SPRINGDALE, Utah – Social media backlash prompted a suspected vandal at Zion National Park to turn himself in, authorities there say.
The backlash ranged from outrage to calls for more respect for national parks like Zion.
“It just proliferates,” Deputy Chief Ranger Andrew Fitzgerald said of graffiti. Zion has thousands of cases of it yearly.
“We very rarely get a chance to catch the people that did it.”
Fitzgerald says crews will try to clean the red rock now stained with black permanent marker, which includes the now-defunct Instagram handle of the suspected vandal.
Embarrassed and apologetic, he turned himself in.
“He wants to publicize that it’s not the right thing to do in a national park, and make sure that other people don’t do it,” Fitzgerald said.
If convicted for the graffiti near the Angel’s Landing Trail, the man faces six months in jail and a fine of $5,000.