PALM BAY, Fla. — The defunct residential development known as the Compound has seen criminal activity, deadly off-road crashes, illegal trash dumping, and now, lost and abandoned dogs.

In response, a group of concerned citizens is trying to save the dogs and return them to their owners, or help them find new homes.

Since the landowners went bankrupt in 1991, the Compound has become a wasteland of 200 miles of run-down paved roads on 2,700 acres of land.

The city of Palm Bay only owns 235 acres of the property.

For more than three decades, locals — and later, people come from across the state — have illegally used it to ride ATVs, dirt bikes and off-road trucks.

Law enforcement officials say they have done their best to patrol the area, but the dogs have become an additional issue.

“I know there were other dogs found out there previously, I know there are dogs out there, we’ve seen dog tracks out there,” said Jessie Paige, who is part of the social media group called "Helping abandoned & lost dogs at the Compound in Palm Bay, FL."

The group has only been around for a couple of weeks since members heard about a dog named Luka, who was abandoned in the area and later rescued.

Now, Paige said several small teams go out and search on weekdays, but the big effort is on Saturdays.

“A lot of us are good at different things, so we are coming together as a team,” Paige said. “If you don’t know how to rescue, we are there to teach you. We are here to help.”

The big search group meets at 9 a.m. on Saturdays at J-A Bombardier Boulevard at the entrance to the Compound.