Park vandalism Facebook post goes viral, strikes investigation

BEND, Ore., May 6 (UPI) -- Brett Nelson witnessed a family carving their names at a public park railing and shared a photo of the vandals, voicing his frustrations on his Facebook page. The post garnered viral attention and the U.S. Forest Services even started an investigation to identify the culprits.

Nelson bumped into the park goers when he went on a hike Saturday with a friend at Tumalo Falls Trail outside of Bend, Ore. He first saw the father and his two children defacing the railing and confronted them about it.

The family who was visiting from California weren't concerned when Nelson tried to stop them from committing the act.

Nelson said, "All I was trying to do was ask someone to stop doing something, and the reaction was completely opposite of what I thought would occur," USA Today reported.

He snapped a photo of the family and shared it on his news feed.

The post began receiving more and more attention and by Wednesday morning, had over 60,000 shares. Even U.S. Forest Services came across the post.

Deschutes National Forest public affairs specialist, Kassidy Kern, said, "Public lands matter to all of us and we are all responsible to take action. It's great that Brett felt safe enough to do this, to confront them."

If the perpetuators are found, which is likely due to Nelson's clear photograph, they could be subject to fine of up to $5,000 and jail time for public park vandalism.