Elisa Lam

About Elisa Lam

Elisa Lam was a Canadian university student (University of British Columbia) from Vancouver, British Columbia. She gained posthumous notoriety due to the mysterious circumstances of her disappearance and death at the infamous Cecil Hotel (now Stay on Main) in Los Angeles, California. Security footage of her behaving erratically in the hotel elevator went viral, fueling widespread speculation, conspiracy theories, true crime discussions, and media coverage (including Netflix's 2021 docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel). She had a history of bipolar disorder, documented in her blog posts and confirmed in official reports.
She disappeared on January 31, 2013, at age 21 while staying at the Cecil Hotel during a solo trip. Her body was discovered on February 19, 2013, in one of the hotel's rooftop water tanks (after guests complained of low water pressure and odd taste/smell). The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office officially ruled her death an accidental drowning on June 20, 2013, with bipolar disorder listed as a significant contributing factor. The autopsy showed no evidence of foul play, trauma, sexual assault, or illegal drugs/alcohol in her system (only trace amounts of prescription medications for bipolar disorder, indicating she had not been taking them consistently). Toxicology and forensic findings supported that she likely experienced a manic or psychotic episode due to unmanaged bipolar disorder, leading her to access the roof (via a fire escape or unlocked door), climb into an open water tank, and drown accidentally. The full coroner's report (publicly available) noted her body was nude and moderately decomposed, with her clothing found floating in the tank.