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Body Found on Roof of Cecil Hotel in Downtown, Could Be That of Missing Tourist Elisa Lam [UPDATED]
What began as a "confined space rescue" on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles has become a recovery operation to remove a dead body from a water tank.
The investigation has just gotten underway on the boutique hotel's rooftop, but preliminary and unconfirmed speculation suggests the possibility the body is that of Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old tourist from Vancouver, Canada, who has been missing since January 31.
Lam was last seen in the hotel lobby; she had been staying there during her visit to Los Angeles. The LAPD recently released video of Lam behaving strangely in the hotel's elevator.
Authorities are currently working to remove the body. Currently any connection to the Lam case is speculation.
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UPDATE 2:12 PM: A few more details have been made available regarding the discovery of the body, however a positive identification has yet to be made, so any reports the body is that of Elisa Lam remain speculative.
Authorities can confirm the body is that of a woman in her 20s, according to City News Service. Officer Bruce Borihanh of the LAPD's Media Relations said the body was found floating in one of the water tanks on the roof of the hotel after hotel guests complained of poor water pressure in the hotel.
UPDATE 5:30 PM: Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter said his office hoped to have an
identification tonight, reports City News Service. "It could be done visually or with fingerprints. It depends on how long the body has been in the tank," said Winter.
Meanwhile, at the hotel, guests and residents have remarked they're pretty grossed out at the notion they've been using water to shower and drink that may have been held with a dead body.
"I'm really disgusted," Annette Suzuki told the L.A. Times. "Wouldn't you be if there was a dead body in the water tank you're drinking from."
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This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
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