LA MESA (NEWS 8) — Residents in La Mesa’s Eastridge area are trying to solve a mystery surrounding a dinosaur. The Tyrannosaurus Rex statue appeared on an empty plot of land sometimes over the past few days with no explanation.
It’s a mystery where it came from and it's behind a locked fence, so getting it there, must have been pretty difficult.
In a quiet La Mesa neighborhood, near the intersection of Monte and Eastridge drives, the new resident has moved in.
The T-Rex is sitting in the middle of a soon-to-be developed plot of land.
The sign attached says, “please do not climb on me.”
It's unclear what the dinosaur is made out of.
News 8 searched for clues but only found rocks, cigarette butts and a cigar wrapper. So, News 8’s Shannon Handy went door-to-door hoping nearby residents could clue us in.
Lisa Pham's fence backs up to where the dinosaur lives but she said she doesn’t know where it came from.
Another neighbor, David White, doesn't know where it came from either.
"No, but he looks cute,” he said.
But David does have a theory.
"I think T-Rex is a good symbol [for], ‘Don't tread on me, stay off my land,’ he said.
The 10-acre parcel where the T-Rex appeared is the site for an upcoming development called La Mesa Summit that will include 30 high-end homes.
Some residents have raised concerns about the project fearing it could impact traffic, as well as their views.
Groundbreaking is scheduled in the upcoming months.
News 8 reached out to the developer, The Phair Company and they provided us renderings of what the development will look like.
As for the dinosaur, they claim to have no idea who put it there or why, and beyond that had no comment.
So, for the time being, the T-Rex is there to stay.
Editor’s Note: A woman spoke to News 8 and said that the T-Rex featured in this story was spotted in the back of a pickup truck last week (week of September 10) in Bonita.