Mysterious monolith appears on hiking trail near Las Vegas - sparking wild speculation about where it came from

A mysterious metal monolith has appeared on a hiking trail near Las Vegas, leaving officials baffled as to how it got there.

The mirrored monolith was found near Gass Peak, about 25 miles from Sin City by Las Vegas Metro Search and Rescue.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officials confirmed the object was found on the popular hiking trail last weekend.

Posting about it on Facebook along with some images, they wrote: 'We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water... but check this out!'

The post quickly garnered more than 1,000 likes and hundreds of comments. 

A mysterious metal monolith has appeared on a hiking trail near Las Vegas, leaving officials baffled as to how it got there

The mirrored monolith was found near Gass Peak, about 25 miles from Sin City by Las Vegas Metro Search and Rescue

Many commenters joked it had landed from outer space. 

One Facebook user mused: 'Maybe, it's a portal going to different location.' 

Another commenter jested: 'I don't care what it is... but can someone go up there and pray to it or something... ask it to lower our rent.'

While the LVMPD deemed the monolith a 'mystery,' one commenter wrote in response: 'It's not "mysterious." Someone built, put in a truck, drove it out there, and set it up. It's not a big deal.'

The peculiar-looking metal slab is one of many which have been found across the world in recent years.

In late 2020, dozens of similar looking monoliths began popping up across the US as well as the UK, Canada, Romania and further afield, often before eerily disappearing.

The silver structures in the UK were found in Glastonbury, Cornwall and the Isle of Wight.

More recently, a 10ft monolith was found in on a hilltop near Hay-on-Wye in Wales.

A steel monolith shaped like a giant Toblerone bar has been spotted near Hay-on-Wye in Wales

Richard Haynes, who took pictures of the structure while running in March, told WalesOnline that he thought it was a scientific instrument at first. 

He explained: 'I went off towards Hay Bluff towards where the trig point is and I looked over to my right. I thought it looked a bit bizarre and might be a scientific media research thing collecting rainwater.

'But then realized it was way too tall and strange for that. Then I went up to it and it was about 10-foot-tall at least and triangular, definitely stainless steel.

'It was hollow and I imagine pretty light. Light enough for two people to carry it up and plant it in the ground.'