Still No Sign of Spierer
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It’s now been a week since Lauren Spierer’s disappearance – and despite a full-fledged search, lucrative rewards and intervention by many agencies, she has still not been found.
However her parents and the police are keeping the spotlight on the case and marshalling hundreds of volunteers who are participating in search parties that go out three times a day.
Here is the latest update:
Police say that though there was an altercation involving a companion of Lauren’s on the night she vanished, she herself was not in the fight. So far the identities of the aggressors in the fight have not been revealed though the people who were involved were presumably among the last to see Lauren Spierer.
In a press conference shown on the Herald Times Online website , Spierer’s Dad urged private landowners in the area to check their barns, sheds and garages and invited them to contact Bloomington police for assistance in these searches of private properties,
Monetary rewards for information continue to grow:
The Spierer family offered $100,000 reward for information leading to the return of their daughter.
Bloomington attorney Ken Nunn pledged $25,000 “for the apprehension and conviction of the people responsible” in Spierer’s disappearance. Nunn said that he’s convinced someone knows what happen to Spierer.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay provided a $10,000 reward
The owners of Smallwood Plaza, John and Kara Jacobs, established the “Help Find Lauren Fund” at Old National Bank with $10,000 on Thursday. As of Thursday afternoon, that fund had grown to an estimated $20,000.
The “Help Find Lauren Fund" has been created by the Hillel Foundation at Indiana University, and donation can be made via this link. Checks can also be sent to the Hillel Foundation at Indiana University with “Help Find Lauren Fund " noted on the memo line and mailed to the following address:
Hillel Foundation
730 East 3rd Street
Bloomington, IN 47401
Check this link daily for updates.
Family Offers $100,000 Reward for Information in Spierer Case
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It’s now been seven long days since Edgemont’s Lauren Spierer disappeared in Bloomington, Indiana where she recently completed her sophomore year. Though police, family, friends and over 400 volunteers have been scouring the area the investigation has failed to lead to Lauren.
Here are the latest developments in the case:
A New York Post article updated on Thursday morning June 9th reports that a male friend, Corey Rossman was seen entering her apartment building with her at 2:40 am. According to witnesses, Spierer was drunk and Rossman was “overly aggressive” and “belligerent.” Rossman took a polygraph test and gave conflicting reports in the news about what happened that night – in one report he says he last saw her walk away at 4:30 am.
However, in another report he says he was punched in the face and “has no memory of their last moments together.” His first memory was of the following morning when he woke up in his bed.
Lauren Spierer’s father announced that the family is offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to her safe return.
Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, has offered a $10,000 reward for information.
In a press briefing, Lieutenant Bill Parker said that police and volunteer searches will continue, and that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will provide resources and help to coordinate the search.
Police obtained a search warrant and broke down the doors at the Smallwood Apartment Building on the night of 6/7 and seized the security camera footage.
Police Report: A Head On Collision and a Dead Possum at the Door
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Accident: A three-car accident on Fenimore Road near Brewster Road sent six people to area hospitals around 8 am on Monday morning June 6th. Cars travelling in opposite directions on Fenimore had a head-on collision when Chester Gould, age 82 of Morris Lane drove his 2010 Jaguar across the yellow line into oncoming traffic and struck a 2010 Mercury driven by Richard Smith, age 41 of Victoria BC. As a result of the collision, Gould’s car then hit a third car, a 2011 Kia, driven by Khalilur Rahman, age 57 of Edgemont Circle, Scarsdale. The Mercury was carrying 39 year-old Lily Selwa, and two children, James and Richard Selwa, ages 9 and 5.
Gould was extracted from his car by the Fire Department and SVAC ambulances and crews from Eastchester, Greenburgh, Harrison and Transcare EMS all arrived to assist. The victims were taken to White Plains Hospital and Westchester Medical Center and their condition is unknown. Fenimore Road was closed and the accident tied up morning traffic and took some time to clear and investigate.
Damage at Lange’s: Anthony Domini of Lange’s Deli reported that he spotted a graffiti tag on top of the toilet lid in the deli’s restroom on Thursday, June 2. The tag read, “Tag one?” He also informed the police that when he arrived at work in the morning he found paper towels covered in dry blood near two plastic chairs that had been damaged the night before in the outdoor dining area. Policemen have been told to increase drive-by’s in the evening to prevent any future incidents.
Arrest: Tareek Lightfoot, age 20 of Oakwood Avenue, White Plains, was arrested on an outstanding bench warrant for unauthorized use of a vehicle at 11:30 pm on 5/31. After processing in Scarsdale, Judge Galloway remanded Lightfoot to Westchester County Jail in lieu of $500 in cash bail.
Summons: An underage drinker was issued a summons just after midnight at the intersection of Sheldrake and Mamaroneck Road on 6/5. Police were alerted concerning an incident of disorderly conduct and went to investigate.
Missing Car: A Colonial road woman called police at 2:47 am on 6/4 to report that someone had taken her 2000 Mercedes from the driveway. Police went out to investigate and found that the car had been repossessed.
Lost Boy: A Dell Road woman reported that her 12 year-old son was missing at 7:26 pm on 6/3. He had gone for a ride on his scooter and failed to return. While police were getting the details from her, the boy returned.
Animals: A Post Road woman found a dead possum in a cardboard box on her doorstep on the evening of June 1. It appears that the possum had been dead for a while as it was already decomposing. The box bore a Griffen Road address but Police could not determine whether the origin of the box was related to the incident. The woman who reported the incident said that it may be related to a dispute her son is having.
A female Pug was turned over to police on the afternoon of 5/31. Police called the dog’s owner who said she was unable to pick up the dog so police turned it over to the New Rochelle Humane Society until the woman could retrieve her pet.
Hawk: Police rescued an injured hawk from Catherine Road at the afternoon of 6/5. They called a wildlife rehabilitator to care for the hawk.
Theft: A Madison Road woman came to headquarters on May 31 to report $1,500 of silver jewelry that was taken from her home about a month ago. The woman believes she knows who is responsible.
A Walworth Avenue man reported that he found some envelopes he had placed in his mailbox for pick up on his front lawn on June 4. A check for $300 was missing from one of the envelopes.
On 6/3, a White Birch Lane woman reported that pearl earrings, valued at $800 were missing as well as a black Channel wallet, worth $1,500. In November she noticed that the earrings were missing and the wallet went missing about two weeks ago.
A Church Lane man reported that his Mac Book Pro laptop computer was taken from his 2001 Volvo when it was parked in his driveway sometime between May 25 and May 27. The computer was valued at $2,500 and the man reported the incident on 6/3.
Identity Theft: A Grand Park Avenue woman reported $1,880 of unauthorized charges on her credit card on 5/31. She cancelled the account.
On 6/2 a Cooper Road man reported that someone used his American Express rewards points to purchase $8,000 in American Express gift cards.
Disputes: A Forest Lane woman called at the night of 5/31 to report that her landscaper was having a dispute on the street. When police arrived they found the landscaper Arnoldo Damien arguing with Luis Dicapua of Climatrol. Damien accused Dicapua of running into his lawnmower with his car. However, Decapua denied it and police told the men it was a civil incident.
On 6/1, a Scarsdale Avenue woman called police when the owner of the dry cleaners on Garth Road was preventing her from getting into her car. Turns out the caller owed money to the dry cleaners but had not paid up after several phone calls. When police arrived, the two agreed to settle the matter by Monday 6-6
A Brewster Road woman complained that landscapers in a blue truck dumped debris in the woods at the intersection of Farley and Brewster Road on May 27th.
On 6/3 a solicitor was reported near Sprague and Nelson Roads. Police stopped the woman who was selling books and magazines for Unity Management. Since she did not have a permit she was instructed to stop going door to door. Another solicitor was reported on Eton Road on the afternoon of 6/5. The woman claimed she had a permit from the New York Youth Club but police did not have it on file.
Pinecrest Road parents called police when they had a dispute over their daughter’s homework. By the time police arrived, the issue had been resolved.
A Wayside Lane woman called police at 10:17 pm on Saturday night 6/3, claiming that her husband had locked her out of the house. When police arrived, they found an unlocked door and let the woman in.
On 6/5, a Carstensen Road man was permitted to remove some personal items from his home by order of the Village court. Police accompanied the man to the house.
Grafitti: Yellow paint was used to make graffiti on a mailbox at Boulevard and Gaylor Roads. The word “Rizo5” appeared with a three point crown and the graffiti was reported on June 3rd.
Day 6: Update on the Search for Lauren Spierer
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Wednesday, June 8th: According to published reports, Bloomington, Indiana police issued a search warrant at Smallwood Plaza, the apartment complex where missing Indiana University and Edgemont resident Lauren Spierer resides.
The police seized two computer hard drives from rooms off of the lobby believed to contain security camera footage from the night Lauren Spierer went missing.
According to the local Fox News affiliate, at about 8:25pm local time, police used a battering ram to knock down two doors near the lobby of the apartment building since a Smallwood Plaza staff member was not on-site to provide a key to gain access.
Lauren’s parents, Charlene and Robert Speirer were reportedly present when the police searched the complex but left before the police did.
Bloomington Police will hold a press conference later this morning.
Developing….
Tuesday June 7th: About 400 people are continuing to search for Edgemont’s Lauren Spierer on Tuesday June 7th. According to the Indiana Daily Student, searches are scheduled for 10 am, 2 pm and 5 pm today in Bloomington for the Indiana University student who was last seen on Friday June 2 at 4:30 am.
In addition, police released new details about the case on Tuesday morning.
- Though there is no suspect, police do have the names of people of interest
- Lieutenant Bill Parker of the Bloomington Police Department confirmed that someone saw Spierer at 4:30 am on Friday
- Police suspect that foul play was involved
- Her hair may have been cut or colored
- Police have her cell phone, which she left with her shoes at Kilroy’s Sports Bar on the night of her disappearance
- Police also found a small purse along with Spierer’s key on the path between her friend’s apartment and Smallwood Plaza
In Scarsdale concerned neighbors and friends will gather for a prayer service for Spierer at her temple, Scarsdale Synagogue on Ogden Road at 7 pm on Tuesday. An email from Rabbi Klein, Rabbie Gordon and Cantor Becker says, “In such a situation, there is little we can do, and yet we feel the need to “do something." Whether or not you know the family, we can come together as one community to share our concern and pray for this family.”
As so many in Edgemont and Scarsdale know Lauren and her family and have children her age, the news is terribly troubling. A Help Find Lauren Spierer Facebook page has over 8,700 followers.
In Bloomington the Jewish community has organized as well and Hillel at Indiana University is helping to coordinate the search. Visit their web page here.
Lauren Spierer, age 20 of Edgemont is a student at Indiana University who vanished at 4:30 am on Friday June 2nd. The plight of the 4’11” college sophomore has captured national attention and hundreds have mobilized in an effort to find her. Now in its fifth day her story is being reported far and wide. Her parents were interviewed on the Today Show on Tuesday morning – see the interview here:
See the original post on Spierer's disappearance here.
Fire on Garth Road
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An underground electrical fire on Garth Road on Wednesday afternoon 6/1 resulted in a large scale evacuation of local businesses and apartments due to the threat of an explosion of manholes on the street. When fire officials arrived just after 2 pm they found heavy smoke and fire coming from a manhole on Garth Road at Freightway and smoke coming out of another manhole at Garth and Popham Roads. Smoke was also rising out of the lamposts that line the roadway. Firefighters report that flames shot 50 feet into the air and Con Edison was called to shut off the power in the area. After the power was turned off, firefighters flooded the manhole to extinguish the fire.
Over 100 people were evacuated from Garth Road including all the stores lining the street as well as apartment dwellers up to #56 Garth Road. Both CVS on the Popham Road Bridge and the 7-11 on Garth Road were without power. Temperatures were above 90 degrees and the store’s refrigerators had to be emptied. The Popham Road Bridge and the lower portion of Garth Road was closed from 2:00 to 4:45 snarling traffic for hours. The fire department had a Bee Line bus sent in to shelter the evacuees as it was extremely hot outside.
Two fire trucks, a ladder truck and three command vehicles were on the scene. Scarsdale career firefighters and ten volunteers were assisted by a unit from Greenville, and firefighters from White Plains and Hartsdale manned Scarsdale fire stations during the Scarsdale crew’s absence. Scarsdale Fire Chief Thomas Cain reported that firefighters worked closely with Police and Con Edison and all decision makers worked together in a well coordinated effort.
Scott of Gianonnis on Garth Road reported smoke outside and a power loss, but fortunately his back up generator kept their food cold. The store
Marie Labropoulos, owner of the Kalliste Organic Soap shop on Freightway gave the following account and took the picture shown at the top:
I noticed something was wrong as the lights in my shop started to flicker and initially attributed it to an overload on the electrical system due to the A/C running all day. Just seconds after that I could smell ozone and knew there was a definite taxing on the system so I switched off my lights and A/C and stepped outside where I saw black smoke billowing out of the manhole.
Sam, who works for the village and is a volunteer fireman was down the street and immediately got on his radio to call for emergency response. Within a minute the first officers arrived and began informing all of the commercial and residential tenants of Garth Rd. to evacuate the vicinity and not breathe in the harmful fumes. The Fire Department and Con Edison worked together for the next several hours to get what I believe were three underground fires out and electricity as well as safety to the neighborhood restored. Today Con Edison continues to work underground on rebuilding the lines while the Fire Department and Police Department are patrolling the area.”
