How did a mysterious metal ‘monolith’ end up in Nevada desert? Police are stumped

A mysterious metal “monolith” spotted in the Nevada desert has been removed to a secure location, Las Vegas police reported.

A police search and rescue team spotted the unusual structure in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a June 17 news release.

The 77-inch-tall monolith has three sides of reflective sheet metal secured with concrete and rebar, police later said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It’s not clear who placed the monolith at the refuge or why, police said.

On Thursday, June 20, officers helped remove the monolith “due to public safety and environmental concerns,” police said.

It’s being stored at an undisclosed location while police try to figure out how to dispose of it.

“At this time, there is no LVMPD investigation into the object or the circumstances surrounding its existence,” police said.

The Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the largest refuge in the nation outside Alaska, according to its Facebook page.

The strange mirrored monoliths began appearing around the world in 2020, with 245 counted so far by a tracking website, Forbes reported.

This story was originally published June 23, 2024 at 9:02 AM with the headline "How did a mysterious metal ‘monolith’ end up in Nevada desert? Police are stumped."