National Park Service hunting for hikers who defaced historic Grand Canyon rock

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Two men were seen scratching into a plateau at the National Park, and could face six months in jail if convicted

Moran Point, Grand Canyon National Park
The incident took place at Moran Point, Grand Canyon National Park (Image credit: Getty)

The National Park Service is asking for help identifying two hikers who were seen defacing an ancient rock formation at the Grand Canyon.

The two young men were spotted by a pair of photographers, who reported that they were crouching on a plateau at Moran Point. The men appeared to be writing something, and the photographers says that it appeared they had been using a small stone to scrape words into the rock.

One of the photographers, Paula Corrette, used her long lens to capture pictures, while the other, Karen Wright, called the NPS to report the incident.

"And we yelled to the kids," Wright told Fox 10 Phoenix. "I don't know how old they are, but we yelled to them and told them to quit and told them it was illegal, and they ignored us and kept going. The second boy started writing and stood up, took a picture of it, and at that point, we decided to leave. We didn't want to confront them."

Corrette later shared her photos on Twitter (which you can see below), and implored anyone who knows the two men to contact the NPS.

If you have witnessed vandalism any National Park, you can call or text the NPS on 888-653-0009, or submit a tip online.

Cat Ellis
Cat Ellis
Editor

Cat is the editor of Advnture, She’s been a journalist for 15 years, and was fitness and wellbeing editor on TechRadar before joining the Advnture team in 2022. She’s a UK Athletics qualified run leader, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than lacing up her shoes and hitting the roads and trails (the muddier, the better), usually wearing at least two sports watches.