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

[margarita25]

I have been searching for an architectural blueprint of the building, no luck yet. Maybe someone else will have better luck?

 

[margarita25]

"205 Offenders found in the 640 S Main St Area within 1 mile"

 

[ahlang1226]

Maybe I should send her flier to all the shelters in LA, just in case, along with a kind request to please print and post.

that's a nice thing to do! I support u!

 

[ahlang1226]

"205 Offenders found in the 640 S Main St Area within 1 mile"

what does this mean?

 

[margarita25]

that's a nice thing to do! I support u!

Thank you. Hopefully there are fliers posted all over that area, including every bus stop, convenience store...

Its a horrible thought, but I'm sure LE has checked every hospital and morgue.

 

[margarita25]

what does this mean?

205 Registered Sex Offenders live within 1 mile of the hotel.

 

[ahlang1226]

:O........omg that is so scary. Some people make it seem like she would still be in hotel if she's mentally normal. But that would also not be a good sign.....

I hope she can be found soon. I am super worried about her.

 

[TxLady2]

Being the same age and build as Elisa, also considering going to school in the exact area she was last seen, I imagine how I'd be feeling her in situation...probably paranoid and uneasy. Besides the obvious stress that comes with traveling in an unfamiliar area, LA is very densely populated. I'm not familiar with Vancouver, but I know LA can be off-putting. Being a small, young and attractive woman like Elisa, it isn't unlikely to be stared at, approached or bothered by random men. After a while, you become cautious of these things, if not a little paranoid. I wouldn't be surprised if strange people/men approached or acted creepy towards her in LA, and she was feeling vulnerable in an unfamiliar area which could explain her skiddish behavior in the video.

A few thoughts I had while watching the video over and over again..

1. When she first enters the elevator and crouches to press the four buttons: I don't sense any urgency on her part. I can't really fathom why she would press four buttons in a row for any reason while "clear-minded" unless to delay the doors from closing? Like if she were waiting for someone.. I think if she were trying to avoid someone, she would be repeatedly pressing one button until the doors shut. Then she stands back as if she anticipates the elevator to operate correctly, until the doors briefly start to close but open up again around 12 sec. as others have mentioned. I'm sure she noticed the doors start to shut, which is why she stands there for a few more seconds before jumping out and seeing if someone's there.

2. (~0:20) When she first jumps out with one leg and quickly and looks from side to side: The quick manner in which she does this was the first thing stood out to me..personally, I would probably only react that way in an elevator if I were concerned about someone following me. I'm not fully convinced there was anyone out there, but..it does seem that she was either convinced of something out there, if it turns out she wasn't simply "being playful". When she "hides" in the corner of the elevator and doesn't try to shut the doors shows another instance of lack of urgency to me. This whole scene is baffling because her actions aren't very consistent with her behavior.

3. (~1:30) As Elisa enters the elevator again, she puts her hands on each side of the doorway, as if to support her while she walks in..she does seem disoriented, I would even say she looks a little drunk at that moment if I didn't know what I was watching. She starts pressing a bunch of buttons, then the same ones over again, up and down the button pad, then proceeds to walk out of the elevator again, as though was not intending to change floors anyway.

Of course, we have very little context...they haven't even released what time of day the video was from? Even that could be more telling. I'm sure there's a reason for that.

After watching it so many times, I'm still very unsure about what to make of it. At first thought, it does seem like a mental breakdown. But if that is what we saw, that leads me to believe her condition would be serious enough that she shouldn't have been on a trip like that alone. If she does have a condition that has been undiagnosed, I still think there would have been "signs".

I also think LE tends to be very specific about what info, photos and footage they release. If it were a mental breakdown, I assume that LE would've recognized that fairly quickly and would not have shared the footage. It seems like this is a move on LE's part in hopes of getting info from the public.

All my opinions obviously. Sorry for the novel, maybe others will be able to bounce of these thoughts?

BBM: Oh, but they would! It might jar someone's memory of seeing her at another time displaying the same kind of strange behavior. Think about it, if someone saw her in the hall for maybe a few seconds and she seemed like any other ordinary young woman, they might not remember her at all. BUT... if they saw her earlier that day, or the day before, acting strangely, seeming to play games or like she was 'hiding' from someone or something... that might make the person remember her more vividly. See what I mean?

But I had the same thoughts as you did watching the video. At the point that she's doing the hand gestures just outside the elevator, I wondered if there was someone who had just walked up about then, and asked her something. She does seem to be talking to someone.

It's very, very strange, and fascinating to try to figure out what is going on.

 

[Snoopster]

IF it was Elisa at the corner of Wilshire and Western, is there anything that would have attracted her to that location? I am not familiar with LA, so perhaps some of you who are can chime in here.

I realize that there is a metro stop there. How easy/direct is it to get there from the Cecil?

I have also seen reference to this area being Koreatown. Are there any particular attractions that would cause a tourist to go to this area?

And finally, when I went to google streetview and looked around I came across this Cinema Makeup Store. (Elisa's sister is a makeup artist. Was Elisa going to pick up a gift for her sister?) Are these types of specialty stores common in LA?

http://goo.gl/maps/ZNwOM

 

[shmip]

I made an account here just for this case as I find it quite interesting. I've only been following it since mid-last week and the points raised on this thread are pretty insightful, especially the hallway and elevator layout.

Here's my take on it. I do not believe Elisa has any mental disorders or high on drugs/alcohol. However, she does seem to show minor signs of OCD (normal for everyone) which is enhanced by her being alone in an unfamiliar place at night. That seems to explain the repetitive pressing of buttons and her weird steps going back into the elevator.

It seems that she first enters the elevator with the intention of pressing all the buttons and trying to hide herself. I think she felt that she was being followed (whether in fact or was just her imagination) and wanted to lure someone into the elevator as she may think that it is safer inside (some people find protection in an enclosed space and it's common knowledge that there are cameras in hotel elevators). She does not seem to be scared and may even think it was clever of her to think of luring the person into the elevator.

At first, I thought she may have been talking to someone when she was doing the hand gestures outside the elevator. However, I now think that it is more likely that she was reciting, practicing, or just talking to herself.

Finally, I think there may be 2 separate events here. I know that this video may have been her last seen activity, but whether her disappearance is connected to her actions in the video is still a mystery. The real question, whether this video can be interpreted or not, is how she is able to disappear afterwards. It's possible that she was was abducted shortly afterwards (ie. made unconscious, packed into a suitcase, and taken out of the hotel).

I find that there's really very little knowledge that we (the public) know about this case which doesn't help of course. It's also hard to believe that this is the only video available of her; cameras should be all around the place.

 

[mollymae]

I find that there's really very little knowledge that we (the public) know about this case which doesn't help of course. It's also hard to believe that this is the only video available of her; cameras should be all around the place.

I think there may be more footage of Elisa from the hotel, but the police aren't releasing all of it. Judging by the reviews saying the reception is behind glass and the signs about drug use, I assume this place has no shortage of security cameras.

 

[mollymae]

Snipped from a Google review:

"It's one thing for a hotel to be old, and have the less-secure physical keys instead of the key cards." (https://plus.google.com/101312474169615413869/about?hl=en#101312474169615413869/about?hl=en)

This worries me. Anyone could go out and make a copy of their room key for future "use". Yikes.

 

[dotr]

I made an account here just for this case as I find it quite interesting. I've only been following it since mid-last week and the points raised on this thread are pretty insightful, especially the hallway and elevator layout.

Here's my take on it. I do not believe Elisa has any mental disorders or high on drugs/alcohol. However, she does seem to show minor signs of OCD (normal for everyone) which is enhanced by her being alone in an unfamiliar place at night. That seems to explain the repetitive pressing of buttons and her weird steps going back into the elevator.

It seems that she first enters the elevator with the intention of pressing all the buttons and trying to hide herself. I think she felt that she was being followed (whether in fact or was just her imagination) and wanted to lure someone into the elevator as she may think that it is safer inside (some people find protection in an enclosed space and it's common knowledge that there are cameras in hotel elevators). She does not seem to be scared and may even think it was clever of her to think of luring the person into the elevator.

At first, I thought she may have been talking to someone when she was doing the hand gestures outside the elevator. However, I now think that it is more likely that she was reciting, practicing, or just talking to herself.

Finally, I think there may be 2 separate events here. I know that this video may have been her last seen activity, but whether her disappearance is connected to her actions in the video is still a mystery. The real question, whether this video can be interpreted or not, is how she is able to disappear afterwards. It's possible that she was was abducted shortly afterwards (ie. made unconscious, packed into a suitcase, and taken out of the hotel).

I find that there's really very little knowledge that we (the public) know about this case which doesn't help of course. It's also hard to believe that this is the only video available of her; cameras should be all around the place.

Welcome to WS shmip ! The more " heads" the better, especially in trying to unscamble the mysterious vid. and disappearance of Elisa.

 

[summer_breeze]

Welcome to WebSleuths shmip!

:greetings:

I was thinking that perhaps Elisa was pushing all the floor buttons to try to "fool" whomever might be there with her as to where she was getting off the elevator...if there was indeed someone there. Possible??

Do we know if the elevator was at the floor Elisa was staying on? Or was it the Lobby?

 

[tarabull]

IF it was Elisa at the corner of Wilshire and Western, is there anything that would have attracted her to that location? I am not familiar with LA, so perhaps some of you who are can chime in here.

I realize that there is a metro stop there. How easy/direct is it to get there from the Cecil?

I have also seen reference to this area being Koreatown. Are there any particular attractions that would cause a tourist to go to this area?

And finally, when I went to google streetview and looked around I came across this Cinema Makeup Store. (Elisa's sister is a makeup artist. Was Elisa going to pick up a gift for her sister?) Are these types of specialty stores common in LA?

http://goo.gl/maps/ZNwOM

There's also a Verizon Wireless on the opposite side of the intersection:
http://goo.gl/maps/S50k0

Response when asked about Elisa's cell at press conference:

snipped..."I don't want to talk about the cell phone, right now, very much, we have some of her property and she was in regular contact with her parents until 6 days ago," said Teague.

http://www.examiner.com/article/elisa-lam-canadian-tourist-missing-los-angeles

:waitasec:

[The Cecil is 3.8 miles away: http://goo.gl/maps/jwICf ]

 

[tarabull]

Welcome to WebSleuths shmip!

:greetings:

I was thinking that perhaps Elisa was pushing all the floor buttons to try to "fool" whomever might be there with her as to where she was getting off the elevator...if there was indeed someone there. Possible??

Do we know if the elevator was at the floor Elisa was staying on? Or was it the Lobby?

It was definitely NOT the lobby where she got on.

Judging by the location of the buttons on the panel it seems the buttons that had lights on after she pushed them were for floors, 10, 7, 4, M...

What do ya'll think...???

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ceci...0XWlhUYap81ZxsIiz5llZw#8WRRjdNxuSdkRLmwF7csdQ

Screenshot from the video here for comparison:

 

[tarabull]

The last we see of her is actually her feet as she turns to the left to leave - is it crazy to wonder if someone is tugging on her...???...

WHERE WERE YOU GOING ELISA...???

Video cued up starting at 2:26 here: http://youtu.be/3TjVBpyTeZM?t=2m26s

Still shots from clip:

 

[tarabull]

The hallways and doorways video up thread might help to narrow down hotel layout - tho it's real tough to watch.

It begins on 7th floor cruises the (orange?) hallways (FAST) - and does the same on & takes the stairs down to 6th and 5th floors (both dark greyish?) - none of these are the one we see Elisa enter the elevator on...based on wall colour and what's across from the elevator - we see a picture instead of a mirror.

There's probably a good chance they haven't renovated...lately...agreed...???...

It also seems there are bathrooms around the elevators & some floors also have kitchens real close by them too...!!!...???

So many places for a creeper...imho...moo... :moo:

The other video review the guys ride the elevator up to the 14th floor which is light blue so again not the floor Elisa tries to leave.

Anyways, my point in this is the video of Elisa on the elevator didn't happen on floors 14, 7, 6, 5 or the lobby...

Not sure if or how it might help but maybe later...i dunno.

Regardless anyone else feel like this ??? :banghead:

Where is Elisa...???...???...???

ETA: I apologize for HOGGING the thread....REALLY SORRY.

 

[ahlang1226]

The hallways and doorways video up thread might help to narrow down hotel layout - tho it's real tough to watch.

It begins on 7th floor cruises the (orange?) hallways (FAST) - and does the same on & takes the stairs down to 6th and 5th floors (both dark greyish?) - none of these are the one we see Elisa enter the elevator on...based on wall colour and what's across from the elevator - we see a picture instead of a mirror.

There's probably a good chance they haven't renovated...lately...agreed...???...

It also seems there are bathrooms around the elevators & some floors also have kitchens real close by them too...!!!...???

So many places for a creeper...imho...moo... :moo:

The other video review the guys ride the elevator up to the 14th floor which is light blue so again not the floor Elisa tries to leave.

Anyways, my point in this is the video of Elisa on the elevator didn't happen on floors 14, 7, 6, 5 or the lobby...

Not sure if or how it might help but maybe later...i dunno.

Regardless anyone else feel like this ??? :banghead:

Where is Elisa...???...???...???

ETA: I apologize for HOGGING the thread....REALLY SORRY.

I think it is very hard for us to come to a conclusion because we don't know if the vidoe was edited or not.
Man, I joined this forum for this case because I have been following this since first it came out.

 

[Catchew]

I have watched the video quite a few times. It does appear as though she is hiding when she first goes to the corner where the buttons are, but she really doesn't seem frightened to me. If I was trying to avoid someone or get away from someone following me, I would be moving a lot faster than that. And if I was really scared, I would probably start banging on hotel room doors - not casually hang around an elevator that appeared to not work.
To me, it does feel a bit playful and I feel as though she is talking to someone she is familiar with. Perhaps she met some people her age and they are having a bit of fun? What strikes me as odd is that she pushes multiple buttons as soon as she enters the elevator. Maybe a game of elevator tag? At one point it looks as though she is listening. Maybe she is "it" and is trying to be sneaky. This is all MOO.