Utah Monolith: Helicopter crew discovers mysterious metal monolith deep in the desert

NewsDesk November 23, 2020 16:49

Officials from the Utah Department of Public Security’s Aero Office flew a helicopter last Wednesday and helped the Wildlife Resources Department in southeastern Utah count the big-horned sheep when they spotted something that seemed appropriate from the 2001 book, Space Odyssey.

“One biologist … noticed, and we accidentally flew right over the top,” pilot Bret Hutchings told CNN’s subsidiary, KSL. “It was like,” Húúúúúúúúúúúúúúú, héééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééé! And I was like, “We.” And he says, “There’s this thing – we have to look!”

And there it was — a shiny silver metal monolith protruded from the ground in the middle of the red rock. Hutchings guessed he was “10 to 12 feet tall.” It didn’t look like it was accidentally dropped on the ground, he told KSL, it rather looked like it had been planted.

“Somehow we joked that if one of us suddenly disappears, the others will run for it,” Hutchings said.

Still, Hutchings said he thought it was probably placed there by an artist rather than a stranger.

“I’m assuming it’s some new wave artist, or something, or you know, someone who was a big fan (” 2001: The Space Odyssey “).”

Nevertheless, it is illegal to install structures or arts in public spaces without permission, “regardless of which planet they come from,” the Utah DPS said in a statement released Monday.

The location of the monolith is not made public, and it is not yet clear who – or what – put the monolith there – was reported by the DPS.

From Monday, the Land Management Office will decide whether further investigation is needed.