Lucrecia Macias Barajas, a mother of six who was missing, was one of two individuals found dead earlier this month in a homeless encampment in Los Angeles, authorities reported.
Newsweek has reached out to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the mayor’s office for comment and confirmation via email on Sunday.
The Context
Barajas was found along with one other person, a man in his 30s whose identity has notyet been released, at the 1200 block of Huntley Drive in the Westlake district of the city, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Another person died in an RV fire in that same encampment near downtown Los Angeles earlier this year.
Los Angeles, and California more broadly, continue to struggle with high levels of homelessness, with Los Angeles County reporting approximately 75,312 people experiencing homelessness in 2024.
In 2023, 2,508 people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles died. Between 2019 and 2021, the homeless mortality rate in the county was 56 percent, according to the county’s department of public health.
“Drug and alcohol overdose continued to be the leading cause of death among unhoused individuals in 2023, accounting for 45% of all deaths,” a March 2025 public health press release said.
What To Know
Barajas, 46, was a U.S. Army veteran who had been missing for several days. She had spent time with her family just days before she was found by them on May 12. Family members traced her cell phone signal to the tent where she was found, KTLA reported.
Authorities arrived at the site around 7:20 p.m. local time on May 12. ABC7 reported that animal services was called to pick up two dogs from the scene.
“We have never known heartache like we are living at this moment,” members of her family wrote in an online fundraiser for her memorial fees. “This is truly a moment of shock, sadness, and need.”
The GoFundMe seeks to raise $12,000 to help ensure that she will be “buried next to our father Miguel Macias,” her family wrote. Her father is buried in Nicaragua, according to People magazine. Meanwhile, $8,000 has been raised as of Sunday afternoon.
What People Are Saying
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement to KTLA: “This case reinforces our urgent need to address this grave humanitarian crisis. We will continue collaborating with the council office to bring more Angelenos inside and do all that we can to improve public safety.”
Amely Becerra, one of Barajas’ daughters, told KTLA: “I want people to know she wasn’t a homeless drug addict, because that’s not true. Some people are coming to that conclusion and that’s not fair. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s office, whose district includes the Westlake neighborhood, told the Los Angeles Times in a statement: “Our office is working closely with city departments and community partners to respond to this incident and ensure impacted communities have the resources they need. Councilmember Hernandez remains committed to ending the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles by working urgently to bring people indoors to access lifesaving care and services.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor for the Second District, Holly J. Mitchell, said in a March 2025 press release revealing homeless mortality rates in L.A.: “This report reinforces that shortening the timeframe people experience homelessness is a matter of life or death, which is why we need to urgently achieve Functional Zero across LA County.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a Monday press release announcing his model for addressing encampments: “There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets. Local leaders asked for resources—we delivered the largest state investment in history…Now, we’re giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care. The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses.”
What Happens Next?
Barajas’ cause of death remains under investigation.
On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom called upon local governments to “resolve” homeless encampments with “urgency” and “humanity.”
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