CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013 - #1

[jetsetsam]

Gotta ask the dumb question.

Do you think the police searched every room in the building?

Maybe she hasn't left the building, even if she was last seen in the lobby in her house slob shorts and T.

 

[Kaliste]

wow! i stumbled on this video on fb,
so i watched
then i read

the history of this hotel combined with the video
make me wish soulscape, tuba and house mouse
were still working those astrology charts

in my opinion i think it is very probable she got herself
stuck somewhere while hiding,
i really hope they have searched every mouse hole in that ***** hole

needless to say this is a very intriguing case
where on earth is she?
somethings so not right here.....
wish we could see all surveillance videos from her stay

I think that's a very, very good possibility.

 

[The Cheese]

And something else.

In the photos provided by the family, Elisa is quite the snappy dresser.

But in the video, she is dressed like a slob; what she would wear around the house when no one could see her.

And yet it is reported that she was last seen in the lobby in the morning wearing exactly what she is wearing in the video. Including flip flops?!

I would have thought she would get dressed up to even go to the lobby, and definitely to go out of the hotel.

Wow I hadn't noticed that. Google for reviews on this hostel, the ones talking about the showers. No showers in the rooms in the hostel part. The showers are all shared, and open. Perhaps someone caught her in the shower and she had to dress quickly? And now we see her trying to get away?

 

[The Cheese]

Gotta ask the dumb question.

Do you think the police searched every room in the building?

Maybe she hasn't left the building, even if she was last seen in the lobby in her house slob shorts and T.

Not a dumb question! I wonder how the hotel would react if the police want to search all the rooms, which would disturb their guests. Would they be able to search the rooms without a search warrant? Would they even have probable cause for a search warrant?

This girl has touched my heart. I think she's very frightened, and I think it's very real. She has no history of mental problems. She disappeared right after this happened. I think someone was bothering her, and she was trying her best to get away while alone in big old scary unsafe hotel. Poor girl!

 

[Catchy kitty]

after watching the video multiple times
i find myself becoming more and more unnerved
when she steps out the elevator and begins those hand motions
fingers splayed
strange downward motions
i think shes alone in that hall
its my best guess that no other person may be possible for her disappearance

 

[Cuoco7]

Was this building searched?! She looks like she my have been under the influence of something. She also appears to be flashing her hand back and forth trying to get the sensor to close elevator before she bends over and counts on her hand.
Also, elevators will stay open if someone on the outside is holding the button. It's odd that it stays open for so long, but then when if finally does close, it opens and closes again normally on subsequent floors. Weird. Are there 2 separate elevator door "cabins" and possibly the call button is around a corner she can't see and someone was holding call button?

 

[jetsetsam]

Just an observation.

Each time she steps out of the elevator, she stands with her back to the wall with the elevator buttons behind her.

That's right across from the hall mirror.

She's looking at herself in the mirror.

And even at the end, when she is gesturing, most of the time she is looking partly towards the left. Towards the mirror.

Talking to and performing for the mirror.

By the way, the youtube video posted here has been clipped on the left side.

here's a link to a better quality one that hasn't been clipped.

You can see her teeth and smile when she is gesturing.

http://www.news1130.com/2013/02/14/lapd-releases-video-showing-missing-vancouver-woman/

And what do you do when you're scared and the elevator doesn't work?

You walk or run back to your room and call the front desk, or you run down the stairs and talk to the front desk in the lobby.

Which is where she was last seen, but they didn't say she acted or looked frightened.

Now I don't now what to think.

 

[The Cheese]

It could be that the person she's talking to is not the one bothering her, but someone she's explaining to what has happened. I've been wondering why LE released this video. That could be why - they're hoping that person will contact them and tell them what she was saying.

I also wondered why she didn't get back in the elevator and wait until the door closes so she could get away. I think probably that is her floor, and what she wants is to get to her room, but she's afraid to walk down the hall to it. She's trying to decide whether she should ride the elevator and get further away from the safety of her room and her belongings like her phone, or whether she should walk down the hall to her room and risk the person bothering her seeing her. Seems she opted to try to get to her room.

 

[Willow57]

..I just came across this case...and watched the video. To me it looks like this poor young lady is having some kind of mental break/medical situation/or is under the influence of some type of alcohol or drug. She is acting like she is playing some type of kids' game(hide and seek), talking to herself, doing some kind of strange hand gestures and footwork; jumping in and out of the elevator-pressing ALL of the elevator buttons in rapid succession. It is haunting and sad to watch this video. There is no telling where she is at this time.

 

[margarita25]

I think every second of this video needs to be broken down.

 

[Snoopster]

FB page.

http://www.facebook.com/FindElisaLam

 

[~n/t~]

FB page.

http://www.facebook.com/FindElisaLam

Someone posted she wasn't wearing her glasses. It was a good point. Wonder why she wasn't?

 

[1.21_gigawatts]

Watched it a few more times after reading everyone else's observations.

I'm starting to think she's not quite in her right mind during this video. IMO, I don't think her movements are consistent with someone actually hiding from or trying to get away from someone.

Some times she seems to peer slowly out (which would make sense to me if I was trying to see if someone was following me or the if the coast was clear). But she also JUMPS OUT as if to surprise or catch someone. You wouldn't do that if you were trying to get away from or avoid someone.

I don't know. I think if I watch it any more I will start to go cross-eyed too!

 

[jetsetsam]

Posted 11 hours ago on Facebook:

"Hi. I think I saw her last Saturday, on Wilshire and Western. It was early in the afternoon and she was yelling nonstop into the air. I thought at first she might be a religious preacher, but it was pretty clear she was having some kind of mental trouble. She was not wearing glasses, but she fits the description. I will call the LAPD and let them know the same. I wish I had seen the LAist article earler."

If accurate, she was alive a week after her disappearance.

That's quite a ways from the Cecil Hotel.

 

[1.21_gigawatts]

Someone wrote in with a possible sighting on the Find Elisa Lam FB page. Hope some more good tips come in for this poor girl!

 

[Buckeye lady]

She's probably not been taking her medicine. Its probably back in her suitcase. They must be able to put out an amber alert because of her condition. I sure hope she is found. Its a dangerous place to be lost in. She probably took a Metro to Wilshire.

 

[Xiola]

Posted 11 hours ago on Facebook:

"Hi. I think I saw her last Saturday, on Wilshire and Western. It was early in the afternoon and she was yelling nonstop into the air. I thought at first she might be a religious preacher, but it was pretty clear she was having some kind of mental trouble. She was not wearing glasses, but she fits the description. I will call the LAPD and let them know the same. I wish I had seen the LAist article earler."

If accurate, she was alive a week after her disappearance.

That's quite a ways from the Cecil Hotel.

It's actually a pretty quick, and convenient, subway ride away from the area of the hotel.

http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/maps/images/rail_map.pdf

 

[mollymae]

A couple of my own thoughts on the surveillance video...

1) After Elisa steps out of the elevator the second time and walks back in with her hands on her head, she seems more distressed. Her pushing of the buttons seems more panicky.

2) When she's hand gesturing, I can almost see her explaining her story about the elevator. In the first part, where she's moving her hands up and down with her fingers splayed, I could see her telling someone about how she pushed all the buttons...then she kinds of twirls her hands and moves them apart, almost as if explaining how the doors won't close. The third part does look like she's counting on her fingers...maybe she was confused and looking for her room and was explaining that she'd been to three different floors (although, this would likely be on surveillance as well).

3) To me, this is a girl who's either taken or been given a drug and is frightened. Can the date rape drug cause lasting after effects? What about when mixed with other medications? Her family has said she needs medications, correct?

 

[canadiansleuth]

I have actually seen a friend on ecstasy and the gestures he made while on the drug were very similar to the ones Elisa made outside the elevator. Personally, I believe Elisa was very heavily drugged during the video or was acting this way because she suffered a serious mental breakdown. I also believe she was gesturing to her own reflection outside the elevator and she was likely hallucinating and mistook her own reflection for someone else.

It says her expected graduation year is 2016, but I read a post from one of her former roommates on facebook and she posted that Elisa is not a first year student. Perhaps she took some extra time to finish her degree?

 

[The Cheese]

If Elisa was on drugs, I think she would have contacted someone and continued her trip or gone home when the drugs wore off.