Weekend Marks 1st Anniversary Of Indiana University Student's Disappearance
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (CBS) -- A year ago Sunday, Indiana University student Lauren Spierer vanished after a night out with friends.
As police continue their search, a service is planned for Friday. The service, being hosted by IU Dean of Students Harold "Pete" Goldsmith and IU Hillel Center Executive Director Rabbi Sue Laikin Silberberg, is billed not as a memorial, but as a "time of remembrance."
On the family's official website, Lauren's parents Rob and Charlene Spierer write, "It is impossible to explain, as we continue to search for Lauren, what the experience of having a missing child is like. There is no explanation for why this has happened."
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The 20-year-old apparel merchandising student, from Greenburgh, N.Y., was last seen several blocks north of downtown Bloomington shortly before dawn last June 3.
Earlier in the evening, she had been out with friends at Kilroy's, a local bar more than a mile from the spot where she was reportedly last seen at 4:30 a.m.
Spierer's parents continue to point a finger at the people Lauren was with, writing, "There is no reason to think the people Lauren was last with wouldn't do everything in their power to help us find her. But, alas, there is deafening silence."
The Spierers write that the silence compounds their frustration, desperation and grief.
In a statement, Bloomington Police said the Spierer case remains a priority and "very active."
They said they receive two or three "credible" new leads a week -- each of which is followed up -- have checked on unidentified bodies and cases with similarities elsewhere, and say the passage of time has not deterred their effort.
"Hundreds of primary and secondary interviews have been conducted and investigators continue to make progress on many fronts," police said.
The Spierers write that they have no intention of giving up, either.
"It threatens to be our undoing, but make no mistake, we will never give up," they wrote.
Bloomington Police said that tips can be e-mailed to policetips@bloomington.in.gov or called in to (812) 339-4477.
