Mojave Desert cross, focus of long legal battle, is stolen

An 8-foot-tall cross that stood as a war memorial in Mojave National Preserve and which prompted a U.S. Supreme Court dispute was reported stolen Monday morning.

National Park Service officials said a staff member instructed to replace the cross' plywood cover had discovered the metal cross missing from its site atop Sunrise Rock along Cima Road.

The cross has stood since 1934 in various forms as a memorial to World War I soldiers.

In 1999, after the park service refused to permit a Buddhist shrine to be erected nearby, former employee Frank Buono sued, saying the official preference for the cross violated the 1st Amendment and its ban on "an establishment of religion."

Officials were ordered to remove the cross, but in April Supreme Court justices reversed the decision in a 5-4 ruling.

The wooden cover for the cross was reported missing by park staff Saturday morning. The cross itself was last seen standing Sunday.

Anyone with information is asked to call National Park Service law enforcement at (760) 252-6120. The Veterans of Foreign Wars is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

I don't care where you fall on the belief-in-god continuum, this is really sleazy. I sincerely hope it wasn't some idiotic nonbeliever who decided to take the law into their own hands.