Body of Missing 21 Year Old Canadian Tourist Elisa Lam Found in LA Hotel Water Tank

The sad conclusion of the search for missing Elisa Lam.

Police have identified the body found  in a water tank on the roof of a downtown Los Angeles hotel is that of missing 21-year-old Elisa Lam, a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia. Lam traveled to California by herself on January 27, 2013 and was last seen by workers at the Cecil Hotel on January 31. Police have yet to say whether Lam’s death was the result of foul play or a bizarre accident. The body was found by hotel maintenance worker while checking into complaints of poor water pressure.

Police say they have determined that a body found in a water tank on the roof of a downtown Los Angeles hotel is a Canadian tourist who’d been missing for nearly three weeks.

Police spokeswoman Officer Diana Figueroa said Tuesday night that investigators used body markings to identify 21-year-old Elisa Lam, a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia who traveled to California alone and was last seen at the hotel on Jan. 31.

Earlier Tuesday a hotel maintenance worker found the body while looking into complaints of poor water pressure.

Accident or foul play? According to accounts the roof had been previously searched. Although the water tanks are not locked, access to “the roof is secured with an alarm, and a lock, and a key to the door access. Hmm? So who had the key and clearance to this door and was the alarm working properly?

The LAPD told CBC News that the rooftop had previously been searched, though it’s unclear if the water tanks had been checked. There is no security camera on the roof.

LAPD Sgt. Rudy Lopez said anyone could have opened the tanks, but access to “the roof is secured with an alarm, and a lock, and a key to the door access.”