Hello,
Today is the start of unsolved week in which I am posting every day until Sunday. If theres a particular unsolved case you want me to explore this week, please feel free to give me a message here
Elisa Lam
Elisa Lamb was a 21 year old student who was travelling the United States by herself. Prior to her trip Elisa was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression , which meant she was on four different types of medication.
During her time in the States Elisa was staying at the Hotel Cecil (which has a dark history). She orginally shared a room with others before being asked to move into a separate room because she exhibited “odd” behaviour.
During Elisa’s travels, she would call her parents back in Canada every day to check in. On January 31, 2013 when Elisa was supposed to check out and fly to Santa Cruz, she didn’t make any contact with her parents. This brought up warning signals to her parents who immediately called Los Angeles police and flew there to help search for their missing daughter. Staff reportedly saw her alone in the hotel the day before which is what sparked their concern when she didn’t check out the following morning.
Police conducted a search in the hotel but they were only allowed in specific areas consisting of Elisa’s room, halls and the hotels roof. Upon the search they found no evidence in these areas on her whereabouts.
On February 6, 2013 Elise’s missing posters were plastered all over LA.
About a week later on February 14th the police released footage of the last time Elisa was seen showing signs of abnormal behaviour (you can watch it here) . Elisa is seen ducking in and out of the elevator, cowering against the walls, rubbing her forearms together and covering her ears; it also seems as if she’s hiding from someone . There has been speculation that the video footage released had been tampered with.
While the investigation into Elisa missing was taking place, the hotel started receiving complaints from the current guests at the time. These complaints weren’t about the investigation but in fact the water provided, how it had an odd taste and appeared black than crystal clear.
On February 19, 2013 Elisa Lam’s body was found floating in one of the four 1000 gallon water tanks on the roof of the Cecil Hotel.
Elisa body was found bloated and decomposing, She was naked with her clothes were floating next to her. During an autopsy they discovered blood pooled in her anal cavity which would suggest sexual assault however his could never be ruled as conclusive evidence as Elisa’s rectum was prolapsed from decomposition.
In order to get her body our the tank had to be drained and cut open because the service hatch was not big enough to get Elisa out meaning it questioned how she got into it. the cylinder tanks were 4foot by 8 and contained heavy lids which would have been impossible to close from inside the tank. This lead to questions on whether she was murdered however Elisa’s death was ruled an accidental drowning. Even with all this questionable evidence such as being naked, inside a water tank that she couldn’t of of accessed through the hatch and importantly was on the roof which required a staff key to get onto. The death was still ruled as accidental drowning.
Elisa’s autopsy report can be found here
It was later found that access to the roof is possible through the fire escape. But, Elisa was found without her phone and the search prior found nothing.
It was assumed her phone had been stolen as one of social media accounts were still being used. The tumblr blog she wrote on was still being posted on up until December 2013, 10 months after her death. Whether by her queuing her blog or a user is unknown it raised suspicions. Her blog is now bare, you have to scroll through her archives.
There has been SO many conspiracy theories around this case and I doubt we will ever find out what happened. The case is closed and no other investigations will ever be carried out to explore it more. Many people believe she could have been playing ‘the elevator game’, had a mental breakdown, or demonic spirits. Whereas this I believe it was foul play.
What do you think happened to Elisa?
Bethany
Hi Beth, could she have squeezed open the top of the water tank lid just enough to slip under it? It does look like she wasn’t well (bi-polar episode). I’m guessing she was in a paranoid state and not actually being followed or anything. In this state she would be vulnerable for a nasty piece to take advantage. Just my little thoughts, Margie
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She’d have had to of climbed in via a ladder and there was reports of no ladders being found at the scene! Interesting thought though and plausible, many believe the same as you! :+)
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It’s an interesting case and the theories are quite vast. It’s really quite weird how she ended up in there, considering how difficult it is to get in and out. More than likely murder from hotel staff maybe?
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I believe foul play by hotel staff too, especially the fact of being naked!
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