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Celeb's defacing of Sedona rock investigated

Posted at 1:16 PM, Feb 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-16 16:49:20-05

Oh to be young and in love. Full of hugs and kisses, couple selfies, and the meticulous writing of each other's initials within a heart onto anything.

Actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens ("High School Musical", "Grease Live!") and rumored boyfriend Austin Butler decided to celebrate the Valentine's Day weekend in the mountains in Sedona, according to pictures posted to her Instagram, which included the hashtag #sedonadreams.

However, one photo in particular is causing quite a stir here in Arizona. The post has since been deleted.

Scratched into Sedona's well-known red rocks is a roughly drawn heart with the words "Austin + Vanessa" inside.

While it may seem like an innocent act of flirting, it could potentially be a criminal act.

A spokesperson for the Coconino National Forest Red Rock District confirmed that the incident is under investigation, but could not provide any additional details.

The maximum penalty for any crime on federal land is a maximum fine of $5,000 or six months in jail, the spokesperson said.

Unfortunately, etching into Sedona's rocks is a "common" and "challenging" problem, according to the spokesperson. It's difficult to enforce since they have to usually catch the person in the act.

Hudgens' post did have over 1,700 comments before it was removed. Some of those comments are below:

"I think you should be more responsible than to deface my home, what a terribleexample [sic] to set," wrote on commentor claiming to live in Sedona.

"Just because you don't find arizonas [sic] red rock beautiful, many others do and don't want to see it vandalized," wrote another.

"i [sic] love in az and there's a bunch of rocks that have names on it," wrote another.

 

#sedonadreams

A photo posted by Vanessa Hudgens (@vanessahudgens) on