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JENSEN, Uintah County — Rangers at Dinosaur National Monument discovered the damage and theft of a fossil along the trail Tuesday.

During a guided tour of the Fossil Discovery Trail in Dinosaur National Monument, a park ranger noticed the fossilized humerus bone of a sauropod dinosaur had been damaged, and part of the bone had been removed from the rock wall, the National Park Service said.

The Park Service said the damage to the unexcavated fossil was not evident Monday.

The fossil is one of several along the trail that visitors can experience while still in place.

“It allows visitors to experience what it may have been like for paleontologist Earl Douglass when he discovered the first fossils in what is now the monument,” the Park Service reported. “While the fossils have limited scientific value, they have a great value for the educational experience they provide to visitors and students who hike the trail."

A $750 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of the culprit, the Park Service said.

Anyone with information about the damage and theft can contact (435) 781-7715.

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