‘Miracle’ Billboard Loses Its Lighting

The lights that illuminate a blank billboard in Chula Vista were turned off Monday in the hope of turning away the thousands of spectators who have come to see what many say is the image of a slain girl.

Although investigators say the attention focused on 9-year-old Laura Arroyo has brought in new leads about who might have snatched her from her San Ysidro home last month and then killed her, they say they also understand the billboard company’s decision to switch off the lights.

The lights will remain off for a few weeks, until a public service message benefiting the Arroyo family goes up, said Frank Sanchez, general manager of Martin Outdoor Advertising. He would not specify what the message will say.

“We’re trying to do the best for everybody. Someone had to make the call. . . . The area needs a little rest,” Sanchez said. “We’ve had many, many calls from area residents down there looking for relief.”

Visitors have been arriving for more than a week to view the billboard along Beyer Boulevard, saying the light and shadow on the white board have created a likeness of a young girl.

“We’ve received a lot of calls because of the billboard, some of which we’re skeptical about--such as composites of suspects that people can see in the billboard--but we’ve received a lot of leads. We’ll check everything out,” Chula Vista Police Detective Don Hunter said.

Hunter would not say what kind of leads police have received since people have begun seeing the image, but fellow Detective Wayne Maxey said some of them look promising.

“It has been helpful,” Hunter said. “In a case like this, we want to keep it in the forefront of people’s thought. As long as there’s people talking, there’s always the possibility we’ll get more information.”

Laura Arroyo disappeared July 19 after answering a knock at the front door of her family’s apartment about 9 p.m. Her beaten and stabbed body was found early the next morning on the sidewalk of a Chula Vista industrial complex, about 5 miles from her home, police said.

Hunter said he understands the billboard company’s decision to turn off the lights, saying, “I really don’t see that they had any choice.”

Police say more than 20,000 people viewed the billboard Sunday night, and they have been concerned about the thousands of visitors in cars and on foot creating a safety hazard. Police made their first arrest at the site Sunday--of a suspected drunk driver who argued with an officer, Lt. Ross Withers said.

The image can been seen only at night after three lights at the base of the billboard are switched on by a timer. Each fixture contains a 400-watt bulb. The company changed the original 250-watt bulbs Friday in an attempt to end the nightly spectacle, but the crowds continued.

The large crowds began Thursday after media reports on the image, which some spectators are calling a miracle.

On Saturday, the timer was shut off so the lights would not come on, but someone figured out how to turn them on, Sanchez said. On Monday morning, workers took “precautions to ensure that they will not be turned on,” Sanchez said.

He added: “It’s really become a media hype, I think. People will see what they want to see.”