Mysterious monolith spotted by helicopter crew in Utah desert
‘We came across this in the middle of nowhere buried deep in the rock. Inquiring minds want to know what the heck it is’
A METAL monolith has been spotted in the heart of Utah’s red rock country by a biologist carrying out a count of bighorn sheep.
The shiny structure was spotted by the state official while conducting an aerial survey of the area.
Bret Hutchings, the helicopter pilot, was dumbfounded. “That’s been about the strangest thing that I’ve come across out there in all my years of flying,” he told the television channel, KSLTV.
“I’d say it’s between 10 and 12ft high,” he said. “We were kind of joking around that if one of us suddenly disappears, then the rest of us make a run for it.”
How the monolith got there remains a mystery. According to Mr Hutchings, it was not just dropped in place, but firmly planted into the ground.
He speculated the piece was a work of art deposited in the middle of nowhere by what he described as a “new wave” artist – perhaps inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science fiction film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
While the bighorn sheep seemed unfazed by the unexpected intrusion on the landscape, the authorities were baffled. Utah Highway Patrol wrote on Facebook: “During the count they came across this (sheet of metal?), buried in the middle of nowhere … what do you think it is?” A similar question was asked by the Utah department of public safety, which is considering launching a formal investigation.
“During the counts we came across this, in the middle of nowhere, buried deep in the rock. Inquiring minds want to know, what the heck is it? Anyone?”
Some on social media suggested that extraterrestrial forces may have been involved.
Aaron Lastowski said: “Seems how we been probing Mars for sometimes now, I’m guessing it’s the undiscovered inhabitants of Mars probing us.”
Another said it may have fallen off a UFO which had been spotted flying around the nearby town of Ogden while others put forward the idea it was a piece of debris from Donald Trump’s much-vaunted Space Force.
Further north in the state, at Skinwalker ranch, residents of the Uintah Basin have reported seeing “strange things in the sky” for decades.
Meanwhile, officials at the department of public safety declined to disclose the monolith’s exact location.
“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,” it said in a statement.
If it was a prank, the department is not amused: “It is illegal to install structures or art without authorisation on federally managed public lands, no matter what planet you’re from.”