A photographer from Colorado reported witnessing the now-famous monolith in southeast Utah topple to the ground.

The enigmatic monolith that appeared in a Utah desert last week has mysteriously vanished – but no, it wasn’t the work of aliens or shadowy government forces. Instead, it was moved by another surprising force: TikTokers.

Colorado-based adventure photographer Ross Bernards shared with Dinogo that he saw a group of four people dismantling the monolith last Friday evening.

With nearly ten years of experience in desert hiking and navigation, Bernards set out with friends last Friday to photograph the famed monolith after pinpointing its location earlier in the week.

After spending over an hour photographing the monolith, Bernards and his friends heard a new group approaching the site. Expecting them to be there for photos as well, Bernards quickly realized they had other plans.

“They immediately began pushing with all their strength, practically throwing their entire body weight into it,” Bernards recalled. “It only took them about three solid pushes to get the monolith to budge and tip over onto its side.”

Once they managed to dislodge the entire monolith, it crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Bernards described the sound as akin to someone throwing a large stew pot off a ladder with all their might.

“After that, one of them said, ‘This is why you shouldn’t leave trash in the desert,’” Bernards recounted.

The four individuals gathered the large pieces of the monolith, placed them in a wheelbarrow, and declared, ‘Leave no trace,’ as they wheeled it away, Bernards reported.

According to Bernards, the term ‘Leave No Trace’ is a widely recognized principle in outdoor culture, encouraging people to minimize their environmental impact when visiting natural areas.

Bernards and his group didn’t intervene when the others took the monolith because they agreed that its removal was necessary. The site wasn’t equipped to handle the attention it was receiving, which could potentially harm the land, Bernards explained.

“It was fascinating to witness, but it had to be removed,” Bernards said. “In wilderness areas, Mother Nature is the true artist, and we should let her art remain untouched.”

One of the people involved in removing the monolith posted on social media Tuesday, revealing that he and his team were responsible for its removal on the evening of November 27 at approximately 8:30 p.m.

Sylvan Christensen, who has nearly 30,000 TikTok followers, shared a video showing the monolith in a wheelbarrow, being hauled away, with the faces of those removing it blurred. The post has garnered nearly 200,000 views on TikTok.

In the caption, Christensen wrote, ‘Don’t leave your personal property on public land if you don’t want it taken,’ accompanied by the hashtag #LeaveNoTrace.

Christensen, who identifies himself as a guide for Moab Adventure Tours, revealed his affiliation through his social media.

The group explained in a statement to Dinogo, ‘We removed the Utah Monolith because there are established guidelines for managing our public lands, wildlife, native plants, water sources, and human impact. The obsession with the mystery is distracting, and we want to focus attention on the real issue: we’re losing our public lands, and acts like this only hinder progress.’