Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

LAPD Releases New Photo of Missing Tourist Elisa Lam

Elisa-Lam-missing.jpg
Elisa Lam (Photo courtesy LAPD)

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

Though there have been tips coming in to the Los Angeles Police Department regarding missing Canadian tourist Elisa Lam, there has yet to be a significant lead in the 21-year-old woman's suspicious disappearance. Today the LAPD has released a second photo of the University of British Columbia (UBC) student who was last seen January 31 in the lobby of the Skid Row-adjacent Cecil Hotel in Downtown.

The Vancouver, BC native had been in California just a few days when she went missing and dropped all communication with her family back at home--a move that alarmed her relatives and prompted them to contact authorities.

The LAPD also noted today in an updated missing person release that Lam "possibly suffers from mild depression."

The missing woman was expected to head up to Santa Cruz as part of her travels.

Lam is described as an Asian woman of Chinese descent. She has black hair, brown eyes and stands 5 feet 4 inches tall. She weighs about 115 pounds. She is fluent in English and also speaks Cantonese. According to the recently-established "Find Elisa Lam" Facebook page, Lam was last seen wearing a purple/blue t-shirt and black basketball shorts, and she was not wearing her glasses.

Anyone with information about Lam is asked to contact the LAPD.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right