Google Maps users spot disturbing ‘help’ signs etched into ground in LA
Google Maps users spot disturbing ‘help’ signs etched into ground in LA
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Mysterious ‘HELP’ and ‘TRÁFFICO’ signs visible on Google Earth are causing concern in downtown Los Angeles.
Satellite imagery shows the lettering constructed from old pipes and wood chunks near rows of shipping containers. The site is located at the Union Pacific railroad yard at the intersection of E Cesar Chavez Ave and Mission Road where many homeless people pitch their tents overnight.
The words ‘LAPD’ [Los Angeles Police Department] and ‘Federal’ can also be seen written in the debris. Imagery from Living Atlas shows that the signs have been there since at least August 15, 2024. It is unclear exactly when they were constructed, but the lettering is not visible on the same date in 2023.
Accounts on X attribute it to a homeless man living in the encampment, but there has been no confirmation of that. There are concerns that whoever is behind it may be attempting to draw authorities’ attention to illegal activity in the area, particularly cases of human trafficking.
LA is recognised as one of the top three entry points for human trafficking in the US. And downtown has long been a hotbed of sexual exploitation and forced labour. Widespread poverty is one of the key factors creating conditions ripe for such exploitation.
