How This Guy Died Is A Straight-Up Nightmare...He Was Stuck Here For 27 Hours

#1 If you had a choice of ways to die, being stuck in a cave for 27 hours probably wouldn't be very high on your list.

But sadly, that's what happened to 26-year-old John Edward Jones shortly before Thanksgiving 2009 when he and several friends attempted to explore the Nutty Putty Cave in western Utah.

#2 The Tuesday night before Thanksgiving 2009,

Jones entered the cave (pictured below) with a group of around 11 other people. They all stuck together for a bit, then the 26-year-old went out on his own to explore a different part of the cave.

#3 That's when Jones became stuck in a section of the cave known as the Birth Canal to Bob's Push.

Police described the area as an 18-inch by 10-inch "L-shaped pinpoint."

#4 Emergency workers arrived on the scene at 9 p.m. that evening, but because of the narrow passageway,

only one rescuer at a time was able to get to him. One worker described the spot where Jones was stuck as "absolutely the worst spot in the cave."

#5 By Wednesday afternoon, rescue workers managed to actually get Jones loose from the rocks using a rope pulley system.

However, not long after the initial success, an equipment failure caused Jones to fall right back into the same crevice he was originally stuck in.

#6 Shortly before midnight on Wednesday, Jones was declared dead by the rescue workers.

To confirm his passing, they descended into the cave with an EKG machine.

#7 According to rescuers, the cause of his death was likely suffocation.

The angle he was pinned at, they said, was such that it would have been extremely difficult to breathe properly.

#8 After Jones' death, the Nutty Putty Cave was closed and remains so to this day.

#9 He leaves behind a wife and a baby daughter, and a second child expected in June.

According to a family statement , Jones will be remembered for "his good nature, delightful sense of humor, strong work ethic, a genuine love of people, a masterful ability to relate to children, a love of and unwavering faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and his commitment to his family as an amazing husband, father, son and brother."

#10 The family – including Jones' wife and daughter, parents, four brothers, two sisters and 16 nieces and nephews

said in the statement that they are grateful for the rescue efforts and know officials "did all they could to get John out," including singing Primary songs to help get him through the night.

#11 "The emotional factor alone will have a toll on the rescuers," Sgt. Spencer Cannon said.

"We weren't able to get him out quick enough."

#12 The recovery effort was shut down for the night.

Cannon said the rescuers will arrive and continue doing the same work they did in the 27 hours leading up to Jones' death as his body is still stuck in the same crevice.

#13 The Nutty Putty Cave is actually a hole on the top of a hill about seven miles west of state Road 68.

In 2004, three rescues were conducted there. In each case, explorers had become stuck and were extracted with no serious injuries. The incidents, however, led the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, which owns the land, to make the cave a controlled access area.

#14 Cave enthusiast Jon Jasper,

who helped survey the popular Utah County grotto in 2003, said this rescue effort was the fifth in the cave's history. Past fears for injured explorers led to requirements for a permit system and the cave being shut down in May 2006.