The mystery behind viral satellite images showing the word “HELP” in an empty downtown Los Angeles lot has been solved. The words have been appearing for more than a year.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 12:14AM
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Viral satellite images showing the words “help,” “trafico” and “LAPD” in an empty lot in downtown Los Angeles grabbed people’s attention over the weekend on social media, with many asking “what is going on?”
It turns out, someone has been spelling out the words for more than a year in empty lots in the area and there is no danger.
Los Angeles police told ABC News on Monday investigators “found no evidence of criminal activity or threat in the area” after going to the location on Sunday morning.
The Google Earth image that went viral over the weekend was captured in November 2023. The ABC News visual verification team also tracked down satellite images as early as June 2023 to February 2024 showing similar words spelled out in the same location.
LAPD said in an X post responding to a video about the viral images, “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 empty lot is near Mission Road and the 101 Freeway, right beside the Cesar Chavez Bridge, and is owned by Union Pacific.
Union Pacific told ABC News that the viral image is from about a year ago and no one was in danger.
“A man trespassed on Union Pacific and other nearby properties to repeatedly create these misleading messages,” Union Pacific said in a statement, adding, “We do know the individual that creates these, does so on neighboring properties as well.”
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The mystery behind viral satellite images showing the word “HELP” in an empty downtown Los Angeles lot has been solved. The words have been appearing for more than a year.
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