Google Earth images showing “help,” “trafico,” “terorrorismo” and other words written with wood, pipes and other building materials in an empty lot in downtown Los Angeles garnered attention on social media, but police say there is no emergency and they know who is responsible.
The lot, located at East Cesar Chavez Avenue and North Mission Road near the Los Angeles River and the 101 Freeway, was visited by police on Sunday, Jan. 26 and no evidence of criminal activity was found, according to Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Media Relations.
The LAPD Central Division responded to a video on X that showed a woman near the area stating that a man writes the messages all the time and has been doing so for years, noting that the department is aware of the individual.
“We’ve had several different contacts with the individual you speak of. He has refused housing or a mental health evaluation. There is no evidence of Human Trafficking. He has been at the location for a few years,” the Central Division wrote on X.
Users on X and TikTok speculated heavily after images and videos showing the messages were posted, with many expressing concern that there was human trafficking occurring in the area. The lot is listed as a Union Pacific Railroad lot. The messages are visible in Google Earth satellite images of the area, which were taken in Dec. 2023.
A visual verification team from ABC News was able to find images of similar messages in the lot dating back to June 2023 to February 2024, ABC7 reported.