- The man climbed a railing to scrawl the graffiti on the national monument
- Shocked deputies found the etching a week after a silent alarm was set off
- The 1806 signature is rare evidence of the Lewis and Clark expedition
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A man has been arrested for defacing national monument Pompeys Pillar after he etched a love message just three feet from the historic Captain William Clark’s signature, made in 1806.
The carving, which reads ‘Cole + Shpresa 10/10/2013’ with a love heart, was found by shocked deputies at the famous monument in Montana.
Ignoring the warning signs, security cameras and railings, a man from Minnesota admitted to the crime, which has been described as a ‘senseless act of vandalism’.
'Senseless vandalism': Randall was arrested for creating this graffiti, found just three feet from the 1806 signature of Captain William Clark which made Pomeys Pillar a landmark
The man, who had been visiting the tourist attraction with his wife, now faces charges under federal law which protects national monuments.
The 1806 signature is one of the last remaining pieces of physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the first explorers to cross the western region of America.
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ShareJonathan Peart, the director of Friends of Pompeys Pillar, told 3KRTV.com: ‘This belongs to all of us - to you, to me to every American out there and to deface this is just a senseless act of vandalism and violence to something that has historical and cultural importance.’
National monument: Deputies were alarmed to find the carving so close to this historical etching, one of the last remaining pieces of physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark expedition
A silent alarm alerted Bureau of Land Management (BLM) deputies that someone had climbed over the guard rail on October 10. A man and a woman were questioned and their contact details recorded but it was not until a week later that the love message was found by an employee.
Reviewing security footage, the suspected culprit was soon found according to Peart.
He said: ‘These National treasures should be treated with respect and those who don't need to be punished.’
The man is yet to be officially identified as the BLM continues to investigate.
According to WDEF.com, Montana/Dakotas BLM spokesman Melodie Lloyd said that the suspect had been apprehended and charges are yet to be filed.
Historical importance: The man faces felony charges for defacing Pomeys Pillar (pictured), a 150-foot sandstone butte in the Yellowstone Valley
To remove the graffiti will cost between $4,000 and $5,000, according to the Friends of Pompeys Pillar.
The monument is open to the public on foot every day of the year but barriers restrict visitor access to the signature.
Captain William Clark scrawled his name and the date, July 25, 1806, on the 150-foot sandstone butte in the Yellowstone Valley after his return to America. The signature looks as it did some 200 years ago.
The monument, 25 miles northeast of Billings, Montana, attracts some 50,000 every year. It was named a national monument in 2001.
National treasure: The graffiti is estimated to cost between $4,000 and $5,000 to remove from the National Monument
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