Body of spelunker won’t be recovered

? 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.

Any effort to recover John Jones’ body from the cramped underground chute where he became stuck with his head at an angle below his feet Tuesday night would simply be too dangerous, they said.

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 cold temperatures.