Ominous “HELP” messages carved onto debris in Los Angeles and spotted on Google Maps have raised alarm among social media users.
Zoomed-in satellite images of a rail yard off of the San Bernardino Freeway reveal messages that read “HELP” and “TRAFICO,” which means “traffic” in Spanish. Screenshots of the discovery have circulated on social media, raising concern over whether human trafficking or other danger was happening at the site.
The property belongs to Union Pacific Railroad, the Los Angeles Police Department told The Independent.
Authorities, however, swiftly put an end to the rumors of any immediate danger, saying the markings have been up for about a year.
“Photos circulating on Google maps that show the word ‘help’ on Union Pacific property were created about a year ago - no one was or is in danger,” a spokesperson for Union Pacific Police Department told The Independent.
“A man trespassed on Union Pacific and other nearby properties to repeatedly create these misleading messages. We want to remind the public that it is illegal - and more importantly unsafe - to trespass on Union Pacific property,” the spokesperson continued. “We do know the individual that creates these does so on neighboring properties as well.”
One X user, @LAGuy310, posted a video interviewing someone in the area who similarly attributed the messages to “one guy” who always writes the message. The interviewee didn’t know why the man, referred to as “Jose,” keeps writing it, but he has been doing so for years.
In response to the video, LAPD wrote on X: “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.”
Another person in the area also told the X user that someone named Jose had been writing the signs because “he needs help himself.” She added: “He won’t stop.”
