The body of a Canadian tourist, who was missing for about two weeks, was found in a water tank on top of the historic Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. The quests at the hotel complained of low water pressure and when the maintenance man went to investigate, he came upon Elisa Lam’s body, according to Fox News on Thursday, Feb 21, 2013.
Today there are concerns about the water that the hotel quests use for drinking and washing, as the young woman’s body was most likely there for the two weeks she had been missing. The Department of Public Health has issued a “Do Not Drink” order while tests are being done on the water in the tank. A couple from U.K. felt sick after learning there was a body floating in the water they had been using while at the hotel as guests.
The investigation into the death of Lam continues today as law enforcement are trying to get to the bottom of just what transpired for Lam to end up dead in a water cistern on top of a hotel roof. They are not sure if it was a bizarre freak accident or if foul play was involved.
The last known security camera tape of Lam showed her getting on the elevator alone and acting as if she were almost hiding. She was smiling and appeared to be laughing, as seen on Fox News live on Thursday.
Video: You can check out Elisa Lam's video tape as she gets on the elevator here from YouTube or at the left side of this article.
The hotel is a famous spot in L.A. as it was occasionally the home to the man dubbed the “Night Stalker,” Richard Ramirez, a serial killer decades ago. Jack Unterweger, who was convicted of murdering nine prostitutes in Europe, also once called the hotel home.
Lam was keeping in touch with her family daily back in Canada while traveling in the U.S.. Her plans were to head to Santa Cruz next, 350 miles north of L.A., but when the communication with her family stopped, they knew something was wrong.
Why Lam was on the roof and how she got into the tank is a question authorities are trying to answer. The hotel does not have security cameras on the roof. To get to the roof, she would have taken the elevator to the tenth floor and then travel up a staircase to the roof. The locked door to the roof has an alarm system to prevent people from entering the area. Then the water tanks, or cisterns, are on platforms that rise 10 feet above the roof.
A ladder would be needed to climb up to the platform and a person would have to climb on the side of the tank to get into the water. Getting to this water tank is not an easy feat.
Guests in the hotel talked to the media about the water pressure, complaining that the facets offered only a “trickle” the last couple of days. British tourist Michael Baugh and his wife, who were guests at the hotel, told Fox News that the minute they found out about the body in the water tank, they "felt sick to their stomachs." This is water used for drinking and washing, so you can imagine how they felt. This was their first trip to the U.S. and certainly one they will never forget!
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