Mysterious monolith found in desert
SALT LAKE CITY: A Utah helicopter crew was on a mission to count sheep when they found something unexpected.
Beneath them in the middle of the desert was a shiny monolith, the stuff of scifi.
Pilot Bret Hutchings, of the state Department of Public Safety, recalled someone spotted the gleaming object set against the redness of the rocks and sand.
‘‘He’s like, whoa, whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around,’’ Hutchings told KSLTV in Salt Lake City.
After landing in the remote area, which remains undisclosed, the crew got a closer look, but found ‘‘no obvious indication’’ of how it got there.
Hutchings joked about the object’s possible otherworldly origins, but thought the answer was more down to Earth.
‘‘I’m assuming it is some new wave artist or something, or somebody who just is a big 2001: A Space Odyssey fan.’’
The US Bureau of Land Management, which owns the land, declined to comment yesterday on its investigation into the matter. — Reuters