Prayer Vigil Held For Missing Scarsdale Student Lauren Spierer
SCARSDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- With prayers for her safe return, friends gathered at the Scarsdale Synagogue Tuesday night with hopes that Lauren Spierer will be found safe.
The 20-year-old Indiana University sophomore was last seen after leaving a friend's apartment early Friday after a night out. Earlier Tuesday, authorities said they had no suspects in the case but suspect foul play.
According to FOX 59 in Indiana, police removed two computer hard drives from the apartment building where Spierer lives. The station reported that after investigators attempted to find a key to open an apartment, police used a battering ram to knock down doors near the lobby of the complex. Officers are continuing to search the building looking for clues.
Tuesday night, friends came together in Scarsdale acknowledging that there wasn't much that they could do, but hold out hope for Spierer's safe return home to Westchester County.
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"She's a great girl and she deserves to be found," one friend tearfully said at the vigil.
"I'm praying for her every day and I can't stop thinking about her," Danielle Shlomo told CBS 2's Sean Hennessey.
Rabbi Andrew Gordon offered prayers "asking for strength for us, for Lauren and for her family and her friends."
One fellow Indiana University student at the vigil said family and friends won't give up looking for the missing student.
"We're just praying that, you know, we find her safe and still alive," he said.
"I will be optimistic until there's reason not to be and right now, there's no reason not be," Gabrielle Kohn said.
Spierer's parents are now begging the public for help in finding her.
They were wearing their anxiety like a garment in Bloomington, Ind., on Tuesday. Charlene and Robert Spierer of Edgemont listened to police talk about their missing daughter.
"Of course we are aware that if Lauren has been abducted, it's possible her appearance has been altered," said Lt. Bill Parker of the Bloomington Police. "We've figured out, unfortunately, that Lauren did not have her cell phone with her because we have her cell phone."
WCBS 880's Catherine Cioffi reports: Bloomington Police Working With FBI, Suspect Foul Play
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Spierer seemed to vanish into thin air in the hour before dawn on Friday during a walk home . The family said it needs a clue, a direction or anything.
"We beg you if you can help us with the search, that you continue to join us every day," Robert Spierer said. "We ask that if anyone saw Lauren Thursday night or Friday morning with anyone, please share that information with Bloomington police. It doesn't matter how casual it was."
Lauren's parents were out the door and en route to Indiana the moment they got the terrible news and despite the evident anguish on their faces for friends and family left behind in New York in many ways it is even worse. There is nothing but idle hours and an agonizing wait.
Indiana University is now on summer break. Spierer stayed behind to take extra course at a local community college before beginning a summer internship in Manhattan.
Dozens of volunteers met outside Spierer's apartment building Tuesday for another round of searching. Authorities directed some teams to look for clues -- a stray piece of clothing left on the ground or anything that appeared out of place or raises suspicion. Other groups, armed with rolls of tape and posters bearing Spierer's face and physical description, fanned out throughout the downtown.
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
