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Mysterious Utah monolith disappears from the desert, removed by 'unknown party'

The Utah metal monolith mystery just got weirder.

The 10-foot, three-sided gleaming metal column that received international attention after it was discovered Nov. 18 embedded in Utah's remote Red Rock Country has vanished  without a trace.

The Bureau of Land Management reported the disappearance Saturday, making it clear that it was not the work of the federal agency that overseas public land.

"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 said in its Facebook statement. "The BLM did not remove the structure which is considered private property."

The case has been passed on to the local sheriff's office.

The Utah Department of Public Safety discovered the object embedded into the rock Nov. 18 during an expedition counting bighorn sheep in the barren region of southeastern Utah.

Unexplained metal monolith:Discovered in remote area of Utah's Red Rock Country

Monolith discovered in Utah's Red Rock Country.

The New York Times reported that the Department of Public Safety reacted to the news of the missing monolith by writing  "IT’S GONE!” on an Instagram post. "Almost as quickly as it appeared it has now disappeared," the department added, "I can only speculate" that aliens took it back, using the emoji for extraterrestrials.

The post was removed from the Instagram account.

The exact location of the installation was not disclosed in an effort to stop individuals from attempting to locate it, for fear visitors could potentially become stranded in a remote area.

But that didn't stop David Surber, who started sharing video and images of the monolith to an unverified Instagram account Wednesday. 

In a video tagged in Moab, Surber tested if the structure is magnetic and solid. "Hollow, riveted, not magnetic," he said in the clip.

"Regardless of who built it or where it came from. It was a positive escape from today’s world," Surber wrote after the object went missing.

The San Juan County Sheriff's Office wrote on its Facebook page that it was aware of the missing monolith.

"While we take all reports of crime seriously, we do not have the proper resources to devote much time to the appearance and subsequent disappearance/theft of the structure that was discovered in a remote area of public lands within our county," the statement said, with humorous space alien suspects added. "However, with hundreds visiting the area during the last few days, perhaps someone saw something suspicious. If you recognize anyone from the lineup provided as being in the area of the strange structure on the night of November 27th, please let us know! #SeeSomethingSaySomething #WhereDidItComeFrom #WhereDidItGo"

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