Who found Elisa Lam in water tank? How did she die?

Original crime-thriller series are gaining popularity over the past few years and Netflix’s Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel is one such documentary that is based on the true story of a 21-year-old Canadian student Elisa Lam, who disappeared mysteriously from a Los Angeles Hotel. After searching for almost 3 weeks, she found dead inside a huge water tank.

Who was Elisa Lam?

Elisa Lam aka Lam Ho Yi was a 21-year-old Canadian student born to a Chinese family in Hong Kong. She was studying in University of British Columbia before going to travel in the United States. Harry Potter and The Great Gatsby were her favourites along with fashion.

ELisa Lam death
Elisa Lam. a 21–year old Canadian student; Image via Tales of Crime

Lam travelled to the USA alone in January 2013 and planned to visit San Diego, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco but ended up with staying in Los Angeles only. She called her parents daily until 31 January and this was the day she went missing as her parents reported to police.

How did Elisa Lam die?

The series suggests the cause of Elisa Lam’s death was an accident. She forgot to take the medicines for her bipolar and climbed up for the fire escape from the outer side of building but fall into the water tank. So, she undressed herself and tried to come out bur failed and drowned but this verdict is somehow not completely true. However, with no suspects and signs of injury this conclusion is logically acceptable.

Where was she living in the USA?

Elisa Lam was living on the 5th floor of the Cecil hotel in Los Angeles, California. Her room was refurbished and renovated for the guest’s convenience. However, she used to live with girls but her strange behaviour of leaving odd notes in their beds left her alone and she was shifted to a separate room.

Elisa Lam mysterious murder photo
Elisa Lam; image via News.com.au

This place has a long established reputation for weirdness so Lam’s behaviour does not appear surprising to us.Cecil Hotel is located in the area that is filled with drugs, poverty, homelessness and many people murdered at this location. But the place is also budget friendly, home for many long term residents, special accommodation for tourists, and also all floors were accessed with the same elevators.

Who found Elisa Lam’s body?

Santiago Lopez found the body of Elisa Lam on 19th February 2013 in 1000 gallon water tank on the rooftop of the Cecil hotel while checking for low water pressure and the reason behind foul taste of water. Lam was naked and her clothes were floating in the tank water along with her watch and room key.

Cecil Hotel Elisa Lam
Investigation on the Cecil Hotel Roof Top after the discovery of Elisa Lam’s body; via BuzzFeed

There was a CCTV footage released by LAPD in which Lam is acting weirdly and showing bizarre behaviour. The clip was released before the discovery of her dead body in which the woman seems to be scared, or experiencing hallucinations.

Lakshya Kaushik

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