by Beachgoers were left perplexed recently after a huge 20ft cross washed up near a Fort Lauderdale hotel.
The enormous barnacle-encrusted cross managed to gain a great deal of attention after it was discovered along the shoreline outside the Ocean Manor Beach Resort Hotel on Saturday morning.
Images and video footage of the spectacle were soon plastered all over social media.
Hotel owner Frank Talerico has stated that he considers the cross a sign of protection.
"I had goosebumps. I was astonished," he said.
There has been much speculation over where the cross actually came from, with some locals suggesting that it may have entered the sea in Puerto Rico or the Florida Keys.
One woman who got in touch with the Miami Herald indicated that it may have been originally erected on a small island off North Carolina in memory of a man who disappeared while on a hunting trip.
She believed that it had been swept away during Hurricane Michael last October.
"You know what? I'm glad it's here," said Talerico. "It's staying here, and if anybody wants to come see it or take a picture with it, they're more than welcome."
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