Thousands of people have been flocking to a blank billboard after sunset to see what they believe is the ghostly face of a slain 9-year-old girl.
"I'm very sure that's my little girl," Luis Arroyo said Thursday of his daughter, Laura.She was abducted from her San Diego home June 19 and was found dead 16 hours later at a nearby industrial park in Chula Vista.
Between 10,000 and 25,000 people were at the site Thursday night gazing at the white billboard, causing traffic jams. People have been going to the sign for at least two weeks, police Lt. Richard Strickland said Friday.
As the sun fades and street lights begin to shine, believers say, a murky impression of the dark-haired, third-grader looking off to the sky appears.
Kelly Harmon, 26, of Chula Vista, said she also has seen the killer's image.
"Off to the right you can see his face, too," she said. "Eventually, her face will fade away, and all we'll see is his face. That's when he'll be caught."
Police hope the publicity may help find the killer, Detective Wayne Maxey said.
Arroyo, 33, said he took his wife and two young sons to see the billboard. "The boys didn't even know where we were going," he said. "We were driving along, and then they saw her, and they started screaming and crying, `Laura! Laura!' "
The billboard is about two miles from the Arroyo home and the place where Laura's body was discovered.