Disturbing VR simulation shows how cave explorer got stuck and suffered 'worst death imaginable'
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Family Handout
A chilling simulation has detailed how an American man died from the 'worst death imaginable' after he became trapped in a Utah cave.
On November 24 2009, John Edward Jones, his brother Josh, and their friends decided to explore the Nutty Putty Cave, which is located some 55 miles from Salt Lake City.
Tragically, the 26-year-old explorer mistakenly took a wrong turn, leading him headfirst down a tiny passageway - just 10 inches by 18 inches - known as the 'Birth Canal'.
Jones ended up wedged around 400 feet from the entrance, and despite the best efforts of Josh and rescuers, the downward angle took an extreme toll on his body.
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"I'm going to die right here. I'm not going to come out of here, am I?" he reportedly told rescuers.
Jones passed away after 27 hours of rescue attempts, suffering a cardiac arrest due to the strain on his body.
A VR clip shared by JustinWieb VR has shown what it could have been like inside the Nutty Putty Cave.
In the clip, Justin explores the cave before revealing the exact spot in which Jones became trapped - and it looks truly terrifying.
"My biggest respect goes to the rescue team that tried to get him out. I wouldn’t even do that in vr, that’s to claustrophobic," one person wrote.
Another added: "I can't imagine the sheer amount of panic that came over him when he realized he hit a dead end, plus he was upside down."
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Brandon Kowalis - who tried to free Jones - later explained that he was able to say goodbye to his family.
"There was a request to take the radio down to John so that his family could say some words to him," he wrote on his website.
"I think it was his father, mother, and wife who spoke to him, telling him that they loved him and were praying for him and that his father had given him a blessing.
"His wife mentioned a feeling of peace, that everything would be OK. She talked to him about five to 10 minutes before I told her that we needed to get back to working at getting him out."
Jones' widow, Emily Jones-Sanchez, has remarried, but in the years since his passing, she has faced cruel trolling online.
After Jones' death, it was decided that retrieving his body would be too dangerous.
An agreement was made to permanently seal the cave with his remains inside and the entrance hole was filled with concrete to prevent further access.
It has since become a memorial site for the late father-of-one.