LAS VEGAS, Nev., June 22, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The latest mystery monolith has been detained by police, taken into custody and now in storage.
Under the headline, “Mysterious Monolith Update,” the Las Vegas Metro Police Department Friday posted its fate online. “A lot of you have asked about the mysterious monolith that was recently spotted north of Las Vegas.
“Yesterday afternoon, we assisted with the removal of the item due to public safety and environmental concerns.”
The monolith found earlier this week is being stored at an undisclosed location while authorities determine the most appropriate way to dispose of or store the item, LVMPD said.
“It is 77 inches tall and each face is 13 inches in width.
Photo courtesy Las Vegas Metro Police Department
“It was made out of reflective sheet metal folded into a triangle and secured with rebar and concrete to the ground.” It remains unknown how the item got to its location or who might be responsible, the department said, adding “At this time, there is no LVMPD investigation into the object or the circumstances surrounding its existence.”
The post then noted that regulations for the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, where the monolith was found near Gass Peak, “discourages anyone from venturing off marked trails or leaving objects and items behind. This poses a danger to you and the environment.”
The Vegas column evoked memories of similar monoliths discovered in 2020 in locations including Utah, California, Las Vegas, Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, Romania and England’s Isle of Wight, UPI reported after the obelisk-like spire was spotted by a Las Vegas search & rescue team.
An anonymous art collective called The Most Famous Artist later took credit for several of the U.S.-based monoliths, UPI said, adding another monolith was found earlier this year on Hay Bluff, near Hay-on-Wye, Wales. The origins of that structure remain unknown.
Utah’s monolith was located by state biologists counting bighorn sheep from a helicopter on Nov. 18, 2020, in northern San Juan County.
Nine days later it was taken down by four Moab residents, according to news reports at the time, who eventually gave it to the Bureau of Land Management where it is believed still in BLM custody.
Utah’s monolith, also made of reflective material, triangular and nearly 10-feet tall, reportedly inspired a spate of imitators, with over two hundred similar metal monoliths subsequently turning up around the world. Many were built by local artists as deliberate imitations of the Utah spire, according to news reports at the time.
