The Why Files does Elisa Lam

 

I've been impressed with The Why Files' coverage of a number of enduring mysteries that I have addressed myself, for example see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-why-files-does-pentyrch.html. Now they have covered the mysterious disappearance and death of Elisa Lam. This is a tragedy that took place at the Cecil hotel in Los Angeles, USA in 2013. A young Canadian tourist vanished after being spotted on CCTV in a lift behaving strangely. Her body was later recovered from a freshwater cistern on the roof of the building. How she disappeared and died is still a mystery, see background links below. This is one of The Why Files' "stripped" videos, ie without Hecklefish. Perhaps considering the tragic subject matter it is more sensitive for AJ to address it alone. The Why Files coverage of the Elisa Lam case is fairly good. I cannot really comment much on most of it because it tallies with what I myself have already said; but they do make one or two errors. These mistakes may seem small, but they are crucial considering the verdict on Elisa's demise. There seems to be some contention over whether the water tank lid was left open or shut after Elisa vanished. AJ states that the technician who found the body said the lid was open. If it were open then that would support the official story of accidental death. If the lid had been shut after Elisa had been thrown inside then somebody else must have done it. She could not possibly have shut the lid from inside. If the lid were open the whole time then why did the search parties on the roof not notice? They checked the entire location. Why did the sniffer dogs lose her scent on the top floor? Why did the police helicopters not notice the open tank lid? Source: https://youtu.be/RFijoi8S49M?si=4b3RqwU51XUd4d6I&t=1453. Also AJ states that Elisa's corpse was in the tank for nineteen days. Is this certain? Is it based on a pathology report? Alternatively it could be an assumption; Elisa disappeared on January the 31st and so anybody who believes the official story will assume therefore that Elisa climbed into the tank that same night, thereby causing her disappearance until the day of the 19th of February when her body was found. The Why Files have done a fairly good job on this mystery; and I'm glad they have addressed it, but the segment could have been better.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2021/03/elisa-lam-netflix-docu.html.
And: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2017/04/elisa-lam-update.html.