Elisa Lam (21) was found dead in a hotel water tank after being missing for 19 days

[blighted star]

The link I posted earlier, from the author's blog (where Poppy got the pix from) has had some new information added to the coments section 18hrs ago. Someone has posted a screenshot of a chinese language fb page & a post made on 18 Feb at 17:14:58 that says

"Elisa Lam is in hotel water tank, seems nolife,hurry up ( to find her ).

I copied the post exactly as it appears. To see it follow the original link to the author's page, scroll right to the bottom for the comments, then click the fb link the poster has added. Can anyone post a screenshot? My tablet just won't let me do some things.

Sorry for being a complete wanker & replying to my own post but I can't get my edit function to work from mobile.

I just did a little date checking thinking I could discount that weird post as having any factual basis, but of course it wasn't going to be that easy.

I checked over 10 different sources, most are vague & just say "this week" or "last month" etc. IF (huge HUGE IF) the time/date stamp on that post is accurate though, then that creepy little comment above becomes disturbingly significant

- because according to the only news reports I can find that offer specific dates, maintenance did not open the tank until..1 DAY LATER ON 19TH FEB
Realistically, some 14yr old schoolboy is probably just getting kicks messing with date stamps & watching everyone flipout when they find the "mysterious clue". But if there is even a teensy chance it's authentic, & that post really appeared the day before they checked the tanks re low water pressure, then this case just got weirder.

(& it was so terribly lacking in weirdness already, sorry Olivia) Olivia> < Me


ETA & of course now that I've already gone & quoted myself, I CAN get back into desktop long enough to edit. Grrr. Stoopid tablet (insert Mutley speak)

[bowieluva]

My guess is someone falsified a Facebook message.

[animosity]

What is interesting here, though, is that the strain of TB is unique to this outbreak in a relatively small area in LA. This area happens to be right around the hotel where Elisa Lam was found. They are estimating over 4000 people have been exposed. It has become a big concern, not just for the transient population, but for many others.

i'll admit that her name is a coincidence, but having a specific strain is not exactly notable. tb is very, very contagious - it's airborne and has a long lifespan. symptoms aren't noticeable right away.

also, it's hard to treat, as the treatments are given periodically over the better part of a year... you have to be on top of it and get the full treatment, not something the homeless population is big on.

to me, it makes complete sense that a specific strain is rampaging through the homeless district in LA, and that anyone spending a sizable amount of time there (residents, social workers, business workers), whether homeless or not, is becoming infected.

[Ruthven]

Hmmm...guy on youtube caught something. Maybe the elevator vid is edited:

Also, around 2:58, when the door starts to close, it appears to jump. The camera seems to record smooth enough that the door should not be jerky like that. Not trying to start a rumor or be all 'conspiracy theory', but that normally happens when something has been edited. The perfect out would be to cut away all the footage showing her being attacked and splice it back to the door shutting. The person who would do that obviously had to have access to the raw footage or data. Just sayin'.

And another one added:

if you look at the bottom of the video, where the numbers are displayed. you can actually see several jumps in the actual play. so yea, you're suggestion of video editing is a valid one.

Check it out, go to around 2:52 where you can see the number jumps before the 2:58 door one:

[animosity]

yes, i see the door jump the first time it closes, but not the second and third times. i can't read the numbers though.

i don't remember everything about the case... what if she had just been on ambien and sleepwalked into the tank. also, were those clothes ever found? wasn't she found naked? it seems like if the clothes were found, it's possible she put herself there but if they weren't then someone must have disposed of them. i guess some maintenance could have disposed of them.

[Beantown Bitch]

Never saw that whole video. Sure wierd how she walks in just fine it seems but then presses the buttons and nothing happens. Only when she gets out towards the end the damn door open and closes 4 times? But could that be her pressing the button from the putside and we just don't see her? She sure seems to be hiding from someone. Or should i say "something"

[songbirdsong]

yes, i see the door jump the first time it closes, but not the second and third times. i can't read the numbers though.

i don't remember everything about the case... what if she had just been on ambien and sleepwalked into the tank. also, were those clothes ever found? wasn't she found naked? it seems like if the clothes were found, it's possible she put herself there but if they weren't then someone must have disposed of them. i guess some maintenance could have disposed of them.

If she took Ambien, taking her own clothes off would not have been a stretch. It can cause hallucinations, too. Horrid drug.

[animosity]

If she took Ambien, taking her own clothes off would not have been a stretch. It can cause hallucinations, too. Horrid drug.

i agree. you do all sorts of stuff on that one. i think i'm going on ambien for this one. questions i would have though are what time was the elevator thing? were the medical reports ever released?

[TupeloHoney]

If she took Ambien, taking her own clothes off would not have been a stretch. It can cause hallucinations, too. Horrid drug.

i agree. you do all sorts of stuff on that one. i think i'm going on ambien for this one. questions i would have though are what time was the elevator thing? were the medical reports ever released?

About eight years ago, my ex-husband of the unholy matrimony was prescribed several pills, including Ambien, to take both the night before and the morning of a dental procedure. He took two Ambien -- and one pill I can't remember -- about 15 minutes before we left for the dentist and was already acting extremely bizarre when we pulled out of the driveway. It only got worse, and about halfway there (maybe another 15 minutes) he was screaming "WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE? WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?" and threatening to jump out of the car.

Just a few weeks later, our dentist stopped prescribing it because an elderly male patient on Ambien had wondered out of the waiting room and across an EXTREMELY dangerous intersection to the grocery store and bought all kinds of crazy shit.

Anyway, I hope her loved ones get some answers.

[morbidT]

I loved Ambien when I was taking it. I didn't have any side affects at all. It knocked me out within 10-15 minutes of taking it and I slept all night. I would wake up in the same spot I fell asleep in. No missing food, no weird credit card charges, no missing cash, nothing. I miss Ambien.

The Ambien theory is a good one, though.

[poppy213]

yes, i see the door jump the first time it closes, but not the second and third times. i can't read the numbers though.

i don't remember everything about the case... what if she had just been on ambien and sleepwalked into the tank. also, were those clothes ever found? wasn't she found naked? it seems like if the clothes were found, it's possible she put herself there but if they weren't then someone must have disposed of them. i guess some maintenance could have disposed of them.

I believe one of the reasons they stated that the tank got clogged was from her clothes.

[Ruthven]

lol guys look, they mentioned MDS in this article about the facebook message:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/46...ecil-hotel.htm

[animosity]

lol guys look, they mentioned MDS in this article about the facebook message:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/46...ecil-hotel.htm

shout out! woo!

[xxStarryxxEyedxx]

I saw the link too and was like woohoo! Anyway, this case is so bothersome. I want to know what happened so badly!

[morbidT]

From the article linked above.

Amateur investigators, such as those on a forum called My Death Space are sceptical... and rightly so.

[SuchAClassicGirl]

Amateur as in you don't have a title but some of you guys are amazing with your sleuth skills. Even when i was in lurking mode I'd read a headline somewhere on yahoo and head straight here for the details as the evidence was picked apart and theories presented weeks before investigators caught things.

[blighted star]

Did crime drama "Castle" use Elisa Lam's death in the episode "Watershed", which told the story of a student's body, discovered in a water tower at the "Cedric" Hotel rather than the Cecil ? They didn't wait long.

http://www .huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/14/elisa-lam-death-castle-season-finale_n_3274668.html


I found an Asian news site that said a week ago that there was an announcement the toxicology would be released this week, so instead of posting the link I rushed off to find it. Can't find anything new though & I lost the link in the process - seeing as it appears to be wrong, I guess there's little point posting it anyway. It was supposed to be out in May though?? So maybe sometime soon?

I feel really bad for this girl's family, she had a whole 21 years of life that are being completely eclipsed by the mystery & conspiracy theories surrounding a single night. Now this TV show, which probably had the usual "not based on any person or event etcetc". It sucks. She seemed like a really cool girl.

[Shooteryz]

A man went to the hotel and video taped the area and the routes to the roof. Since it was in Chinese here is a translation/breakdown.

How close can you get to the water tank?

First, he goes to the fire escape which is open and can be accessed to reach the top floor without any problems. However, it is dangerous and had someone actually carried Elisa up there, it would have been extremely difficult for them. Second, the pathway that can only be accessed by employees is locked off and sets off an alarm. The narrator proceeds to climb up the fire exit to reach the top and from there, it looks shockingly easy to access the water tanks, especially as there is a stairway and building to its side from which you can jump off.





Again, I was surprised at how easy it was to reach the top through the fire escape. The guy just went up there and there was no security. The video ends on that note (major props to FilmTransformer for doing this)
*from Blighted stars earlier link.

After watching the Chinese video, I start to wonder if anyone took fingerprints of the ladder. I mean...wouldn't her fingerprints be on the ladder if she climbed it. I also saw doors leading to the roof that probably only maintenance would have access to. I wonder if the handles were also fingerprinted. This story is too weird.

[wasthinking]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2...wning/2443061/ c

LOS ANGELES ? The mysterious death of the young woman whose body was found in a water tank on the roof of a cheap downtown hotel has been ruled accidental.

The cause of death was listed as accidental due to drowning, with bipolar disorder listed as a significant condition, he said

[DiaDeLosMuertos]

I fully expected something to be in her system too.

[Harlette]

Woman in water tank drowned accidentally

Los Angeles investigators say they have solved a horrifying hotel mystery that started last February at a local hotel with a gruesome history.

They say 21-year-old Elisa Lam, who was from Canada, died from accidental drowning in the Cecil Hotel's water tank. Her body was not discovered in the tank for almost three weeks, during which time hotel occupants used water from it.

Despite theories of foul play, the L.A. County Coroner ruled the death an accident.

Investigators say Lam was suffering from bipolar disorder, but the coroner's office says that did not contribute to her death.
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/06...ruled-accident

idk.....

[summersfun08]

So, the medical examiner said her bi polar disorder was not a contributing facter in her death and they haven't released toxicology reports; this is what happens when you die in a foreign country. SWEEP, SWEEP; RUG!

[AnnieBelle]

Nothing adds up with this being an "accident".....why, on earth, would she climb into the water tank? And watching the tapes of her, and her weird behavior, on the elevator the day she disappeared? She was interacting with someone else....either hiding from them or whatever. I think the investigators and ME fucked up on this one.

[AnnieBelle]

lol guys look, they mentioned MDS in this article about the facebook message:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/46...ecil-hotel.htm

*happy dance*

[blighted star]

I watched the Japanese version of Dark Water a few weeks ago, purely because so many people on Asian sites were mentioning it regarding this case. It's shockingly similar (well until the horror bathtub/lift scenes toward the end). If they made a movie about this case they could quite easily use many scenes from Dark Water to tell the story.



I absolutely do NOT think there was any freaky wooOooOoo spooky supernatural weirdness going down, but I do wonder if either version of the movie screened during her stay, or if she had seen it previously. What happened to her is so like certain parts of Dark Water that it almost stretches credulity to think it coincidence. In fact, had she died BEFORE the movie was made, no-one would believe it wasn't about her - it's just that similar. & with no foul play & now apparently no drugs or alcohol involved either, an interest in the movie is the only non-deliberate explanation I can think of for the way she died.

In fact, it's so very, very similar that I wonder if she was on some kind of fan mission to kind of act out the lift & water tower scenes? & then there was the flooding on a floor above hers the night she went missing -again, just like the movie & again I don't think it was the spirits of the dead. Maybe the flooding reminded her of the movie & started the whole tragic sequence rolling. Or maybe she snuck up & caused the flooding & that's partly why she looked like she was hiding sometimes in the lift footage.



Was it raining in the area in the days preceding her disappearance? Could she have glanced up from the streets below her hotel & spotted water tanks on the roof & been reminded of the movie? It was raining heavily at my place when I watched it, & I'm finding since that the sound of rain, & the image of umbrellas, bathtubs, water tanks & old elevators gets me thinking about Dark Water again. If Eliza Lam saw Dark Water too, maybe she had the same triggers & decided to take things a few steps further & act out the scene where the girl reaches into the tank for her dropped satchel. Maybe, just like the little girl in the movie, she reached too far?




(Sigh) I don't know. The (lack of) toxicology results make it all the more confusing. There has to be some connection with that movie though. There are too many similarities. & if you rule out coincidence & the supernatural, what you're left with is human action. I'll be very surprised if she never saw Dark Water.