New Monolith Surfaces in Romania After One in Utah Desert Vanishes

There has been a new twist in the tale of the Utah monolith.

This weekend some of these visitors were disappointed, or perhaps delighted, to discover the monolith's absence. However, given the much-noted similarity to the centerpiece of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequel, suddenly vanishing is probably the most appropriate thing the monolith could do.

Though while a dark metallic structure, it appears covered in concentric circles. As curiosity over its origins reached feverish pitch, the monolith disappeared, with the government denying any role in the same.

Officials say they still do not know who the monolith belongs to, and have launched an investigation into why it's there.

An agency statement says credible reports point to "an unknown party" removing the illegally installed structure on the evening of November 27.

Officials from the Utah Department of Public Safety and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources discovered the three-sided silver structure on November 18 via helicopter, while on a routine mission to count bighorn sheep.

Although officials didn't disclose the exact location of the monolith, interested hikers took to the desert to see the object in person and shared their experiences on social media.

It's source, and where it lives now, remain a mystery befitting of Kubrick's beguiling sci-fi masterpiece.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Bureau said: "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". An entire subreddit dedicated just to finding the monolith features photos of such expeditions. Others have taken it upon themselves to investigate the monolith's origin, goal and composition. No one has come forward to explain who placed it there, or why. His conclusion was that the prism was three panels of aluminum, riveted together.

The obelisk has been there since at least 2016, according to Google satellite images. That said, more likely than the fact that aliens are dropping clues for us is that this is some type of art installation, probably even very smart PR. 2020 is weird enough as it is.

One leading theory is that the monolith was the work of a California artist who died in 2011 - and was a friend of Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy. McCracken's son, Patrick, told the newspaper that his father once said "he would like to leave his artwork in remote places to be discovered later".