The crumbling metal monolith disappears into the Utah desert



[ad_1]

(CNN) – A tall, silver, shiny metal monolith discovered in the desert in southeastern Utah, which ignited theories about the alien installation and lured certain hikers to its secret location, is missing, the Bureau of Land Management said Saturday. Status (BLM).

The monolith was removed from an “unknown group” on Friday night, the agency said in a Facebook post.

“We have received credible reports that the illegally installed facility, known as the ‘monolith’, has been removed” from BLM’s public lands, the publication says.

“The BLM did not remove the facility, which is considered private property.”

We have to go see it!

The monolith was first discovered on November 18 by officials from the Aero Bureau of the Utah Department of Public Safety.

They were flying in a helicopter, helping the Division of Natural Resources count the bighorn sheep in southeastern Utah, when they saw something that looked like “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

“One of the biologists … saw it and happened to fly over it,” pilot Bret Hutchings told CNN affiliate KSL. “It was like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, turn around, turn around!’ And I said, “What?” And he says, “There’s something back there, we have to go see it!”

And there it was, in the middle of the red rock was a monolith of shiny silver metal sticking out of the ground. Hutchings figured it was “3 to 3.6 meters tall”. It didn’t look like it had been left to chance, he told KSL, instead it looked like it had been ditched.

“I guess he’s a New Wave artist or something or, you know, someone who was a huge fan (” 2001: A Space Odyssey “),” he said, referring to a scene from the 1968 film where a black monolith appears. . .

Despite this, it is illegal to install unauthorized structures or works of art on public land “no matter what planet it comes from,” Utah’s DPS said in a statement released Monday.

Where is it?

The location of the monolith was not disclosed because authorities said they did not want spectators to be stuck in a remote landscape and in need of rescue.

But of course, this hasn’t stopped some. Several people have successfully located the monolith, hidden in a red rock canyon south of Moab.

The excursion involved driving in the dark on rocky terrain and checking GPS coordinates, according to three people who went to see it. At least one scout was lost in the beginning. But it was worth it, they said, even if the monolith was not the work of aliens.

David Surber may have been one of the first to see the monolith for himself. The coordinates of the monolith circulated on Reddit, but none of the users could confirm that they were correct. Surber volunteered to find out.

The coordinates were actually correct and Surber eagerly shared the results of his visit with 200 Reddit users who flooded his inbox. Among his findings: the monolith was neither magnetic nor solid (he said it sounded “like a cardboard box” when hit). He also shared detailed instructions for the trip to the monolith.

“Ultimately, extraterrestrial or realized through artistic expression; the monolith has provided thousands of people with an opportunity to come together behind something positive again, “he told CNN in an email.” It was a nice escape from all the negativity we experienced in 2020. “

CNN’s Scottie Andrew and Leah Asmelash contributed to this report.



[ad_2]
Source link