Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
#elisalam #missingpersonsmysteries
In this video I present the case of the tragic disappearance and death of 21 year old Elisa Lam in 2013.
Elisa was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to parents originally from Hong Kong. Elisa had been a student at UBC but was not enrolled at the time she went missing. She had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and clinical depression and had been prescribed various medications to help her deal with this.
In late January of 2013 Elisa travelled from BC to California alone. On January 26 she arrived in Los Angeles, and after 2 days she checked into the Cecil Hotel - a place with a very dark history.
Elisa initially shared a room with other guests, but they soon complained of her odd behavior and she was moved to her own room.
Shortly before she went missing she visited a popular bookstore and the owner said that Elisa had appeared to be in good spirits and she had purchased books as gifts to take back to her family in BC.
Elisa also attended a live taping of the TV show Conan in Burbank, but she was removed from the premises after sending a disturbing letter to the host.
Elisa had been calling her parents every day of her trip, and on January 31 they didn't hear from her all day. This was the same day she was supposed to check out of the Cecil hotel and leave for Santa Cruz. her parents became worried and immediately contacted the LAPD and flew to Los Angeles to search for their daughter.
The LAPD searched the hotel as best as they could, and canine teams even searched the roof of the building. Police posted flyers with Elisa's face all over the neighborhood and spread her story through the local media.
After weeks of searching to no avail, Elisa was found on the morning of February 19. Guests at the Cecil Hotel had been complaining of low water pressure and dark water coming out of their faucets. Hotel maintenance worker Santiago Lopez found Elisa floating in one of the 4 water tanks on the roof of the building. Workers had to drain the tank and cut it open to retrieve Elisa's body.
The LAPD stated that there was no sign of physical/sexual assault. The coroner stated that the cause of death was accidental drowning. Toxicology reports showed a small amount of alcohol and no recreational drugs in her system. These tests also indicated that Elisa may have stopped taking her prescribed medication.
Doors and stairs leading to the hotel roof were locked and rigged with alarms, but it was possible that Elisa used the fire escape to access the roof. However, it is unclear how she got into the tanks - staff have to use ladders to access the tank hatches and there were no ladders found at the scene.
Elisa's room key, wallet and other belongings were found - but not her cell phone.
In September 2013 Elisa's parents filed a wrongful death suit against the hotel, but this was eventually dismissed in 2015.
Many people have drawn parallels between this case and the 2005 movie Dark Water. In that movie, the main characters move into a rundown apartment building and deal with a faulty elevator and dark water coming out of the faucets. They eventually find the body of a missing girl in one of the water tanks on the roof of the building, just like the Elisa Lam case.
This story has also inspired many other creative works throughout the years.
This just remains a very strange and tragic case, and my heart goes out to Elisa's family and friends.
I hope you found this video interesting and informative, and if you're interested in watching more of my content please consider subscribing to my channel - I upload at least one new video per week.
Thanks for watching!
#elisalam #missingpersonsmysteries
In this video I present the case of the tragic disappearance and death of 21 year old Elisa Lam in 2013.
Elisa was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to parents originally from Hong Kong. Elisa had been a student at UBC but was not enrolled at the time she went missing. She had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and clinical depression and had been prescribed various medications to help her deal with this.
In late January of 2013 Elisa travelled from BC to California alone. On January 26 she arrived in Los Angeles, and after 2 days she checked into the Cecil Hotel - a place with a very dark history.
Elisa initially shared a room with other guests, but they soon complained of her odd behavior and she was moved to her own room.
Shortly before she went missing she visited a popular bookstore and the owner said that Elisa had appeared to be in good spirits and she had purchased books as gifts to take back to her family in BC.
Elisa also attended a live taping of the TV show Conan in Burbank, but she was removed from the premises after sending a disturbing letter to the host.
Elisa had been calling her parents every day of her trip, and on January 31 they didn't hear from her all day. This was the same day she was supposed to check out of the Cecil hotel and leave for Santa Cruz. her parents became worried and immediately contacted the LAPD and flew to Los Angeles to search for their daughter.
The LAPD searched the hotel as best as they could, and canine teams even searched the roof of the building. Police posted flyers with Elisa's face all over the neighborhood and spread her story through the local media.
After weeks of searching to no avail, Elisa was found on the morning of February 19. Guests at the Cecil Hotel had been complaining of low water pressure and dark water coming out of their faucets. Hotel maintenance worker Santiago Lopez found Elisa floating in one of the 4 water tanks on the roof of the building. Workers had to drain the tank and cut it open to retrieve Elisa's body.
The LAPD stated that there was no sign of physical/sexual assault. The coroner stated that the cause of death was accidental drowning. Toxicology reports showed a small amount of alcohol and no recreational drugs in her system. These tests also indicated that Elisa may have stopped taking her prescribed medication.
Doors and stairs leading to the hotel roof were locked and rigged with alarms, but it was possible that Elisa used the fire escape to access the roof. However, it is unclear how she got into the tanks - staff have to use ladders to access the tank hatches and there were no ladders found at the scene.
Elisa's room key, wallet and other belongings were found - but not her cell phone.
In September 2013 Elisa's parents filed a wrongful death suit against the hotel, but this was eventually dismissed in 2015.
Many people have drawn parallels between this case and the 2005 movie Dark Water. In that movie, the main characters move into a rundown apartment building and deal with a faulty elevator and dark water coming out of the faucets. They eventually find the body of a missing girl in one of the water tanks on the roof of the building, just like the Elisa Lam case.
This story has also inspired many other creative works throughout the years.
This just remains a very strange and tragic case, and my heart goes out to Elisa's family and friends.
I hope you found this video interesting and informative, and if you're interested in watching more of my content please consider subscribing to my channel - I upload at least one new video per week.
Thanks for watching!
