Elisa Lam (Cecil Hotel detail)
The bizarre elevator surveillance video of Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel went viral. Her body was found in a rooftop water tank. Her death was ruled accidental drowning related to bipolar disorder.
On February 19, 2013, guests at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles complained about low water pressure and dark-colored water. Maintenance workers found the body of Elisa Lam, 21, a Canadian tourist, in one of the rooftop water tanks.
Elevator surveillance footage showing Lam acting strangely—pressing multiple buttons, appearing to talk to someone unseen, and making unusual gestures—went viral and spawned conspiracy theories.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled Lam's death an accidental drowning, with bipolar disorder listed as a significant contributing factor. Lam had stopped taking her medications.
The case was the subject of the 2021 Netflix docuseries 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel,' which examined both the mystery and the internet sleuths who investigated it.
Curated starting points for verifying and researching this case. Direct references are checked; search links are provided as further-reading aids. ColdCaseIndex is an index of public information — see a case correction? Email info@coldcaseindex.com.
Have Information About This Case?
Cold cases are solved when someone comes forward. Even a detail that seems minor can matter. If you have any information about this case, contact law enforcement through one of these channels:
- FBI Tips (tips.fbi.gov) — submit a tip online to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- FBI Tip Line: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
- The local police department or sheriff's office in California, or the state bureau of investigation
Tips can usually be submitted anonymously. To report an error on this page, email info@coldcaseindex.com.