The National Park Service is investigating after rangers discovered letters and shapes carved into the bronze door of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse this week.
The park service is asking the public’s help in catching those responsible, Cape Hatteras National Seashore said. The vandals used an object to carve into the lighthouse’s original bronze door.
“A recent report of multiple people at the bronze door for an unusually long time has been received,” the seashore said.
Anyone with information that may help determine the circumstances and events that led to this act of vandalism are asked to contact the National Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch (ISB) or the Dare County Community Crime Line. ISB Tip Line: 888-653-0009 or submit a tip at www.nps.gov/isb. Dare County Community Crime Line: https://darecommunitycrimeline.org/tips
In June 2018, a Winston-Salem man used a pocketknife to carve letters also in the beacon’s bronze door. In that case, the park service used a conserver to treat and repair the door.
The lighthouse, designed and constructed in 1868-70, is the tallest brick light tower in the United States. About 500,000 people visit the beacon each year and about 1,500 people climb the lighthouse daily between April and October.