Replica Cross In Mojave Desert Comes Down

May 20, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

Wire Service: AP

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/20/replica-cross-in-mojave-desert-comes-down/

A replica of a cross honoring America's war dead that drew the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court before it was stolen this month mysteriously appeared Thursday in a Mojave Desert federal park, but officials said it was illegal and took it down.

A maintenance worker discovered the cross bolted to a concrete pad on Sunrise Rock, Mojave National Preserve spokeswoman Linda Slater said.

The cross apparently was put up during the night and nobody has claimed responsibility, Slater said.

The stolen cross had been the subject of a legal dispute for about a decade after a former park service employee sued on grounds that the Christian religious symbol was unconstitutionally located on government land.

Congress reacted by transferring land under the cross to private ownership.