Another Mysterious Monolith Suddenly Appears — This Time in California

Another tall, silver, shining metal monolith mysteriously appeared in Southern California. Reports said the monolith was similar to the one found in the Utah desert.

This was the third time that a monolith mysteriously appeared in one place. A monolith was first found in the Utah desert on Nov. 18, and another monolith appeared in Romania a few days after.

Read also: Another Monolith Mysteriously Appears in Romania

The monolith in Southern California

Many are now baffled by the appearance of the monolith in Southern California. According to a report published in the KEYT-TV and The Atascadero News on Wednesday, it is still unclear who placed the mysterious object on a hiking trail in Atascadero.

A USA Today report described the monolith in Southern California as tall, silver, 10-foot tall, and it was estimated to weigh 200 pounds. It drew the attention of some hikers after photos of it was posted on social media.

Connor Allen, the news correspondent for the Paso Robles Press and Atascadero News, was the one who shared the photos on his official Twitter account and said that it was located "at the top of Pine Mountain in Atascadero!!" After that, more hikers went to the area.

The Disappearance of the Monolith

Like the monoliths found in the Utah desert and Romania, the mysterious object mysteriously appeared in Southern California, but it disappeared early Thursday morning.

A video that went viral on social media showed a group of men removing the object and replacing it with plywood.

Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno said: "We are upset that these young men felt the need to drive 5 hours to come into our community and vandalize the Monolith."

It is not clear if those men or one of them lives in Atascadero. Despite the mysterious appearance of the object, Moreno said the monolith was something unique and fun amid the global pandemic's stressful time.

The city mayor's office now encouraged anyone who has information about the monolith to contact the Atascadero Police Department, who is currently investigating the incident.

Removal of the Monolith in Utah

While a group of men allegedly removed the monolith in Southern California, the Utah desert object was also removed by a group of people who reportedly advocate a "leave no trace" philosophy towards nature.

Utah residents Andy Lewis and Sylvan Christensen claimed that they were part of the team that removed the Utah desert monolith. They posted a 23-second video that showed how they removed the mysterious object, including how they carried it away on the night of Nov. 27.

In an Instagram post, Christensen wrote that they removed the Utah monolith since "there are clear precedents for how we share and standardize the use of our public lands, natural wildlife, native plants, fresh water sources, and human impacts upon them."

Christensen added that "things like this don't help."