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Last updated on Wednesday, May 18, 2016
(BLOOMINGTON)- After nearly five years and the pursuit of more than 3,500 tips, the Bloomington Police Department says it is still working “diligently” to determine what happened to Lauren Spierer.
The 20-year-old Indiana University sophomore has not been seen since the early morning hours of June 3, 2011.
Despite national attention and years of investigation, no arrests have been made in the case, and the cause of her disappearance remains unknown, but Bloomington POlice have never considered or labeled the Spierer case as a "cold case" and investigators still want to hear from anyone with information about the case.
Searches involving hundreds of volunteers were organized and managed by department personnel with those searches occurring within and outside the City of Bloomington and Monroe County. An exhaustive search of a landfill was conducted over the course of several days.
Detectives have traveled to other jurisdictions within Indiana and outside the state for interviews, consultation, and other investigatory efforts.
The department has explored possible connections to a number of criminal suspects arrested in other jurisdictions for heinous crimes against female victims. Investigators have contacted numerous agencies located within and outside the state of Indiana where bodies or human remains have been found in an effort to see if there might be a connection to the case.
The department says it has documented over 2,505 hours of overtime, detectives have traveled to other parts of Indiana and outside the state and investigators have contacted numerous agencies to explore possible connections to the case.
Officers continue to work with a variety of other law enforcement partners and other organizations with specific skills to assist with the case to include the FBI, Indiana State Police, Indiana Conservation Officers, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Indiana University Police Department, the Indiana National Guard, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and various search and rescue organizations.
"The Bloomington Police Department continues to diligently investigate the circumstances related to Lauren's disappearance and will continue to do so until all avenues of investigation have been thoroughly explored. The commitment to determine what happened to Lauren was made to Lauren's family, the citizens of Bloomington and the Indiana University community. All are deserving of our best effort and they should expect nothing less regardless of the amount of time that passes before answers can be provided to those who so desperately need and deserve to know what has happened to their loved one."
Anyone with information on the Lauren Spierer investigation is urged to contact the Bloomington Police Department at 812-339- 4477 or via email at policetips@bloomington.in.gov
The department's prepared statement says, "Anything small could be big."
The time line of events leading up to Lauren's disappearance:
Friday, June 3, 2011
12:30 a.m. - Witnesses report that Lauren left her apartment with a friend named David Rohn. The pair went to Jay Rosenbaum's apartment and she met up with Cory Rossman, Rosenbaum's neighbor.
1:46 a.m. - Spierer is seen entering Kilroy's Sports bar with Cory Rossman.
2:27 a.m. - She is seen exiting the bar with Rossman. Lauren left her cell phone and shoes at the bar. She had taken off her shoes when she walked out onto the sand-covered patio. Rossman walked with Spierer to her apartment complex.
2:30 a.m. - She is then seen entering Smallwood Plaza apartments, where her residence is located. A passerby named Zach Oakes noticed her level of inebriation and asked if she was okay. Rossman reportedly replied: "She's OK, I got it." Oakes stated that he told Rossman to take her back to her room. Rossman cursed at Oakes, which led to an altercation in which Oakes punched him, knocking him to the floor. Rossman claimed that this blow caused him to lose his memory of the evening.
2:42 a.m. - Exits apartment complex. Police reported that Spierer did not go to her fifth-floor apartment during this short visit. Surveillance video shows Spierer stumbling and Rossman helping her to her feet and walk out of the building. A few minutes later, she is witnessed by a bystander sitting down on a staircase and falling backwards, hitting her head on the concrete step. The noise of the impact was loud enough for the bystander to hear it and ask whether she was all right. According to the woman, Rossman replied, "She's OK, I'll take care of it." After they continued up the street, she is witnessed falling again. Because of her intoxication level, she didn't raise her hands to cushion the blow and her face hit the ground unguarded. A few steps later, she fell a third time. At this point, Rossman began carrying Spierer.
2:48 a.m. - After she left the apartments, she entered an alley that runs between College Avenue and Morton Street. Security cameras mounted on nearby apartments show her exit the alley at 2:51 a.m. and walk toward an empty lot. Spierer's keys and purse were found along this route through the alley. Spierer and Rossman arrived at Rossman's apartment shortly after. Michael Beth, his neighbor, was in his own apartment studying. Rossman himself was very intoxicated and stumbling. He vomited on the carpet on the way upstairs. Beth stated that he escorted Rossman to bed. He then tried to persuade Spierer to sleep over for her own safety. He claimed Spierer said she wanted to return to her own apartment.
3:30 a.m. - Beth said he then phoned his neighbor, Rosenbaum, wanting him to take care of her. Beth said that Spierer was attempting to get Beth to drink with her at her own apartment. She eventually went to Rosenbaum's apartment, where he observed bruise under her eye, presumably sustained in the falls earlier in the evening. She told him she didn't know how she got the bruise. Two calls were placed from Rosenbaum's phone shortly before she is reported to have left. Rosenbaum said Spierer placed both calls, one to Rohn and one to another male friend. Neither picked up and no messages were left.
4:30 a.m. - Rosenbaum reports that she left the apartment. This is the last reported sighting of Lauren Spierer. He reported last seeing Spierer at the intersection of 11th Street and College Avenue, headed south on College. She was last seen wearing black leggins, a white shirt, and no shoes.
Several hours later that morning, Jesse Wolff sends Lauren a text. He gets a reply back from an employee at the bar. He reports her missing.
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