A patch of undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles is going viral on social media for some distressing messages seen from above.
The lot, located just east of the L.A. River at the intersection of East Cesar Chavez Avenue and North Mission Road, is littered with discarded metal and dumpsters.
It is also littered with the word “help” spelled out nearly a dozen times, as seen from Sky5 on Monday. Another word — “traffico” — is also seen spelled out once, as are “LAPD” and “federal.”
The largest “Help” message appears to be constructed with piping that has the word “Corruption” on one of them, as well as “trafico humano,” “extorcion” and “terrorismo,” which are Spanish for “human trafficking,” “extortion” and “terrorism,” respectively.
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A patch of undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles is going viral on social media for some distressing messages seen from above. (Sky5) -
A patch of undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles is going viral on social media for some distressing messages seen from above. (Sky5) -
A patch of undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles is going viral on social media for some distressing messages seen from above. (Sky5) -
A patch of undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles is going viral on social media for some distressing messages seen from above. (Sky5) -
A patch of undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles is going viral on social media for some distressing messages seen from above. (Sky5) -
A patch of undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles is going viral on social media for some distressing messages seen from above. (Sky5)
Google Street View shows that “help” was also scrawled on the sidewalk the last time the company’s street view car drove on East Cesar Chavez in July 2023.
The largest “help” message — located at the bottom of the overhead image — is also seen spelled out in the July 2023 street view footage.
The apparent entrance to the lot is located at 599 N. Mission Road, which, according to Google Maps, is the site of a LATC Union Pacific Rail Yard, which is adjacent to an access road leading to a Southern Pacific Rail Yard.
It is unknown who made the messages and there is no evidence that points to foul play at this time, but speculation remains rife on social media.
