Body of Canadian tourist found wedged in rooftop water tank of Los Angeles hotel

LOS ANGELES – Police say the body of a woman found wedged in a water tank on the roof of a Los Angeles hotel is that of a missing Canadian guest.

Investigators used body markings to identify 21- year- old Elisa Lam, police spokeswoman Officer Diana Figueroa said late Tuesday. A maintenance worker at the Cecil Hotel found the body earlier in the day after guests complained of low water pressure.

Lam, of Vancouver, British Columbia, travelled to California alone on Jan. 27 and was last seen by workers at the hotel on Jan. 31.

Investigators were trying to determine whether there was foul play in the woman’s death or “a very, very strange accident” occurred, police spokeswoman Officer Sara Faden said.

“The location of the water tanks is very small and configured in a very tight way, so it’s a little more difficult to get the body out,” Faden said. Officials spent much of the day struggling to remove it from the water tank.

The hotel is located in downtown Los Angeles, which has long struggled against the creeping destitution of nearby Skid Row, where drug addiction and homelessness is rampant.

At the time of Lam’s disappearance, police said it appeared suspicious.

Lam was travelling to Santa Cruz, about 560 kilometres north of Los Angeles, and officials said she tended to use public transportation. She had been in touch with her family daily until she disappeared.

A call to the hotel seeking comment was not immediately returned.