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SALT LAKE CITY – The monolith that was first noticed by a team of biologists in a helicopter above the Utah wilderness more than a week ago has disappeared.
Utah Bureau of Land Management officials said the 10- to 12-foot-tall steel structure was gone by Friday night. BLM spokeswoman Kimberly Finch said the monolith was taken by an unknown party and was not removed by the state agency.
The mysterious monolith was somehow installed deep in the remote red rock country of Utah and sparked widespread national and international interest after it was first spotted by biologists from the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources during a bighorn sheep surveying race on November 18. The large and shiny object appeared on November 18. satellite images between August 2015 and October 2016.
Hundreds of tourists attempted to see it last week, with cars lined up near the area as late as Saturday, when hikers alerted drivers that the monolith was no longer where it was.
State officials quickly debunked the idea that the monolith was laid there by aliens, and said it wouldn’t have been easy to place no matter who did, as the roads leading to to the area follow rough and dangerous terrain. And they have discouraged visitors to the area.
Ryan Bacher, a Utah outdoorsman and helicopter pilot, flew with friends to see the monolith on Friday. He said there were dozens more there too, “looking at this fun piece of art.”
“Twenty-four hours later my close friend, who is also a helicopter pilot, took his family down to see too and found it dismantled,” Bacher said, adding that he would like to know who has it. made.
In place of the monolith was a pile of red rocks and a steel prism-shaped object.
The Utah Department of Heritage and the Arts posted a statement on Facebook saying that the contemporary monolith, while artistic, should not be compared to native rock art, such as ancient petroglyphs, pictographs and the rock art which are protected archaeological treasures of historical significance.
The department pointed out that “if the monolith has better craftsmanship than graffiti, it is still vandalism.”
“It irreversibly altered the natural environment on public lands. While the monolith is interesting, we cannot tolerate vandalism of any kind. “
With the monolith being private property, the investigation into its disappearance will be continued by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.
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