Two Nevada men accused of destroying an estimated 140-million-year-old rock formation in Lake Mead National Recreation Area in April have been charged and could face prison time.
Wyatt Clifford Fain, 37, and Payden David Guy Cosper, 31, are each charged with assault, destruction of government property and aiding and abetting, according to the Associated Press.
The trial is scheduled for October 8 and, if convicted, both defendants could face up to 10 years in prison each, according to the Department of Justice.
Fain and Cosper, both of Henderson, were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and made their initial court appearance on Friday. They both pleaded not guilty and were released on bond, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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Lake Mead's Redstone Trail features rock outcrops and natural caves carved by erosion and weathering. (A. Harrison/NPS)
Video posted to social media purportedly shows the men pushing the rock in front of the screaming girl until it falls. The incident happened on April 7 on the Redstone Dunes Trail.
The trail is 1.1 miles round trip. National Park Service (NPS). The rocks and caves in this area are the result of erosion and weathering.
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Lake Mead as seen from Sand Island, which is no longer an island, as an unprecedented drought has caused the water levels of the Colorado River and Lake Mead to drop to dangerously low levels, on Sept. 18, 2022, in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (David McNew/Getty Images)
“Over time, geological forces transformed the loose sand dunes into solid sandstone,” the National Park Service website states.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area, located outside Las Vegas, attracts about 6 million visitors each year and encompasses 2,344 square miles of mountains and desert canyons.
Roughly eroded volcanic basalt near Lake Mead in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (John G. Fuller/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Officials said that given staffing levels, park officials often also rely on the public to monitor resources within park boundaries.
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Damage caused by rocks being swept over the edge of the cliff is estimated at more than $1,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
