Video: Men topple 200-million-year-old ‘Goblin’ formation in Utah

Posted 6:05 pm, October 17, 2013, by
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Authorities are investigating after this video, which appears to show three men destroying a rock formation in Goblin Valley State Park, surfaced online.

Jeff Rasmussen, deputy director of Utah State Parks and Recreation, said they are investigating the incident after the video came to their attention on Wednesday.

“Obviously we’re very concerned and upset that somebody would come and destroy this natural wonder that took millions of years to be formed,” he said.

Rasmussen said authorities are working to determine what charges would be appropriate for the suspects.

One of the men in the video spoke to FOX 13 News about the incident, and he said they toppled the rock because they thought it was dangerous. Click here for that interview.

19 comments

  • Rfamily

    I hope that they find the individuals who did this. This is a place we have enjoyed visiting and seriously. No one has been endangered! They deserve to be fined steeply and / or arrested. This is vandalism.

  • Ned D Hanks

    Lets put them in a cage at goblin valley for a few million years, then push them off a cliff, see how that feels. Ok, that is a little extreme, maybe a dollar for every year and a minute in jaril for how long it took to form.

  • Dayle Laycock

    These men are Scout leaders?? They should be banned from scouting and from ALL state parks
    These men are scout leaders?? They should be banned from scouting and from ALL state parks

  • FrankJustice

    That is why trailer trash can never have anything nice. These idiots should be banned from all Utah state parks for life.

  • Ashley

    How did they find such joy from destroying a natural wonder? What a shame that people will actually go out of there way to ruin the state parks..

  • REALLY

    Really?? They pushed over a rock….how is that destructive or vandalas in any way. I think the park and they news are just like the goverment… a little too much of a nanny state. reaaly we have much bigger issues in this world then an ulgly rock being knocked over and it doesnt matter how old it is. Bedrock in manhatten was billions of years old and we had no problem blasting holes in that

    • Jim Higgs

      If its no big deal, then lets just go throw boulders in Old Faithful. After all, its just a geyser. Lets go burn California’s Redwoods down, raze the formations in Bryce Canyon, topple Delicate Arch in Arches NP, what the hell – lets go take Lincoln’s nose off of Mount Rushmore. People like you, and these three ignorant “jack wagons” will never see or understand what it means to preserve something for future generations. I want my future children to be able to enjoy and see these places as they are, not just pictures in a book of what they were. Hell, I want to see them myself! Who gave them the right to decide if something was dangerous or not? Are they from a professional risk management firm that works for the national park? Have they studied the geological formations to the extent that they can determine that it was too dangerous to stand? It was obviously not that big of a danger since the obese “man” had to put all of his weight and strength into the push. They say they were saving lives, but in reality it just looks more like some inconsiderate jerks just doing it because they could. I think that the death threats are totally wrong, but I think that they should definitely be punished. Too many people go into these places and have no respect for the parks, or the future generations that will see them. People that behave like this should be banned from State and National parks.

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