SOUTHERN UTAH, Nov. 30, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — San Juan County Sheriff’s Office has released a lineup of “suspects” following the disappearance of a stainless steel monolith in Utah’s Red Rock country.
Tourists reported the disappearance on social media and on Saturday, the Bureau of Land Management in Utah confirmed the news.
“We have received credible reports that the illegally installed structure, referred to as the ‘monolith’ has been removed from Bureau of Land Management public lands by an unknown party,” said a prepared statement. “The BLM did not remove the structure, which is considered private property. We do not investigate crimes involving private property, which are handled by the local sheriff’s office.”
San Juan County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement on Facebook soon after:
“The sheriff’s office is aware of the mysterious appearance and disappearance of the #UtahMonolith. While we take all reports of crime seriously, we do not have the proper resources to devote much time to the appearance and subsequent disappearance/theft of the structure that was discovered in a remote area of public lands within our county.
“However, with hundreds visiting the area during the last few days, perhaps someone saw something suspicious. If you recognize anyone from the lineup provided as being in the area of the strange structure on the night of Nov. 27, please let us know! #SeeSomethingSaySomething #WhereDidItComeFrom #WhereDidItGo.”
The so-called monolith was discovered on Nov. 18, when the Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau was working with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to conduct a count of bighorn sheep in a portion of southeastern Utah.
While on this mission, they spotted an unusual object and landed nearby to investigate further, according to an account released Nov. 23 by the Department of Public Safety.
“The crew said there was no obvious indication of who might have put the monolith there,” the DPS article said. “The exact location of the installation is not being disclosed since it is in a very remote area and if individuals were to attempt to visit the area, there is a significant possibility they may become stranded and require rescue. We are encouraging anyone who knows the location of the monolith to not attempt to visit it due to road conditions.”
But hikers quickly found and shared the location, and Dave Sparks, a star of Discovery Channel’s “The Diesel Brothers,” even recorded a video in which he stood atop the metal mystery before revealing the location.
Gephardt Daily will report any further developments on this story as updates become available.
