Intriguing: The Department of Public Safety isn't revealing the exact location of the structure as it is in a very remote area and they are concerned that curious individuals might become stranded when attempting to visit it. That didn't stop Reddit sleuths from seemingly pinpointing the location on Google Earth.
The Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently stumbled across a curious find during a routine mission.
On November 18, the DPS's Aero Bureau was working with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to count bighorn sheep when something caught their eye. Per the press release, the crew landed nearby and found "a metal monolith installed in the ground in a remote area of red rock."
According to the report, there was no obvious indication of who might have put the metallic prism there or why they did so. Regardless, it is illegal to install "structures or art" on federally managed public land without authorization.
In an interview with KSL TV, pilot Bret Hutchings said the object was roughly 10-12 feet tall and didn't appear as if it had been dropped there, but rather, was purposely planted in the ground.
The installation bears an uncanny resemblance to the black monolith featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The post quickly went viral and has already been shared by multiple publications. But the questions still remain - what is it, why is it there, and who put it there?
Leading theories suggest it could be an art installation or perhaps some sort of scientific beacon used to bounce signals off of. One Reddit user noted that it looked like the work of the late contemporary artist John McCracken. It could also be some elaborate marketing stunt for an upcoming movie or game... or, who knows, something else?
As it stands, the Bureau of Land Management will determine if a further investigation is needed.
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