Body of trapped Utah spelunker won't be recovered (26 year old med student)

[Libertas1776]

From the AP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTczxeV6k_HDG1ozi0FjaI0PP0uwD9C86QD00

SPANISH FORK, Utah — The popular Utah cave where a 26-year-old medical student died earlier in the week will be closed permanently and his body will not be removed, state and county officials said Friday.
<snip>
Jones, of Stansbury Park, died just before midnight Wednesday — about 28 hours after getting wedged into a tight, unmapped passage of Nutty Putty Cave. Workers had tried feverishly to free him from the underground chute about 100 feet below the surface and about 400 feet from the cave's entrance.
Jones was trapped headfirst in a vertical shaft about 18 inches wide and 10 inches high. The 1,500-foot Nutty Putty cave is south of Salt Lake City.
Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy said Jones' exact cause of death will probably never be known but contributing factors likely included his inverted position for a prolonged period of time and the cave's cold temperatures.
<snip>
The rescue took its toll on crews working at the cave, many of whom were grieving and struggling with their inability to free Jones.
"It's a very difficult experience to just be that close and still not be able to pull it off," Valentine said.


From Chicago Tribune Pictured: Jones, trapped in cave.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/la-na-cave-death28-2009nov28,0,4547199.story


Just horrible. Poor guy, stayed tough right to the end. But what I can't wrap my head around is the rescue team actually succeeding in pulling him out and freeing him, only to have some pulley snap and have him fall right back into place where he wouldn't be dislodged a second time. Just tragic. And leaves behind a wife, a baby daughter, and another on the way.

RIP young Jones.

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. sad story

:cry: