PACIFIC CITY, Ore., Sept. 5 (UPI) — Officials with the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, a state park along the Oregon Coast, originally thought a toppled sandstone pedestal had succumbed to natural causes.
But new video shows the formation, known as “The Duckbill,” was deliberately destroyed by a group of visitors-turned-vandals.
The video, posted on YouTube by the Oregonian.com shows the vandals as they jar the pedestal from its foundation.
“The rubble serves as a sobering reminder of the ever-present dangers of our fragile coastal rocks and cliffs,” Oregon State Parks wrote on its Facebook page.
The statement should have mentioned the dangers of ill-meaning humans.
David Kalas, from Hillsboro, Ore., who was visiting Cape Kiwanda on Saturday night with a couple of friends, said he witnessed a different group of visitors trying to knock the sandstone formation off its perch.
“I kind of laughed to myself,” Kalas told Oregon Live. “I thought there was no way that they could knock it down, but then I noticed that it started wobbling.”
Kalas began filming and was able to capture the act of vandalism on video. He posted the video on social media shortly afterward.
Since the incident, many social media users have posted pictures to commemorate the loss of the iconic sandstone formation.
