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LAPD Releases New Photo of Missing Tourist Elisa Lam

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

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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.

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