CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013 - #4

[houndstooth]

On Feb 6 WSr ColdPizza made the following post (and stating the account was locked down tight):

from:
Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Found Deceased CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013

IIRC, kenmore took it from there to discover the other accounts. When concern was expressed about whether these accounts belonged to Elisa, it was subsequently verified by a Mod that we could discuss these social media accounts.

My concern is, if that account was locked down tight, how was it determined that it did in fact belong to Elisa. We know there are other FB accounts out there with pics of her, that aren't her account.

Other than it states on the tumblr profile page that this is a student from Vancouver, I don't see one pic of anything in Vancouver. That strikes me as odd for someone who grew up here. Most Vancouverites are proud to post pics of such a beautiful homeland.

Haven't seen anything up this way wrt an obituary or service of any kind.

Anyway, dunno for sure. Am keeping an open mind, all the while hoping it isn't some elaborate ruse and somebody's isn't sitting back there doing $h!ts & giggles.

My thoughts exactly. I haven't seen anything that made me say this was her account definitively. Nor have I seen the parents names in media or
any statements from them that I recall by name.
Nor anything resembling a formal death announcement with her info on her life and whether a memorial or other service would be announced in the future type thing.

 

[jp111]

My sister-in-law's home is not far from her parents restaurant on E. Hastings across from a Mcdonald's.

 

[kingsway]

GirlyGirl -- This video shows there's no lid on the tank when LAFD is getting ready to saw out a hole to get her out of the tank and looks like the cut off the tank lid


NEW IMAGES - Elisa Lam Case - Cecil Hotel - 02.21.2013.flv - YouTube

There could have been a lid prior to the discovery. Perhaps the police or firemen took it off for easier access or for fingerprints. A water tank without a lid, especially in an open area, invites all kinds of debris to enter the water. Leaves, insects, dirt, etc... Eventually the problem would have become severe enough for even the Cecil hotel managers to notice.

Not only that, if the police searched the top of the maintenance room and looked down, they probably would have notice no lid on the water tank and went in to investigate (assuming a sufficient level of competency from the LAPD).

I'm willing to bet that a lid was there at the time of the disappearance.

 

[BunnyHop]

On Feb 6 WSr ColdPizza made the following post (and stating the account was locked down tight):

from:
Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Found Deceased CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013

IIRC, kenmore took it from there to discover the other accounts. When concern was expressed about whether these accounts belonged to Elisa, it was subsequently verified by a Mod that we could discuss these social media accounts.

My concern is, if that account was locked down tight, how was it determined that it did in fact belong to Elisa. We know there are other FB accounts out there with pics of her, that aren't her account.

Other than it states on the tumblr profile page that this is a student from Vancouver, I don't see one pic of anything in Vancouver. That strikes me as odd for someone who grew up here. Most Vancouverites are proud to post pics of such a beautiful homeland.

Haven't seen anything up this way wrt an obituary or service of any kind.

Anyway, dunno for sure. Am keeping an open mind, all the while hoping it isn't some elaborate ruse and somebody's isn't sitting back there doing $h!ts & giggles.

Just a thought from me. IIRC, coroner will not release the body until all tests are done. Perhaps that is why no service or funeral. :twocents:

I don't know the family religion, I do feel deeply for them.

I hope they find closure soon.

 

[houndstooth]

My sister-in-law's home is not far from her parents restaurant on E. Hastings across from a Mcdonald's.

Where does the name "Paul" come in?

 

[BunnyHop]

I think someone in the hotel other than reception MUST have spoken or interacted with her. I mean, it seems impossible that no one did if she was as bubbly as the media interviewees have described.

I'm really surprised that media channels all seem to be saying along the lines of "Everyone in the hotel say they haven't seen her with ANYBODY". I mean, that just doesn't make sense. Unless she has been holed up in her room all day long, depressed, antisocial, shy, or whatever. Yet the accounts of her by friends totally go against the idea of someone who is like this. And since she has been seen by the Last Bookshop owner, talking to people a lot, it seems she wasn't in her "down" phase...

I don't know...

And I do wonder if there is a culture of silence and secrecy within the hotel too. I mean, in some gangland neighbourhoods in some places, its well known that people don't rat on their neighbours no matter what happened, even if someone got killed, because there might be serious repercussions if they did.

I mean I don't know what its like for the residents who live long term in the Cecil. Some of them might actually have heard about what really happened at least, but why is no one saying anything? No one spoke to her? Or seen her? Just sounds really fishy to me.

I hope the cops are on to this case even if they are not telling us anything.

I agree. I think LE may have asked witnesses to be quiet? Just saying.

 

[houndstooth]

Just a thought from me. IIRC, coroner will not release the body until all tests are done. Perhaps that is why no service or funeral. :twocents:

I don't know the family religion, I do feel deeply for them.

I hope they find closure soon.

Even when circumstances delay a funeral being planned, it does not prevent
a formal death notice in a timely manner being printed with arrangements to be announced at a later time and will state that in the obit.

 

[BunnyHop]

I agree. I think LE may have asked witnesses to be quiet? Just saying.

Sorry to quote myself, but do any of you really think LE would tip their hand?
I don't.

 

[anansie]

Could you "Aglicize" that please?


PS

Interesting photo of a lone guy peering into the wrong tank!

In Mandarin its "Lan Ke Er".
In Cantonese, its "Lam Hor Ji" I think...

 

[jp111]

Finnish: Elizabeth, Elisa, Lisa.

 

[Buckeye lady]

Well, if she stayed in bed for 2 weeks, she didn't check out of the Cecil, and they didn't find her in her room, hunkered down under the sheets.

And no, LE didn't say they have her phone ... only that they wouldn't speak about it.

Didn't they check her room around the sixth when the parents complained of not hearing from her since the 31st?

 

[four_seasons]

Where did the original info on this being her tumblr come from?

And to the locals in Canada, has a formal obituary been written and published anywhere?

And to the Chinese posters, what is the custom of death announcements?

Thanks for all replies.

just checked for obituary and nothing.
as for Chinese customs, I can't really think of any on the top of my head apart from maybe hanging white cloth in front of the house and maybe wearing a black band around the arm.
Feel free to correct me on the Chinese traditions...

 

[BunnyHop]

just checked for obituary and nothing.
as for Chinese customs, I can't really think of any on the top of my head apart from maybe hanging white cloth in front of the house and maybe wearing a black band around the arm.
Feel free to correct me on the Chinese traditions...

[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8966628&postcount=931"]Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Found Deceased CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013 - #4[/ame]

 

[Shlock Homes]

There could have been a lid prior to the discovery. Perhaps the police or firemen took it off for easier access or for fingerprints. A water tank without a lid, especially in an open area, invites all kinds of debris to enter the water. Leaves, insects, dirt, etc... Eventually the problem would have become severe enough for even the Cecil hotel managers to notice.

Not only that, if the police searched the top of the maintenance room and looked down, they probably would have notice no lid on the water tank and went in to investigate (assuming a sufficient level of competency from the LAPD).

I'm willing to bet that a lid was there at the time of the disappearance.

They might have also taken it back to a lab to analyze for finger prints.

 

[bobmeier]

To people doubting that this is in fact Elisa Lams facebook account. Please have a look at it... when you scroll down the timeline, you can see a picture she posted in 2006 on a Facebook Page, with comments 2007, thus confirming that the account has existed for years and was not set up as a fake after the reports about her death like some others were.
Also read [ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8917365&postcount=314"]this[/ame] excellent post by user kenmore, positviely identifying her tumblr.
I have to say, it is difficult to follow this right now. I am continuing to do so because I can't wait for new discoveries or official Infos and occasionally post in order to clear up confusion and questions that have already been answered a long time ago. However, without new info, it seems like we are going around in circles.

 

[jp111]

Paul's Restaurant has been around for over 30 years. Her parents were not the original owner. I presume they bought it from Paul. In fact the Chinese name of the name has nothing to do with Paul either.

Sorry has to dash out.

 

[Sillybilly]

Just a thought from me. IIRC, coroner will not release the body until all tests are done. Perhaps that is why no service or funeral. :twocents:

I don't know the family religion, I do feel deeply for them.

I hope they find closure soon.

Just an FYI ... my son's body was released immediately after the autopsy; toxicology results came back later.

 

[four_seasons]

I'm just following this train of thought here suggested by previous posters that LL could be her Chinese name.

Four_seasons is right. LL as initials for a Chinese name just won't work with the Chinese name of Elisa's that's been published all over Chinese news media.

The only other possibility I can think of for the idea that LL is her name initials in some form or another... is that it might be a nickname in Cantonese. I'm of Chinese (specifically Cantonese) descent, just like Elisa, and I've been given a nickname by my family from babyhood (which is a 2 character nickname, the 1st character is a character from my actual Chinese name pronounced in the Cantonese dialect, and the 2nd character is just another Chinese word (pronounced in the Cantonese way - actually several members of my family have similar sort of nicknames made up of 2 characters - one from the actual name and one other word)... so maybe... I dunno, LL could be... "Lam Lui" ? "Lui" means young girl in Cantonese.

But here's where I doubt this is the case for her.

Calling her "Lam Lui" makes little sense to me since it basically translates to "young girl Lam" and since she also has another sister, it seems silly to call Elisa that because her sister would be that too, technically... and 2 girls with the same nickname in the family just seems a bit silly lol

Without knowing her close family and friend circle, we can never verify if she ever had any sort of nickname that close ones call her by.

I'm inclined to just take this lead with a grain of salt for now..

I don't think she'll be called Lam Lui, she has an older sister and this won't make any sense. And using Lam there doesn't make sense, isn't usually your first name + something and not your last name + something?

 

[houndstooth]

just checked for obituary and nothing.
as for Chinese customs, I can't really think of any on the top of my head apart from maybe hanging white cloth in front of the house and maybe wearing a black band around the arm.
Feel free to correct me on the Chinese traditions...

Would they have done that at the restaurant, too?
I didn't notice that on the video I saw.

But, you think that Chinese also would pubish an obituary?

 

[anansie]

just checked for obituary and nothing.
as for Chinese customs, I can't really think of any on the top of my head apart from maybe hanging white cloth in front of the house and maybe wearing a black band around the arm.
Feel free to correct me on the Chinese traditions...

And the 24 hr vigil of the dead body, dead person's photo, flowers, candles, etc. by family members who take turns... to do this for at least one whole day, up to a few days. I imagine this might seem creepy to some but that is tradition. In my Cantonese speaking family at least...