5 months ago from today, a barely 5’ tall, blonde Sophomore girl in college went missing in the town of Bloomington, Indiana. The last time Lauren Spierer was seen is estimated to have been around 4 in the morning, walking home from a friend’s apartment alone. Since then, there have only been rumors circulating her disappearance. No one has spoken out, and nearly every person in question has been cleared of suspicious charges. The only lead that bore some hope involved a truck that had been spotted on surveillance video around the area where Lauren was last seen, yet it was later determined that the truck was most likely uninvolved. Since this summer, new information has been difficult to find and prospects have been extraordinarily low. It is becoming harder and harder to believe that we will ever know what happened to Lauren on the morning of June 3rd.
While we only hear of a few cases in the media involving cases like this, it’s disconcertingly true that it happens more often than we think. You never quite envision it happening to you, or even someone you know. I met Lauren on several occasions through one of my closest friends, who is like a sister to Lauren. I felt as if I knew her better than I actually did, given how often my friend spoke to me about her. This summer, I interned at MTV alongside my very close friend and witnessed just how much the disappearance tore her apart inside. She went to Indiana and searched through the woods for Lauren alongside hundreds of volunteers who took time out of their lives to help discover the truth. They combed through reservoirs, dumpsters, fields, and everywhere in between. There was nothing to be found.
This was back in June, now it’s November. The Spierers have indefinitely moved to Bloomington to search for their daughter and vow that they will not give up until they are given answers. Charlene (Lauren’s mother) has written several letters promising that she and her husband are not, ever, relinquishing hope. You can read one of these letters here (http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Lauren-Spierer-Missing-Student-Mother-Letter–129188578.html).
I wrote this blog entry not only to raise awareness for Lauren’s case, but also to remind you that this can happen to anyone. And for those it does happen to, we are responsible for finding the answers. And someday, for Lauren, we will.