Ancient Petroglyph Panel Near Moab Defaced, Sheriff Seeks Suspects

Someone carved what appears to be a race team's contact information into a petroglyph panel along the Tusher Tunnel OHV corridor, about 20 miles northwest of Moab, and the Grand County Sheriff's Office wants to know who did it.

The damage was found in the Tusher Tunnel area, approximately 20 miles northwest of Moab and directly west of Utahraptor State Park. Tusher Tunnel is located along a popular off-highway vehicle road. It's the kind of terrain that draws overlanders, rock crawlers, and off-road enthusiasts from across the Four Corners region, which makes the vandalism sting especially hard for a community that prides itself on Leave No Trace ethics.

The vandalism includes etchings of "646," "Baja Toys," and "ATV" carved directly into the ancient rock wall. The Grand County Sheriff's Office said in a social media post Sunday evening that it is seeking help identifying those responsible: "It appears a Baja race team may have defaced the site by advertising contact information directly on the rock wall. This type of damage to cultural and historical resources is taken seriously and is under investigation."

No arrests have been made and no suspects have been publicly named. The sheriff's office says the damage appears to include names and advertising etched directly into the rock wall, an act that permanently harms cultural resources that have survived for centuries.

Ancient rock art can be found throughout the Moab area from Indigenous people who lived in Utah thousands of years ago. Some of the region's petroglyphs date as far back as 3500 B.C. The Tusher Tunnel panel joins a long list of sites across southeastern Utah that carry irreplaceable records of human presence in the canyon country, records that no restoration can fully recover once they've been scratched through.

The incident lands at a pointed moment for public lands protection in Utah. Tusher Tunnel is located along a popular off-highway vehicle road, and the sheriff's office says it appears a Baja race team "may have defaced the site by advertising contact information directly on the rock wall." Utah lawmakers recently approved a new law increasing penalties for vandalizing public lands, crafted specifically in response to a rising number of such incidents across the state. Anyone with information about who may be responsible should contact the Grand County Sheriff's Office at 435-259-8115. The new law, which ensures that fines and restitutions from convictions are directed toward repairing damaged lands and archaeological sites, takes effect in May, meaning any charges filed after that date would carry significantly heavier consequences.

Petroglyphs are not just historic artifacts; they are sacred and irreplaceable records of Indigenous history and presence on the land. Even small impacts can cause lasting damage. If you're visiting sites like these, the rule is simple: look, don't touch. Stay on designated paths, avoid leaning or placing hands on rock art, and never trace or mark over existing images.