotto, a local chapter of the >>> National Speleological Society. >>> >>> The group spent years developing a permitting process, and, on May 18 of >>> this year, groups were allowed back in the cave. >>> >>> Closing it again just six months later is difficult, Leavitt said, though >>> he agreed it was "absolutely the right decision." >>> *Cave experts weigh in on closing the cave* >>> >>> Climbing and cave expert Doug Hansen is disappointed with the decision to >>> close Nutty Putty cave. The Orem man said the cave has provided youth with >>> opportunities to explore and learn how to use maps and compasses. >>> >>> Dale Green, the man credited with discovering the cave in 1960, said >>> completely closing off Nutty Putty Cave doesn't seem necessary. >>> >>> "I think they can do nearly the same thing by blocking off access to this >>> one part of the cave," he said. "That's really the only problem there. ... I >>> just think it's a big loss to the people if they do that." >>> >>> Green said he doesn't find the cave -- named after the soft clay found in >>> parts of the tunnel -- too interesting personally, but it's an easily >>> accessible cave that many people find entertaining to crawl through. >>> >>> Proper training and proper respect of the terrain is needed when >>> exploring caves, said the 80-year-old, a member of the National >>> Speleological Society Salt Lake Grotto chapter. >>> >>> "Caves, it's like mountain climbing, and in general it's as safe as you >>> want to make it," Green said. "If you don't use common sense and don't take >>> care and think ahead of what you're doing, things can get dangerous. ... >>> There's danger everywhere, but you just have to use common sense." >>> >>> -- Tribune reporters Donald W. Meyers and Maria Villaseñor >>> >>> http://www.sltrib.com/contents/ci_13879115 >>> >> >> >
