CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013 - #2

[Ruth&Montgomery]

What if she was really short sighted? I'm sure eye conditions vary differently among many people.

Yeah that's true, good point. I guess I would go back to the proposition that maybe she wasn't too reliant on her glasses due to quite a few photos of her without glasses on. Or maybe she wore contacts.

 

[SplishSplash]

What if she was really short sighted? I'm sure eye conditions vary differently among many people.

I have to agree here as well. I cannot see the detail of my own hand in front of my face without glasses. I can't read a book. I certainly can't see more than a blur of color from 2-4 feet away. I feel totally helpless without my glasses or contacts, there is no way I could see the buttons of an Elevator without being as close as she was. I have a terrible habit of taking out my contacts before I know where my glasses are. I absolutely cannot find my glasses without help or putting my contacts back in. Her eyes being closed makes a lot of sense to me when she goes back into the elevator with her hands on the sides of the door because when I cannot see I close my eyes and use my other senses to find my way around. I can successfully navigate my home with my eyes closed because my vision is THAT bad, and I am nowhere near legally blind. :waitasec:

 

[californiared3]

Former male friend's pictures are submitted (with his face blurred) for anyone interested here:

http://www.iask.ca/news/canada/2013/0223/184354.html

 

[SplishSplash]

Does anyone know if, based on knowledge of previous cases, the LE could potentially withhold the results of the second autopsy, which were supposed to be determined in 4-6 weeks? ie. If they choose to not make it public, we may never know those results? I'm kind of anxiously waiting for more info like that to be released.

The LE withholding of info reminds me of another case that happened close to where I live now.. the Wendy Ladner Beaudry case, of which I don't think a thread on Websleuths has been made. But the case is similarly very strange and perplexing, raising many more questions than answers, and the LE has been extremely tight-lipped for 3+ years since it happened.

I would be interested in learning about this if you can share any links

 

[BlazerJH]

If she was indeed found nude floating face up in the tank, then it seems virtually impossible to conceive that she put herself in the tank. But it is also hard to conceive that someone would risk hauling a body up there and placing it in the tank themselves. Either way is hard to believe!

My only concern is that maybe the initial report was inaccurate and she was actually clothed when found in the tank.

 

[Turk February]

Yeah that's true, good point. I guess I would go back to the proposition that maybe she wasn't too reliant on her glasses due to quite a few photos of her without glasses on. Or maybe she wore contacts.

If she wore contacts, then she wouldn't stick her face right in front of the elevator panel for 3 seconds before deciding to press all of the buttons -- including the DOOR HOLD button on the middle row.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TjVBpyTeZM"]Elisa Lam Video - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Ruth&Montgomery]

I would be interested in learning about this if you can share any links

Regarding the Ladner-Beaudry case I assume you mean? If you just google her full name, there are tons of news articles and photos of her that come up. This is one of the better, more comprehensive articles to start with: http://www.vanmag.com/News_and_Features/A_Pacific_Spirit_Murder

 

[Turk February]

Former male friend's pictures are submitted (with his face blurred) for anyone interested here:

http://www.iask.ca/news/canada/2013/0223/184354.html

Why a 'former' friend? What happened between those two anyway, mind if I ask?

 

[margarita25]

This site has the postcard up now:

Former male friend's pictures are submitted (with his face blurred) for anyone interested here:

http://www.iask.ca/news/canada/2013/0223/184354.html

 

[SplishSplash]

If she wore contacts, then she wouldn't stick her face right in front of the elevator panel for 3 seconds before deciding to press all of the buttons -- including the DOOR HOLD button on the middle row.

Exactly. Her vision was obviously compromised. Where and how did she lose the glasses?

Regarding the Ladner-Beaudry case I assume you mean? If you just google her full name, there are tons of news articles and photos of her that come up. This is one of the better, more comprehensive articles to start with: http://www.vanmag.com/News_and_Features/A_Pacific_Spirit_Murder

Thank you, I will look into this.

 

[Sillybilly]

...Wait wait, I could of swore that it was reported the Desk Clerk called the LAPD as well when Elisa Lam didn't check back to sign out and leave the hotel on February 1st.

Unless you mean it was Elisa's family that first contacted the RCMP/LAPD first, and then the Desk Clerk after.

It would be strange if the Desk Clerk didn't call the authorities if a guest did not report back to the lobby before they were scheduled to leave, to take their luggage out of the hotel room and then check out of the hotel.

That's the only way we've seen it reported in MSM, and we haven't seen anything that speaks to the hotel having contacted the authorities.

 

[Turk February]

Exactly. Her vision was obviously compromised. Where and how did she lose the glasses?

My honest opinion?

Elisa is stubborn. I felt that feeling of her just reading through her blogs and tweets.

Most likely, she left it in her hotel room while wandering about and didn't want to go back to get it(in my scenario, probably wanting to find a vacant public shower room or trying to go back to her 4th floor hotel room to retrieve some toiletries like towels, shampoo, etc --)

But, I don't know what was going through her mind - I would of brought my glasses anyway. If I was going to take a shower wearing clothes like that, I'd need a place to put my clothes somewhere right? I can put my glasses away too. She probably even has a glasses case to put her glasses inside...

Too many variables, but that scenario is something I thought of for a while and makes the most sense. Her playing a hide-and-seek game in a dangerous creepy hotel in the middle of the night makes the least sense.

To me, she's dressed like somebody who is going to take a shower with those sandals and easy to remove basketball shorts.



Also, anybody determine a good theory about the flooding and loud THUMP sound reported by 89 year old resident Bernard Diaz while he was sleeping at night?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...n-water-tank-identified-canadian-tourist.html

Bernard Diaz, 89, a 32-year tenant of the Cecil, said he heard a "tremendous" noise the night before Lam was missing in the fourth floor above him.

He also said there was flooding on the fourth floor the day after Lam went missing.

"They said there was some obstruction to the drain between the third and fourth floor," Diaz said.


Elisa Lam was reported to be staying in the 4th floor at Cecil Hotel

 

[SplishSplash]

My honest opinion?

Elisa is stubborn. I felt that feeling of her just reading through her blogs and tweets.

Most likely, she left it in her hotel room while wandering about (in my scenario, probably wanting to find a vacant public shower room or trying to go back to her 4th floor hotel room to retrieve some toiletries like towels, shampoo, etc)

To me, she's dressed like somebody who is going to take a shower with those sandals and easy to remove basketball shorts.

I guess I will have to read her blogs and tweets more. I just cannot imagine leaving my BEDROOM even without my glasses :waitasec:

 

[Sillybilly]

This site has the postcard up now:

Thanks margarita ... i hadn't seen the card and didn't realize she made specific reference to Ryan Gosling.

I should be shopping on Rodeo Drive instead of sitting here in Canada making dumb posts on a serious crime sleuthing forum

@Hazel ... why didn't ya tell me i was out to lunch? LOL ... thanks babe

 

[BlazerJH]

The postcard could also be referring to a "Sunset Drive pilgrimage" since Sunset Drive is also located in LA. It looks like the tip of a letter "t" could be the last letter of the word preceding "Drive".

It also could be that she meant "Sunset Blvd pilgrimage" and wrote "Sunset Drive" instead. Sunset Blvd is not far from the Cecil Hotel and could be an area that an LA tourist would be attracted to.

It seems like that postcard could be cropped for maximum effect and the words shown could be taken out of context, so I am not sure any conclusions should be drawn from it.

 

[margarita25]

My kitchen is always such a wreck whenever I'm engaged in a case!

 

[Ruth&Montgomery]

Kind of an aside, but the comment on Yelp by the girl who was ogled through the vent in the shower.. you can see how the vent adjoins the washroom next door in this video that Arnold originally posted, and how, covered in soap, it would be near impossible to run outside and stand outside the washroom door waiting for the peeping tom to come out to confront him. Knowing this, if I ever stayed there, I'd take something to cover the vent when I showered!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unge9Zja8aY&feature=player_embedded"]Stay Hotel Downtown Los Angeles CA - YouTube[/ame]

3:28 shows the shower and 4:18 shows the vent up high in washroom next door..

 

[margarita25]

I agree that the postcard should be taken with a grain of salt. It's authenticity has not been verified, nor may it even be of any significance.

 

[Sillybilly]

... Also, anybody determine a good theory about the flooding and loud THUMP sound reported by 89 year old resident Bernard Diaz while he was sleeping at night?

<rsbm>

I've toyed with something that happened to me a couple years ago. Was turning down the temp on my hot water heater. Metal screwdriver slipped and clipped a wire ... sent me on my keester about 10 feet back, but ... folks down the hall and around the corner in the kitchen heard a loud boom come out of the kitchen sink. Not suggesting that electricity was involved in Elisa's case, but just pondering that something going with force through the plumbing system makes a loud noise.

Possible, dunno?

 

[Marlon]

Bipolar in denial mixed with other mentaldisorders and not taking medicine.....!
The fact that she mentions suicide on a public site is very important I think. Though she does say she would not do it, it obviously dwells in her mind. Her medicalhistory is like a smoking gun here but so few notice and stare blind on some video.
Bipolairity is realy a terrible beast within, and without medication and depending on the level of the disorder...wow! and then to imagine that she had SEVERAL pscychological disorders and also taking medicine for that... Witch i suspect she stopped taking the initial days of her trip till the point she totaly loses grip of reality witch must have started very rapidly after quiting. I know from experience its like almost impossible to live with these people because of the bipolarity alone, From very manic activity to very very doomish and dark depressivness, verrrrry impulsive! Easygoing with strangers, loves solitairity over groups tho a peoples person by heart, incredibly hardheaded, huge ups and downs, very sweet during the ups but a complete monster to surroundings during downs, denial of sickness and the urge to not take medicine, show forms of schyzo andcan be shockingly foulmouthed and say most wicked things to people when in arguument while triggered into the disorder. judge (dangerous)situations wrong, artistic, spoken and a lot more, very sad and emotional wrecked people but that can be a great friend to you. I can only imagine how it must be having several disorders and being medicated for that and then quiting all of a sudden with taking them.. ( Witch i think she did short after or at starting the trip maybe) Anything could have happend realy, the video holds not any clues to her dying. But the stories about someone being there taking advantage of her situation is a possibility aswell. Except nobody is to be seen ever in the film, so i go with the first untill toxicologytest is done. The whole video just reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. With alice ending up going through the little door. Sad sad story. Especialy for her family, cos someting tells me they and Elisa came from a long way of counceling together i think.

Rip Elisa

"There is no physical manifestation of my &#8220;illness.&#8221; If I were to stop taking it, the worst thing would be a headache.

Would I become psychotic and want to off myself? I doubt that very much. For other people, yes there&#8217;s a huge risk that will happen but I know I wouldn&#8217;t do anything rash like actually jump off a bridge. I&#8217;m too much of a coward. Instead I&#8217;ll just lie in my bed and let the days pass by. That&#8217;s my physical manifestation, sleeping for days in bed. "

very interesting indeed