The body of Elisa Lam, a Canadian tourist who went missing, was found in a hotel water tank.
The body of Lam, 21, was found in the water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Southern California. Lam went missing on February 1. A maintenance worker found her body on Tuesday.
It is not clear how she died. Investigators are trying to determine if it was an accident or foul play.
Guests were shocked to learn about the body that was found in the water system. Guests had been showering, brushing their teeth, and drinking the water and noted that it seemed a bit strange. The water tanks where the body was found provide water for the hotel taps and may have been used by guests.
"The water did have a funny taste," Sabrina Baugh, a British tourist who used the water in the hotel for eight days, told CNN. "We never thought anything of it. We thought it was just the way it was here."
The Baughs were understandably disgusted when they heard the news.
"The moment we found out, we felt a bit sick to the stomach, quite literally, especially having drank the water, we're not well mentally," Michael Baugh, 27, said, according to the Huffington Post.
A do-not drink order was issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Tuesday as a lab analyzes the water. The water is also used for cooking and it is used in a coffee shop which has been closed as it must sanitize its equipment.
"Our biggest concern is going to be fecal contamination because of the body in the water," Powell said. The contamination, if there is any, is likely minimal since the body was found in such a large container of water.
The hotel has hired a water treatment specialist. The Cecil Hotel is a 600-room hotel with rooms that at at $65 per night.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
