Elisa Lam, Dead Body in Hotel Water: Officials Examine the Water Tank Where Body Of Missing Canadian Tourist was Discovered, 'Do-Not-Drink' Order Issued

After discovering Elisa Lam's body in rooftop water tank of downtown Los Angeles' Cecil Hotel, health officials have issued a "do-not-drink' order on the hotel's water. The 21-year-old Canadian tourist's body was found this week after 3 weeks of being missing. Guests staying at the Cecil Hotel filed complaints about low water pressure, which lead to a maintenance worker checking the rooftop tanks. It took most of the day Tuesday for firefighters to carefully extract the young woman's body from the tiny tank entrance.

Despite a previous police statement saying the water was safe, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is being cautious while its lab analyzes the water, according to department director Terrance Powell. Besides bathing and drinking, the water had also been used for cooking and in a hotel coffee shop, which has remained closed and ordered to sanitize its equipment. "Our biggest concern is going to be fecal contamination because of the body in the water," Powell said. The likelihood of this concern coming to fruition is minimal considering the large amount of water in which the body was found but the department is being extra cautious. Cecil Hotel is also being cautious by relocating its occupants to another hotel but 11 rooms remained filled. These occupants had to sign a waver acknowledging that they had been informed of the health risks. Bottled water has been provided for these tenants.

Yesterday on Mstarz we reported the following regarding the mysterious Elisa Lam case:

Elisa travelled alone to Los Angeles, California, from Vancouver on January 27. This is not the first time she ventured out by herself. She kept in contact with her family until she disappeared 4 days later. Elisa's family and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reached out to the LAPD about her disappearance. Though Los Angeles sees about 3,200 missing person cases every year, Lam's vanishing was being handled differently because of her Canadian nationality. Homicide officials were brought in for this one. The day that she disappeared, Lam was planning on traveling to Santa Cruz and set to check out of her hotel. Elevator surveillance footage was released due to a lack of leads in the case. The video shows the young woman acting out of sorts on the night she was last seen. As she slowly enters the elevator, Lam seemingly steadies herself and presses many of the buttons. At each of the floors that the elevator stops, Elisa examines the hallways before getting back into the elevator. It should be mentioned that this hotel is located on Los Angeles' infamous Skid Row, notorious for drug users and countless homeless people.