Snow Canyon State Park officials say graffiti vandals apprehended

Composite photo shows rock formation in Snow Canyon State Park after being spray painted with graffiti in the fall of 2017 (on left), and a recent photo on right showing the same formation after the paint was removed by workers, Washington County, Utah | Photos courtesy of Snow Canyon State Park, St. George News

WASHINGTON COUNTY – Authorities believe they found those responsible for spray-painting graffiti on light-colored sandstone formations in a remote area of Snow Canyon State Park last fall.

Snow Canyon State Park Manager Kristen Comella said investigators were able identify and eventually charge six juveniles in connection with the incident, which was first reported publicly in early November.

Graffiti in the White Rocks area of Snow Canyon State Park, Washington County, Utah, circa October 2017 | File photo courtesy of Snow Canyon State Park, St. George News

The vandalism involved the “tagging” of words, numbers and names in dark blue and white paint on several locations in the area, located about a mile from the park’s White Rock trailhead.  

Read more: Snow Canyon State Park official says vandalism was ‘premeditated effort’

“I believe that six individuals were charged and were each facing fines of approximately $850. Since the individuals are juveniles, I can’t really provide information beyond that,” Comella told St. George News. The cases were reportedly adjudicated earlier this month.

Comella said helpful tips from the public provided investigators with a number of solid leads.

“There was a lot of good information that was submitted from the public,” she said.

Park employees and volunteers have been cleaning up the graffiti since November, Comella said, adding that the restoration work is about 90 percent complete. Workers have been using battery powered sandblasters and other tools and equipment to remove the paint from the rock, she said.

Any fines paid by perpetrators will be put toward equipment and supplies to help in the ongoing efforts to mitigate and clean up vandalism throughout the park, Comella added.

Snow Canyon State Park is the third largest of Utah’s 45 state parks and typically ranks among the top 10 in annual visitation.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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8 Comments

  • RadRabbit May 24, 2018 at 5:53 pm

    Looks like these boys need to spend a day or two out there in the hot sun cleaning up this mess.

  • Striker4 May 24, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    sorry the law won’t allow that. it’s called child abuse and we sure don’t want to read about these poor misguided children being abused

    • Real Life May 24, 2018 at 9:48 pm

      Did they up the dosage? You seem to be babbling incoherently at an alarmingly high rate lately.

      • Anon May 25, 2018 at 8:41 am

        I believe it was sarcasm on Striker’s part. Unfortunately, they haven’t come out with a sarcasm font to make it more apparent. 🙂

  • PlanetU May 24, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    Good job apprehending these punks.

  • utahdiablo May 24, 2018 at 9:53 pm

    Yeah with only a $850 fine, good luck to teaching these Juveniles anything at least until they are no longer “Adult Children” being on your health care plan until they’re 26 ( yeah as stupid as that sounds, it;s true, an adult child at 26, gotta hand it to our government huh?

  • jaltair May 25, 2018 at 1:25 am

    There should be more of a fine then what was imposed, in addition, these kids need to spend some time in juvenile hall. Parents need to be held responsible for clean-up. Once something like this starts, it just gets worse. Believe me, I saw the graffiti problem in California grow from small amounts to what it is now, ugly!

  • Steve May 25, 2018 at 7:57 am

    Pathetic punishment. Those “boys” need a lesson in humility and embarrassment.

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