Police Say White Truck Not Connected to Indiana Student’s Disappearance

Bloomington police dismissed what had appeared to be one of their most promising leads in the search for Lauren Spierer Monday, announcing that a white vehicle they had been trying to identify has no connection to the missing Indiana University student.

“The white truck…has been eliminated from consideration of having anything to do with this case,” Capt. Joe Qualters said at a news conference Monday.

After receiving more than 500 tips about the vehicle, police identified and made contact with the owner, who Qualters said was “extremely cooperative.” He said the driver was just in the area of 10th Street and Morton Street around 4:15 am on June 3 to pick up an employee and video evidence does support that story. Still, police conducted an extensive search of the vehicle and nothing was found.

Qualters also noted that the primary reason they were interested in the truck was because it appeared to have driven down that block twice in 10 minutes around the time the 20-year-old student was last seen, but that has turned out to be inaccurate. In releasing times for video sightings last week, Qualters had cautioned that police were relying on the cameras’ timestamps and could not independently verify them. They have now confirmed that the two images they captured of the vehicle were actually taken at the same time and it only passed through that intersection once.

Eliminating another potential piece of evidence, Qualters said a bag of clothing found at the Smallwood Plaza apartment complex where Spierer lives last week has “absolutely no significance” to this case. He said that because a summer session was ending a lot of clothing was being thrown away and, while there were some local reports that the bag was hidden, it was possible somebody tried to toss it in a dumpster and missed.

He also said a search conducted south of Martinville Sunday after police received a tip about a “suspicious odor” failed to find anything significant. Investigators discovered a “suspicious mound of dirt that appeared to be fresh” but it ultimately may have just been related to some type of utility work.

Given the apparent investigative dead ends he was announcing, a reporter asked if Qualters was frustrated that there has not been a break in the case.

“The only frustration is that we are not able to provide an answer at this point…,” Qualters said. “We will not be satisfied until we are in a position to find out what happened to Lauren.”

Responding to the suggestion that the last reported sighting of Spierer around 4:30 am on June 3 was “just a little suspect,” Qualters said police are not in a position right now to say what did or did not happen or to favor one piece of information over another.

He noted that 160 people had participated in Saturday’s search for Spierer, and 130 showed up on Sunday. He said there would be a meeting later Monday to determine what areas still need to be covered and what resources may still be useful as searches continue.

As she did at several press conferences last week, Lauren’s mother Charlene Spierer urged those who may have information that could help find her daughter to contact police.

“I’m begging and pleading with you take the high road,” Spierer said Monday, “and I’m pleading with you to be that person who defines themselves as the person that helped us.”

Anyone with information on Lauren Spierer’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Bloomington Police Department at 812-339-4477 or policetips@bloomington.in.gov. Her family is offering a $100,000 reward for her return.