Mysterious Google Earth Images Show ‘Help’ Messages Scrawled on Ground

‘Help’ and other words were etched on a plot of land in Los Angeles.

Police have responded to viral Google Earth images that show the word “help” spelled out a dozen times on a piece of land.

This week, Google Earth users spotted satellite images of the words “help,” mysteriously etched about several times on the ground in downtown Los Angeles.

Google’s aerial photos show the lettering constructed from old pipes and wood chunks near rows of shipping containers.

HELP, HELP, HELP, TRAFICO, HELP, TERRORISMO, HELP.

What’s going on in LA? ???? pic.twitter.com/Tl6KNpPTEx

— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) January 26, 2025

The Spanish words for “trafficking,” “federal” and “terrorism” were also written in the debris, as well as “LAPD” [Los Angeles Department] and “FBI.”

The messages were written on a small triangular plot of land along the Los Angeles River in Lincoln Heights, near the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mission Road.

The aerial photos sparked widespread concern online — with Google Earth users fearing that the messages seen in the satellite images could be related to human trafficking and drug cartels.

A Mystery Solved

However, according to ABC 7 News, the mystery behind the images has now been solved.

The Los Angeles news outlet reports that the Google Earth photos were actually taken back in November 2023 and that the person responsible for leaving the messages has been doing this for more than a year in empty lots in the area.

On Sunday morning, the LAPD further investigated the location of the “help” messages and say that they “found no evidence of criminal activity or threat in the area.”

The LAPD Central Division also responded to a social media user who took it upon himself to investigate, assuring that there was no immediate cause for alarm.

“We’ve had several different contacts with the individual you speak of,” the LAPD writes, according to ABC 7 News. “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.”

PetaPixel previously reported on a Google Street View image of a man unloading what appears to be a body from the trunk of a car that became a clue in a Spanish murder investigation.

A Google Street View image also led police to solve the mystery of a woman who wandered off from her home and couldn’t be found.