Punks Who Destroyed Oregon's Most Romantic Coast Rock Asked to Give Themselves Up

An Oregon Parks and Recreation Department spokesperson says it "would be refreshing and wonderful and would make things much easier."

By Sophia June

Over the holiday weekend, someone destroyed a roped-off natural sandstone formation known as the "Duckbill" at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area near Pacific City.

Authorities are now investigating the destruction of the rock formation, which was captured by an amateur videographer on Twitter.

(Oregon State Parks / Facebook) (Oregon State Parks / Facebook)

There's no word yet on the punishment, but vandalizing a park carries a presumptive fine of $435, according to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department spokesperson Chris Haval. He says circumstances can make that fine lower or higher. He also said that when you violate a park rule, it's not considered a crime; it will be up to the Oregon State Police department to determine if there is any punishment on the criminal side.

"We don't have any other leads on who did it. They haven't stepped up or anything," Haval told WW this morning. "The most likely outcome is because it's being shared so widely is that someone will see who they are and send the police the information, or they'll step forward and say, 'stop wasting your time.' That would be refreshing and wonderful and would make things much easier."

At first, there was no sign the formation had been vandalized. Oregon State Parks even posted a statement on Facebook warning visitors of the dangers of falling rocks. The formation was behind a fenced area due to its proximity to the edge of the cliff.

(Oregon State Parks/Facebook) (Oregon State Parks/Facebook)

But later—a video released on Twitter showed a group of visitors knocking the formation to the ground. On August 29th, David Kalas, a 19-year-old aspiring videographer caught the vandals on camera and posted it on his Twitter.

Update: he posted a version with better resolution on Youtube:

According to NBC, Kalas says he and his friends ran over to the group to confront them. They said that one of their friends had broken their legs, and called the formation a "giant safety hazard."

Despite the rock being fenced off, hundreds of people have taken advantage of the picturesque spot—without knocking it to the ground. Here are some of those people, who are using Instagram to both lament the rock and criticize the "garbage people" who destroyed it.

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Anyone with information is asked to contact OPRD at oprd.publiccomment@oregon.gov.

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