A mysterious metal monolith was found by public safety officers in rural Utah when they were carrying out a routine wildlife mission.

I mean, who placed it there?

A helicopter crew with the Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau was assisting the Wildlife Resources to count the bighorn sheep in southeastern Utah when the massive metal monolith was found.

Okay, that’s creepy.

Bret Hutchings, the pilot, said that one of the officers that were counting spotted the object, which was located in a remote area of red rock.

They compared it with a scene right out of the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

Recalling the moment, Hutchings said:

He was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around!’ And I was like, ‘What.’ And he’s like, ‘There’s this thing back there — we’ve got to go look at it!’. We just happened to fly directly over the top of it.

The origins of the metal monolith remains a mystery, however, it was something that was recently installed due to the condition it was in.

The monolith is around 10 to 12 feet high.

The Utah Department of Public Safety released a statement about the monolith discovery after the story went viral.

The statement reads:

It is illegal to install structures or art without authorization on federally managed public lands, no matter what planet you’re from.

The department said that it was unclear who or when the monolith was installed.

The exact location of the monolith was not shared with the public due to safety reasons and concerns.

What are your thoughts about the monolith and who do you think placed it there? Let us know what you think about it by leaving a comment in the comments section below!