Hello all. Long time lurker. Something about this case made me create an account. I have something in mind that might be worth considering in relation to this case. I have read through a good deal of the info about it here though I admit I haven't been through it all. I just don't have that kind of time. So if I cover something that has been covered, forgive me.
I'm not a fan of assumptions, but....
1.Lets first assume no one forced Elisa onto the roof of the hotel.
2.Lets also assume that her seemingly confused method of pushing buttons in the elevator was purposeful.
What logical reason would a person have to get out on the roof of a hotel? Why push the buttons in and odd combination?
I don't know how much you fine folks on WS know about "urban exploring" or "infiltrating", but these would both be a valid reason to access a rooftop.
"Urban exploring" generally deals with exploring and/or documenting places generally inaccessible to or unseen by the public. I did this this myself in my younger years.
"Infiltrating" is for the more adventurous types and involves sneaking in to off-limits areas, sometimes using somewhat shady means. Speaking from personal experience (knowing a few people who are into it) this can sometimes include using fire escapes, hopping fences, using service entrances, steam tunnels, and I've even heard the odd story of elevator keys being passed around.
I've heard the elevator code tricks mentioned among some people who are into this hobby. Some do work, some don't. She could have attempted to access off-limits areas, such as the roof with what she thought was a code. Her nervousness and her looking around could be accounted for by the fact she thinks she's doing something that she doesn't want to get caught doing.
Is it possible Elisa was dabbling in this hobby? There are some other (possibly coincidental) things to consider..
A. The "This is usually how I look when I walk at night" photo of herself. Also her answer to a question on her spring account in which she said she was happiest from 2am to 6am. She seems to have had a proclivity for wondering around at night, or was more active after dark. This is generally when explorers and infiltrators operate. It's part of the rush in certain situations. It would gel with her internal clock pretty well.
B. She does have some abandoned and ruined buildings on her tumblr. Also various rooftop and city photos. A lot of explorers hate tumblr because there are many young novices who find photos there and then try to get involved with the hobby. They come off as groupies. We have had some stumble onto our group, and I see them hit the larger websites as well looking for people to take them somewhere or give them ideas for places to explore.
As someone who had a bipolar friend for several years, I tended to notice she was easily distracted, found new interests quite easily and followed them obsessively for short periods before finding a new subject. It could be Elisa was just beginning to really zero in on exploring, which would mean she hadn't had time to either post her own photos, talk about, or reblog very much relating to the hobby.
C. She asked on her tumblr about meetups during her trip. I Don't know how to see who she's connected with on tumblr. I don't know how deep into the rabbit hole the police went. If there's evidence they checked into her messages, etc. this could have been outside of tumblr.
I do know based on community talk from around that time there were a number of small explore meetups. There was also chatter about an LA meetup on the 24th on a larger site I'm no longer a part of. I don't know for sure if anything became of it because beyond the original posts, things usually go to private messages there after initial posts. There are also any number of meets that happen through old fashioned email and the community never hears about them.
D. If she was meeting to explore while she was in state, the area she traveled to in Cali would make sense and offer a lot of interesting old buildings and places to see in the towns she was known to have been in. The scene where she is from is pretty quiet in comparison.
The Cecil Hotel, in particular because of it's morbid history and former glory could have stood out.
E. The water tanks. In order to get to the highest point on the building (the mechanical room) one would either have to climb up the ladder on the opposite side of the tanks, or from the side where the tanks themselves are. Getting to the highest point on buildings and towers is a common goal for explorers.
It's hard to say what happened between her getting on the roof and her entering the tank. However, if she were trying to get up onto the mechanical room roof above the tanks, there are things which could happen to account for her ending up in the tank.
-She could have climbed in herself. Maybe for a swim, once she realized that it was a water tank. My friend did many similar risky things while I knew her that entered her mind as a whim and progressed straight to an action without her brain weighing what she was about to do. Swimming alone on a rooftop has a certain romance to it. I haven't been able to find much info about the manner of the opening in the top of the tank, so this is admittedly wild speculation. Perhaps she was able to get in but not out as easily? Panic sets in and she drowns.
-She could have fell in from the higher roof of the mechanical room. This would mean the hatch would have to be open or the cover off. There are things that could explain that as well as them being replaced.
These are just some thoughts I had regarding this case.
I personally do believe this was an accident. The autopsy seems to corroborate that. It may have been a strange string of circumstances and actions that led to her ending up dead in the tank. This wouldn't (IMHO) necessarily be strange for someone who was bipolar. To reference my friend once again, as long as I knew her she didn't always do what you expected her to, or take the paths a "normal" person would have. Eccentric behavior wasn't eccentric for her at times, and if Elisa was the same, there is no way to say what she "logically" would have thought or done to end up on the roof or in the tank. Add to that the chance of some sort of episode (which I have seen personally twice during time spent with my friend - they are scary)....
I feel very sorry for Elisa. I hope her family can get some concrete answers.
From what I have seen of it, although being bipolar lets you see the world in amazingly different ways, it also isolates a person. For my friend it is surely a great gift, and a great curse.