Mojave Cross, Symbol in Supreme Court Dispute, Stolen

Less than two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled a seven-foot high cross honoring veterans could remain on federal land, the symbol has been stolen from its hilltop perch in the Mojave Desert of California.

The cross disappeared overnight Sunday, snatched by thieves who tore away plywood covering it and cut bolts attaching it to a rock in the desert preserve, the Associated Press reported.

Veterans groups were furious and a $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of the bandits. Authorities said the thieves may have had an interest in the controversy or may have simply been scavenging for scrap metal.

The cross was first placed in the desert in 1934 to honor World War I veterans, but it was covered when a dispute arose over whether its placement on federal land violated the separation of church and state. On April 28, the Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that the cross could stay because the site will be transferred to private ownership.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the organization that first put it up, said the cross would be rebuilt. "This was a legal fight that a vandal just made personal to 50 million veterans," said VFW National Commander Thomas J. Tradewell.