Does This Aerial Image on Google Maps Show a Murder?

Google's Street View, Map and Earth services, which uses satellites and airplanes to take aerial photos, have captured barcode-like calibration targets, strange structures in China's desert and a man urinating in his front yard . But an image recently called attention to by a Redditor shows what some are speculating to be a "gruesome" and "bloody" murder.

(Image: Google Maps)

The image seen in Verstoppertjebrug 1312 Almere, The Netherlands, shows a pier surrounded by water with what could be interpreted as a body with a trail of blood leading toward it.

The image was posted on the social news site Reddit a few days ago. Although it is difficult to zoom in far enough and the resolution is poor, the U.K.'s Sun stated that "the figure does resemble a human body lying down, with the 'head' on the right and the 'feet' on the left." Google's distance measurement tool puts it as a little more than five feet long.

"A body-shaped smudge of red on the right of the shot also makes it look as though a corpse has been dragged along the pier before being flipped over," the Sun stated.

(Image: Google Maps)

(Image: Google Maps)

But in addition to an unclear image, there are other questions that Redditors have brought up. For example, would someone come here in broad daylight and in view of potential pedestrians to dump a body?

With issues like this in mind, Redditors have come up with other plausible explanations as to what could be going in the image:

• MapleHamwich: Looks like two people with a wet dog in that picture.
• NoBromo1: [...] The "blood" ends where to pier ends. Weird, almost like it's actually just water or something.
• zaltana: [...] Further inspection of the aerial view indicates one person standing, and maybe a second one sitting or standing (look at the shadows). There is clearly two [elongated] shadows, possibly legs directly next to what appears to be a man standing upright. That brown smudge that looks like a body could very well be just a second person standing up. I'm clueless as to what that rectangular object maybe between them. Possibly a tackle box of some sort as they could be fishing. I have no idea what the reddish [appearance] of the wood could be. It's quite possible that it just may be two people fishing or something.

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