A Drumheller woman was horrified to see a man carving words into the hoodoos southeast of the townsite on Thursday and is hoping her video recording of the incident will help RCMP capture the culprit.

Paula Peake was visiting the Hoodoos Trail Thursday afternoon with her husband and daughter when she heard people stating ‘you can’t do that’. She turned to see a man defacing the naturally eroded formations by scratching it with a small rock.

Peake began recording the man with her phone and followed the man as he left with his group, which included children, to the parking lot.

The man left his mark as the word ‘METTEN’, the name of a town in Germany, was etched into the rock.

According to Peake, the group was speaking both English and a second language that she did not recognize and they left in two vehicles including a rental vehicle.

Peake says she visited the local RCMP detachment and shared her photos and video with the officers.

According to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the hoodoos are a Provincial Historic Resource that is protected under the Historical Resources Act. Visitors convicted of defacing or removing property from the site could face a fine of up to $50,000 and/or a year in prison.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact police.