Utah ‘Monolith’ Disappearance as Mysterious as Its Discovery

A mysterious, tall, shining metal monolith in the southeastern Utah desert has disappeared, according to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

“We have received credible reports that the illegally installed structure, referred to as the ‘monolith’ has been removed from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands by an unknown party,” the agency posted Saturday on Facebook.

The monolith is a described as a roughly 10-foot metallic structure, which was placed unbeknownst to land management.

“The BLM did not remove the structure, which is considered private property,” the Facebook statement continued. “We do not investigate crimes involving private property, which are handled by the local sheriff’s office.

“The structure has received international and national attention and we received reports that a person or group removed it on the evening of Nov. 27.”

The structure’s disappearance was as mysterious as its discovery, by pilot Bret Hutchings, and looked to be like something from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” according to NBC News.

“He was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around!’ And I was like, ‘What?’ And he’s like, ‘There’s this thing back there — we’ve got to go look at it!'” Hutchings told NBC affiliate KSL. “We just happened to fly directly over the top of it.”