Sheriff’s Office offers $500 reward for info on bogus Bears Ear signs

March 6, 2017 Utah Channel 3

ST. GEORGE – With emotions still raw for many in San Juan County over creation of the Bears Ears National Monument last December, matters aren’t being helped by whoever is posting fake entry fee signs across the region.

“We’ve had a lot of these fliers showing up all over the county,” San Juan County Rick Eldredge said with a tone of annoyance at the matter.

The bogus signs declare that there is a $100 fee per vehicle per day and that it “must be paid before entering Navajo Tribal Park, Monument Valley Arizona.” It also claims that no wood cutting, hunting, or ATV use in allowed within the monument.

The bogus signs have been found by county residents at public lands overseen by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Specifically, they have been found nailed to trees at campgrounds and at trail heads. One was even found at Recapture Canyon, Eldredge said.

Nearly 30 signs have been found and brought to the Sheriff’s Office thus far.

“I want to get to the bottom of this,” Eldredge said. “It’s stirring up the peace.”

To this end the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office is offering a $500 reward for any information on the person or persons behind the fake fliers.

“If you catch someone hanging these signs, take a picture of the individual and call the Sheriff’s Office immediately. 435-587-2237,” the Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook Monday.

The fliers could be a part of a scam, or perhaps even a prank trolling the residents of the county. Either way, Eldredge is not amused.

Email: mkessler@stgnews.com

Twitter: @MoriKessler