As we’ve previously reported, the mysterious smooth, black Obelisk with hieroglyphic writing has now transported to a secure area of Pete’s Milk Delivery in Kent.

The Obelisk previously appeared – then disappeared from – the Woodmont neighborhood; in front of the Maury Island Incident Mural; and the Quarterdeck at the Des Moines Marina.

The existence of the obelisk has also reached a global audience, including a listing on https://monolithtracker.com/ and even a detailed analysis (in Portuguese) from https://tonocosmos.com.br/o-misterio-da-ilha-maury-na-mensagem-do-novo-monolito.

Closer to home, Des Moines residents seem to have found the Obelisk a source of delight, humor, and even intrigue. Several have reported solutions to deciphered the Obelisk inscription on social media. For example, two young Des Moines residents – Brooklyn Rennhack and Reese Kuhn, each beginning 6th grade this fall – saw the obelisk when it first appeared on June 21, 2021 at Woodmont Beach.

Said Brooklyn:

“My friend Reese and I were looking for something to do and I told her about the Maury Island Incident – and monolith that appeared near the beach at Woodmont. That got us thinking…what if we could solve it? We researched ‘alien language translator’ and found alphabet letters that had the exact look as the ones from the monolith. Then we started decoding.

“We found out the message says:

‘Maury Island is first | Sorry about the dog | Dahl did not admit.’

“It was exciting and scary. I am pretty sure that Dahl is referring to Harold Dahl – the captain of the boat in the Maury Island Incident.”


In an apparent reference to the current fascination about UFO’s and the sealing of records about Maury Island for 50 years, Reese added:

“I wonder why the government kept this from us?”

No matter the true source of the obelisk mystery, these students have high standards; said Brooklyn:

“The aliens have to work on their grammar – like commas, it seems they maybe forgot a comma.”

Some residents are simply sad to see it leave Des Moines. One Des Moines man reported to The Waterland Blog that he was out walking his dog Thursday morning, July 1, 2021, along the Des Moines Marina, and discovered that the mysterious Des Moines Obelisk had disappeared from its last location in front of the Quarterdeck.

“I was told before that it might move again but I didn’t believe it,” he said. “I thought, it should remain here near the other public sculptures, but I was wrong.”

And now, the mysterious Obelisk sits all alone in a secure trucking lot in Kent:

Earl Harper, owner of Harper Studios, said:

“The monolith attracted a lot of visitors during its three-day visit to the Maury Island Incident mural. People loved it and it really seemed to fire up everyone’s imagination. We miss it already. We were happy when it was still nearby, down at the Quarterdeck, but now it seems like it’s really gone. We’re all still trying to figure out what it all means.”