Elisa Lam was a “21 years old Canadian girl who studied at University of British Columbia” (Rylah, “Cecil Hotel). Before her disappearance, she was on her solo trip to South California. On Jan. 28, Elisa Lam checked into the Cecil Hotel located in the downtown Los Angeles. However, in accordance CNN, she was reported missing since she stopped her “daily phone call to her family” (Duke) after a few days.

A few days later, the video released by the LAPD – taken by the camera in the hotel elevator – led to the controversy on what happened to Elisa Lam.