Metal Monolith Found and Removed from Utah Desert

 The U.S. has a lot of uninhabited land, and you never know where people have
been, or what they've left behind. Recently, U.S. Wildlife officials counting sheep in the Utah desert came across an odd structure that was out of place. Since the story was posted on Nov. 24, visitors have been using Google Earth to find the location of this metal monolith. As of Nov. 28th, it was GONE.

Here's the updated story and pictures:

METAL MONOLITH FOUND BY HELICOPTER CREW IN UTAH DESERT

BBC News  11-24-20   (Photo credit: UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY)

A strange metal monolith has been discovered in the Utah desert by a helicopter crew, leaving local authorities baffled. Wildlife officials spotted the "unusual" object while counting sheep during a flyover in a remote south-eastern area of the US state. They said the structure had been planted in the ground between red rock. There was no indication who installed the monolith, which was about 10 to 12ft (3.6 meters) tall.

In an interview with local news channel KSLTV, the helicopter pilot, Bret Hutchings, said: "That's been about the strangest thing that I've come across out there in all my years of flying."

Mr. Hutchings speculated that the monolith may have been installed by "some new wave artist", or a fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1968 film directed by Stanley Kubrick.  Imposing black monoliths created by an unseen alien species appear in the movie, based on the writing of novelist Arthur C Clarke. 

(Photos: Google Earth satellite images revealed that it was installed between Aug. 2015 and Oct. 2016)

The Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau released images of the rectangular-shaped metal object in a news release last week. It said authorities would determine if "they need to investigate further."  

"It is illegal to install structures or art without authorization on federally managed public lands, no matter what planet you're from," the department said. 

LOCATION UNDISCLOSED TO PREVENT VISITORS- WHO FOUND IT ANYWAY- The department has not disclosed the exact location of the monolith, fearing explorers may try to seek it out and "become stranded". The big horn sheep wildlife officials were counting are native to many parts of southern Utah, where the terrain is rugged.

Internet sleuths  had quickly geo-located the structure on Google Earth and posted the co-ordinates online. "I decided to go there first because I was drawn to the fact that this object had been there for five years, hidden in nature," said David Surber (Photo: Right), a 33-year-old former US Army infantry officer who drove six hours through the night after finding a Reddit post claiming to have found the exact location. On Nov. 25, Surber, reflecting on his 6 hour drive to the monolith, admitted he at first hoped its origins would be "otherworldly." 

THE MONOLITH CONSTRUCTION - Video from the dozens - perhaps even hundreds of people - who have already visited the location suggest a professional job. Three large sheets of what appears to be stainless steel were riveted together, with the inside left hollow. Whoever put it there used heavy-duty tools to cut into the bedrock and embed the structure.

"One person alone could not have done it so there is a group of people who have some knowledge of it somewhere," said Wendy Wischer of the University of Utah's School of Fine Art. "Most artists want some recognition for what they are doing but this seems to include a level of humor and mystery as part of the intention."

REMOVED - On Nov. 28, there was no sign of the monolith anymore. As mysteriously as it arrived, a metal monolith that was discovered this month by Utah public safety workers is now gone, officials said Saturday. 

The three-sided metal structure was removed Friday evening “by an unknown party” from the public land it was found on, the federal Bureau of Land Management’s Utah office said in a statement.