The Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. (Flickr, Ron T)

The body of missing Canadian tourist Elisa Lam was found Tuesday at the bottom of a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Yahoo News reported the water in the tank is used by guests for washing and drinking, by the kitchen staff for cooking, and by a coffee shop inside the hotel. Hotel guest Michael Baugh said, "The moment we found out, we felt a bit sick to the stomach, quite literally, especially having drank the water." His wife, Sabrina Bough, told CNN, "The water did have a funny taste. We never thought anything of it. We thought it was just the way it was there… The shower was awful. When you turned the tap on the water was coming black first, for two seconds, then it was going back to normal." 

Upon finding the body, the health department issued a do-not-drink order until the lab had time to analyze the water. Health Department Director Terrance Powell said, "Our biggest concern is going to be fecal contamination because of the body in the water." However, Powell believes it is unlikely anyone ingested contaminated water due to the large amount of water that filled the tank.

The Huffington Post said 21 year old Lam's body was recovered from the tank after hotel guests began complaining about low water pressure. Lam had been missing since February 1st. She traveled on her own to Los Angeles on January 26th and was last seen by hotel workers five days later. Her death has been characterized by the LAPD as suspicious, according to the Daily Mail. The tank where her body was found is located on the roof of the hotel, which is only accessible by bypassing an alarm and having a key. 

27 rooms of hotel guests were moved to another hotel, while 11 rooms elected to stay at the Cecil Hotel after signing a waiver informing them of the health risks and being given bottled water. 

Read NBC 4's coverage of Elisa Lam here.

Read KPCC's coverage of Elisa Lam here.

Read KCal9's coverage of Elisa Lam here. 

Reach Exectutive Producer Briana Goodall here; follow her here.