The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel – What Happened to Elisa Lam?

TW: Information of a sensitive nature, discussing murder, suicide, and mental health.

Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel is a four-part documentary series on Netflix that analyses the disappearance and death of college student Elisa Lam. This mini-series takes us down a dark and twisted path of conspiracy theories questioning why and how Elisa Lam disappeared at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

21-year-old Canadian college student, Elisa Lam, visited America in 2013 as a tourist. On her arrival in Los Angeles, she planned to stay at the Cecil Hotel for four days before making her way to Santa Cruz, California. Disturbing elevator footage revealed just days after her disappearance, however, pictured a haunting tale instead.

Pictured above is the deeply unsettling footage of Elisa Lam’s last known whereabouts which was released by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in an attempt to find the missing student. Throughout the video, Elisa Lam portrays disturbing, and quite frankly, out of the ordinary, behaviour, encouraging sceptics and conspiracy theorists to take action and find the culprit.

Elisa Lam appears to be speaking with someone in the video, adopting a frenzy of extravagance with her hand movements. With no one appearing in the frame however, this bears the question: who was Elisa Lam talking to?

“what actually happened to Elisa?”

The publication of this CCTV footage sent conspiracy theorists into action, with many responding to LAPD requests for new information on the missing student.

The first two thirds of this mini-series explore the conspiracy theories in circulation at the time, adding fuel to the fire and questioning – what actually happened to Elisa?

Theory 1: Murder

You cannot deny the haunting nature of the elevator footage – it’s outright creepy. Elisa is pictured speaking to someone, yet no one ever appears. Some theorists, however, took snapshots of the footage and claimed there was a foot in the corner of the screen – her killer perhaps? The fact that the LAPD slowed down the speed of the CCTV footage only added fuel to this theory, with many believing foul play to be involved.

Theory 2: Hallucinogenic Drugs

Her mannerisms, actions, and mere presence in the lift is suspiciously questionable. Her movements are eccentric and over-dramatised, adding a sense of mystery to this already intriguing case. As soon as she enters the elevator, Elisa presses all the buttons in a haphazard fashion, becoming alert and confused when the lift does not move. Despite her clean history in terms of drug consumption, many theorists believed drugs to be the only liable option to explain such behaviour.

Theory 3: Suicide

It was no secret that Elisa Lam suffered from bipolar disorder and struggled with her mental health. Elisa was extremely active on Tumblr – her platform of choice – sharing detailed accounts of her own thoughts and emotions. In one post, she said, “I wish I could put part of my brain into a taped shut box and shove it to the back of my closet for the night.” Many conspiracy theorists believed Elisa Lam to be suicidal and, on refusing to take her medication as prescribed, fell into a bipolar frenzy and committed suicide.

Theory 4: Copycat Murder

In 2005, eight years before the disappearance of Elisa Lam, the film Dark Water aired in cinemas. This supernatural horror follows the story of a young girl who disappears in a hotel, only to be found in a water tank on the hotel’s roof, explaining the reasoning behind customer complaints of foul tasting water. Conspiracy theorists at the time therefore linked the two and saw the disappearance of Elisa Lam as a copycat murder case.

What actually happened to Elisa Lam?

Whilst investigators were still trying to find missing college student, two tourists staying in the hotel complained to management of a foul taste in their tap water, describing it as having a dark and sludgy consistency. Maintenance was immediately sent to the roof to inspect the water tanks and that is when they found her.

“The lack of Elisa Lam’s bipolar medication in her system suggested the real reason behind her death – a chronic bipolar attack.”

21-year-old Elisa Lam: floating in the water tank with her clothes littering the floor. After 19 days of investigations, both by the LAPD and conspiracy theorists, Elisa Lam was finally discovered, much to the trauma of her friends and family.

The LAPD finally concluded their investigation at the end of a gruelling 19 days. The lack of Elisa Lam’s bipolar medication in her system suggested the real reason behind her death – a chronic bipolar attack.

After four intensely packed episodes, Elisa Lam was finally laid to rest in episode four and her family finally at peace with her disappearance.

Madeleine Raine

@RaineMadeleine

Featured image courtesy of runnyrem via Unsplash. Image license available here. This image has in no way been altered.