Coming back to consciousness and realizing the failure had to be crushing. I also felt really bad for Ryan Shurtz, having been able to almost dislodge John, but then having everything go to hell, and almost getting killed himself. Part of me wishes that John were knocked out when the pulley broke, and passed away peacefully and unconsciously, but I think the article said that he wasn't injured when the pulley broke. I hope Brandon is coping okay, as that must've been so traumatic to listen to. The part where it said that Brandon Kowallis "heard John die" was just terrible. One thing that really bothered me was the part where Emily couldn't believe John was dead and was asking the rescuers how they knew he was dead. It was definitely heartwarming to read about how John's family embraced Emily's husband, and how supportive they are of her. Thank you! I found the two part SLT article after posting my comment, and read the exact quote you provided. I think as much as it sucks, and as sad as it is, John is stuck there, upside down, forever.Įdit - changed instances of "roof" to "ceiling". That's an incredible amount of rock to get through. I had the same thoughts initially, and hoped that maybe some rich mining outfit may volunteer to do so, but the section that John got stuck in is approximately 150ft below the surface. Then the whole cave could be reopened with the exception of Ed's Push. I guess it could still be possible to retrieve his remains by digging into Ed's Push from the surface. No one should've been allowed in that section of the cave, but I suppose hindsight is 20/20. It must've been a terrible, helpless feeling for everyone involved. I believe even John's brother knew right away how bad the situation was, as soon as he saw John's feet, the angle, and how small the opening was. Even if the pulley pulled John's feet to the cave ceiling, the rescuer would've needed John to rotate his body so that his knees could be bent, and even then it would take exceptional strength to pull him from that point (which is made even worse by the fact the the single rescuer able to fit into the tunnel was also at a downward angle, though not as steep as the angle John was stuck, and would've been fighting against gravity with little to no space or leverage). I think the rescuers likely realized early on that John's chances were very slim, even with the elaborate pulley system. The downward angle, the size, the illusion that it opens up into a space that can be turned around in, and the lack of ceiling height for being pulled out essentially made it a life-sized Chinese finger trap. If they had surveyed that tunnel, they would've realized what an absolute death trap was awaiting someone, and could've placed signage or something. After multiple emergency rescues from Ed's Push, I can't believe the section wasn't barred off, or even surveyed for that matter. In both cases, they weren't as far in as John and were able to be rescued. A 16 year old got stuck in there in 2004, and the discoverer of the cave did when he first explored it in 1960. It's also worth asking why that passage wasn't sealed off before. It’s just the sad state of the world we live in. There are people scummy enough to post pictures with John’s shoes / feet / skeletal remains for social media views and attention. In the event that the caves are ever unsealed and reopened, they likely don’t want anyone trying to get to John’s remains, likely for both safety (people getting stuck trying to get John’s remains out), and out of respect for the family.One reason they may have collapsed that section is to keep anyone from taking that route in the event that the cave is ever unsealed and reopened. Tragically for John, he went farther into Ed’s Push than anyone previously had, finding (and becoming entombed in) it’s termination point. Sadly, even after several rescues from Ed’s Push, they never put up signage or blocked that section off. That’s the section of the cave where multiple people got stuck and needed rescue.They likely collapsed the Ed’s Push section for two reasons Was that really necessary? No one can get past the 30 yards of concrete they used to seal the entrance.įrom what I remember, the concrete at the caves entrance is more of a “plug”, and is not irreversible (although they have no plans to ever unseal it). The fact that it’s still there in the tortured position it died in is very unsettling to me.
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