A century ago, the timber-and-iron tower had supported a tram carrying precious salt across the Inyo Mountains that had been mined from a remote valley in the California desert. More recently, it stood as an artifact in the Saline Valley, and it marked the edge of a hiking trail through the sun-baked wilderness.

But a visitor to the Death Valley National Park in California brought the 113-year-old structure down on April 19 when it was used in an effort to pull a pickup truck out of the mud, prompting the National Park Service to investigate who was responsible for the damage.

The service’s request for information from the public elicited dozens of calls and messages, a video uploaded to YouTube, and finally a confession.

A park visitor said that the damage “was done during a time of desperation while being deeply stuck in mud” and had taken full responsibility, according to a Park Service update provided on Thursday.

A video of the incident, published by Outside magazine, showed a white pickup truck, partially immersed in mud, its tires spinning in place.

The person, who was not publicly identified by the Park Service, used the tower as an anchor to try to pull the pickup out of the mud. Partially deteriorated from decades exposed to extreme high temperatures and saltwater, the tower toppled, unmooring its concrete footing from the desert floor.