After damaging a formation at the famed rock site in Nevada, federal officials are tracking a couple of stupid vandals who visited Lake Mead National Park.
According to officials, the vandalism happened last weekend on the north side of the lake, which is one of the park’s busiest sections because of its petrified red dunes.
A witness’s video shows two guys using considerable effort to push huge pieces of loose rock over the edge of an outcropping.
The structures, which are under federal protection, were formed over 140 million years from sand dunes, and any harm done to them would be permanent. Recreation area spokeswoman John Haynes described the damage as “appalling.”
Behind them, a terrified small girl—the daughter of one of the men—screams now and again as the boulders rain down.
She cries out for her dad to be careful and not fall as the two men attempt to lift boulder pieces over the edge, only to see them shatter as they crash down the cliffside.
Officials have expressed deep concern about the conduct, highlighting the irreparable nature of the old stones.
According to John Haynes, the park’s public relations officer, who spoke with KVVU, one of the park’s favorite spots is being destroyed. Somehow, I just don’t get it.
I don’t understand why you would do anything like this. Seriously, what gives you the willies to do this? Additionally, he said that it seemed almost personal.
Approximately six million people visit Lake Mead National Recreation Area, located west of Las Vegas, every year.
It spans about 1.5 million acres and includes two large lakes and a section of the Colorado River. The park crew has a large number of people, making it difficult to be everywhere at once.
The National Park Service gets hundreds of tips each year via its tipline.
Visitors are urged to use their smartphones to capture images and data, such as car plate numbers, that police may use to identify criminals, assuming it is safe to do so.
Two Boy Scout leaders were once subjected to charges and had to make reparations after their damaging antics were recorded on film. The incident occurred years ago when they demolished an old rock in Utah.
Something similar happened in Utah in 2013 when two scoutmasters knocked down a 200-million-year-old rock structure. They were sentenced to one year of probation and fined $2,000.
Several individuals were recorded in 2016 vandalizing the Duckbill Rock Formation in Oregon. No one has ever apprehended the vandals.
The Nevada perpetrators responsible for moving the boulder risk a $5,000 fine and six months in jail if apprehended.
