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AMERICAN FORK, Utah — Two historic structures were damaged by vandals at Timpanogos Cave National Monument Thursday, officials said.
The cave itself was left undamaged, but the windows of a stone restroom near the top of the trail were broken out and the inside wall of a storage room was graffitied, according to Timpanogos Cave National Monument superintendent Jim Ireland. He said emergency supplies were also stolen.
“(The vandals) went to a lot of effort to go up the trail,” he said. “There’s snow on the trail. There’s a locked gate on the trail which they cut, so they obviously planned to go up.”
The monument is closed for the season, but a team from the National Park Service worked on the upper trail Thursday to assess conditions and prepare for spring work, according to Ireland. He said they noticed the damage to the structures when they returned to the area Friday. Some first aid and search and rescue equipment was found scattered along the trail.
Investigators believe multiple people hiked the upper cave trail Thursday night.
There is no indication that anyone was in the cave or that they did any damage, so we're really grateful for that.
–Jim Ireland
“If it was just theft, we understand people steal things and try to sell it for whatever reason, but there was vandalism involved as well,” Ireland said. “They broke out windows in the historic last-chance restroom, which is a stone restroom that sits right up near the top of the trail built around 1930 by the WPA crews here in the monument. (There was) no real reason for that — just pure vandalism.”
The storage room the vandals broke into is a locked cave grotto area near the entrance of the cave, according to Ireland. He said the wall the people graffitied is a historic masonry wall that was also built in the 1930s. Of the items the vandals took out of the storage area, a backpack containing technical rescue and climbing equipment is still missing.
Ireland said it appears the vandals also tried to force the entry door to the cave, but were unsuccessful.
“We’ve been in the cave. We’ve checked it thoroughly,” he said. “There is no indication that anyone was in the cave or that they did any damage, so we’re really grateful for that.”
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to the report, but the case is now being handled by special agents from the National Park Service. Ireland said they are hopeful investigators will be able to identify those connected to the vandalism and burglary through evidence that was left behind and tips from the public.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact the NPS Investigative Services Branch by calling 888-653-0009.
Contributing: Dave Cawley
