From the Bloomington Herald Times…
In the six-week-long investigation into the disappearance of Indiana University student Lauren Spierer, Bloomington police have not searched the landfill just south of Terre Haute where Bloomington’s city trash is hauled.
Should police request a search of the Terre Haute landfill, they’ll know which sections of the landfill contain Bloomington’s recent garbage and from what days.
“We were contacted,” Mike Calleja, a general manager for Republic Services, confirmed last week in a phone interview from his office at the Sycamore Ridge landfill in Pimento, south of Terre Haute. While Calleja did not give a specific date or time he was contacted by police, he described it as “initially” in the investigation.
Twenty-year-old Spierer was reportedly last seen about 4:30 a.m. Friday, June 3, at the intersection of 11th Street and College Avenue, headed south.
Bloomington police called the local office of Republic, and managed to catch Calleja, who said he was in town for a meeting. “They wanted to confirm that our landfill is in Terre Haute,” he said, “and Bloomington’s garbage, that’s where it went.”
City of Bloomington trucks dump their loads of city garbage at a Hoosier Disposal and Recycling transfer station at 6660 S. Ind. 37. From there, it is moved to Republic’s Sycamore Ridge landfill. Trash trucks are weighed, and the garbage is spread out, compacted and covered each day.
In accordance with federal and state regulations, the placing of trash at a landfill is a “very organized, highly engineered” process, Calleja explained.
“It is identified,” he said. That is to say, landfill officials can point police to exactly where Bloomington’s trash was dumped on a given day.
Calleja said the landfill has not been served with a search warrant. He deferred other questions to Bloomington police Capt. Joe Qualters.
“Decisions about any searches that would take place anywhere would be made by the investigators,” Qualters said in an email. He would not answer specific questions about Hoosier Disposal and Recycling, Republic Services or the possibility of trash searches. “We have taken the position to not speak about details related to the investigation unless it would be done to solicit tips or assistance from the public,” he said.
Qualters noted Bloomington police have not searched a landfill in his 24 years with the department. “From my limited knowledge, it seems to be a very labor-intensive process and that would seem to translate to a potentially costly endeavor,” he stated by email.
But 25 years ago, Bloomington police searched the old Monroe County Landfill on Anderson Road for body parts never recovered in the dismemberment murder of Indiana University graduate student Ellen Marks. Most of her body, cut into pieces, was found in garbage bags half buried on an overgrown lot at 10th and Summit streets in Bloomington.
But the grisly discovery in September 1986 did not turn up Marks’ head and several other body parts. Former Bloomington Police Department Detective Kay Minger, now retired, remembers the futile search for the rest of the woman’s remains. All they found was trash.
“I don’t believe we could have found them even if it had been there,” she said via email. “It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Maybe if we’d been looking for the entire body, we may have had more luck.”
In his 28 years in the industry, Calleja has been involved in five landfill searches where police sought bodies — two in Kentucky, one in Arizona, one in California and one here in Indiana, at a Republic landfill near Frankfort in Clinton County.
Calleja instructs police on landfill safety policies, including what to wear — boots, work gloves hard hats, reflective vests, protective coveralls. At these landfill searches, volunteers have pitched small tents to provide professional searchers with water and meals.
Like this:
Filed under: News Tagged: | landfill, lauren spierer, qualters, spierer
People go missing all the time. Are we supposed to search the landfill every other day? For every Lauren Spierer, there are ten other people who go missing that nobody cares about.
Umm, yes?! Why not?? If there’s reasonable suspicion of foul play and you can narrow down what dumpsters could have been possible disposal sites, then yes. Every well-organized landfill knows exactly where their truxks’ loads are dumped, by route. Considering no visibility of Spierer in street cam past the 5 North apartments, I know to which dumpsters I’d be looking …
Very true.
I’m agreeing with Andrew, btw. The number of missing people in the USA, who disappear forever, is pretty astounding.
A vast number of the people who go “missing” are because they want it that way, or are part of a familial dispute, or are just missing for a few hours and then found. This is a very different case – no evidence that Spierer was wanting to run away or disappear, and no visual evidence, despite plenty of street cams, that she made it past the 5 North Apartments. The police are certainly treating it as probable foul play, so searches are warranted.
Wow, pretty selective information you shared from that story. There was quite a bit more information provided. A cynic might think you were simply trying to paint a slanted view of BPD. Hacked any cell phones lately too? lol
Hey moron. I posted everything I could without coughing up the 6.95. HT demands. For a guy who hates this site so much, you come back — and comment — pretty often.
LOL – yes love those who criticize reporters for putting out news that no one else does.
But I have to read your Twitter feed first to realize this is a Herald Times article? I didn’t see any attribution at first and thought this was a TG original.
I attributed it to HT as soon as I saw it — then when I finally got the whole story (which was a lot of work) — I omitted the attribution when I updated the post. It now has the proper attribution.
Next time let me know Tony I will just give you my password and you won’t have to pay lol
I’m all set. Thanks.
If you have the HT subscription, post their whole article then, but don’t knock our dude TG.
if you don’t like the info. don’t read or start your own blog. you’re not taken seriously anyways.
I bet 100 people would volunteer and do it for free.
What I was thinking. Plus, the organization of the landfills means they could go about the search methodically (as in, target areas containing trash from the POI’s residence)
You can’t allow lay citizens to search a landfill in the first place…it’s WAY too hazardous. And even if people did volunteer for a day…doubt they’d return to do the job again…have any of you ever sorted through trash? It’s repulsive. Had one assignment for a waste management class and never wanted to do that again.
GODDAMN. That should have been the first thing searched. If they did that when they searched the lakes, it wouldn’t have been that hard. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s buried under tons of garbage.
Would like to hear from Robert and Charlene on this.
From the beginning, I have felt the BPD did NOT want to search the landfills and were lying when they said they had. There have been several instances that are questionable in the sequence of events that BPD have done things. Something is wrong in this investigation! I cannot provide the link, but IIRC, 5 North dumpster is emptied on Friday morning – Bingo, perfect timing! LS wasn’t reported missing until
3-4:00 pm, so that dumpster had already been emptied into the trash truck. Evidence gone.
I hope the Spierer’s will demand the landfills be checked. Many other cities do check landfills as dumpsters are becoming the “in” place to get rid of bodies.
Tony, what do her patents think of this…..and are they even still in Bloomington???
I agree with you…I am appalled they didn’t search the landfill.
I have thought from the very beginning she was abducted and taken away, ONLY because “everything” was searched by “everyone” including dogs….now we find out that is not the case.
So according to everything I am reading, landfills could be the resting place of millions of missing persons…..maybe we could do a massive search one of these days. Who knows how many cases would be closed.
I have heard a lot of speculation about the dumpster at 5 north or the dumpster at the construction site being dumped that morning. a construction site dumpster may sit full until the owner comes to pick it up, no one but the person responsible for that dumpster would know when it was being dumped. It is doubtful it was used. Does anyone know for sure when the 5 north dumpster was emptied? unless it was early friday morning, it seems highly unlikely it was used either. Bloomington had different trash days for different areas when I was there.
Bloomington area murderers take note!
WHAT?!? That makes absolutely no sense! It shouldve been one of the first places checked! Now 6 wks of trash may be piled on top of her. Really really makes no sense!
And who cares about money time or resources! Im sure many many ppl would be willing to help search it for free! Ridiculous!ppl would be willing to help search it for free! Ridiculous!
Tony you have provided awesome coverage on Lauren. The search of the land fill is well overdue. I have read that dogs would make a tremendous difference.
http://bloomington.in.gov/mybloomington?address=1100+college
Trash day appears to be on Tuesday in that area from the best I can tell from this web site. Unbelievable that the landfill wasn’t checked. Was BPD directing the search areas during the large turnouts of volunteers. Might this have ever come up when deciding where to send 100s of people each day? How about the transfer station that is at least close to Bloomington.
Special trash days are usually provided for construction and bulk or private dumpsters. Our neighbor has special pick ups on their acreage right now because of construction. They should have searched this first thing with all of the volunteers around!
I can understand why the police would be reluctant to search the landfill if they didn’t have any actual evidence that a body had been placed in a local dumpster. This is why it’s so important that anybody with information give them an anonymous tip—or just let them know about anything they saw on the morning in question that was out of the ordinary. (If people have been following the case of poor Leiby Kletzky, his body was found *before* his murderer was identified when an alert policeman noticed a lid to a dumpster in the neighborhood had been left open). However, I wish the BPD would be MUCH more specific about the sort of tips they are looking for. Just saying ‘if you saw something, say something’ may not prompt the (unfortunately now fading) memories of the most well-meaning citizen who may have seen something important.
If only they could get a tip, it is possible to retrieve someone from a landfill because landfill companys make maps of their sites, as mentioned in this story from the 2006 case of John Fiocco, Jr., a student at the College of New Jersey:
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=nj&id=4115228
Fiocco was drunk at a frat party and police suspect, but were never able to prove, that he was deliberately placed in the trash chute of his frat house (either as a ‘prank’ or punishment). He evidently hit his head on the dumpster he was propelled into and so was unable to extricate himself. (Some may remember that the novelist Joyce Carol Oates was heavliy criticized for writing a short story–I think it was entitled ‘Landfill’–based closely on the details of Fiocco’s fate very soon after he was found).
If Lauren *was* placed in a dumpter—either by a stranger or someone who knew her—and is in a landfill somewhere or in a similar location, I hope the lawyer of whoever is responsible realizes that at some point the body will not be retrievable, and that people will not forgive that person for depriving the family of a proper reunion and burial, no matter how frightened or immature the perpetrator was.
I wonder if they use spotters? In Delaware, a dead man was discovered being dumped onto a landfill from a trash truck by a “spotter”. Spotters are used to survey incoming loads for items that are illegal for landfills. I read that most municipal landfills employ them.
Well, if she were folded up in say a suitcase, would they see her. At what point is trash compacted?
Remember the Hacking murder in Utah- they found his wife in the landfill though admittedly they had more evidence
I live in Bloomington and am surprised by this too. Perhaps there is evidence leading a different direction but I still don’t get it. I had assumed the landfill and dumpsters would have been searched by trained dogs and/or investigaters in the first week or two.
Another thing…at the very least the bpd could have ask the owners of the landfill to cease dumping in the specific area where that days garbage was dumped. Now I realize the landfill could have refused to comply but it would have made a future search a lot easier.
I don’t think everything can be searched. Too often bodies show up in areas that are very close to and even in search zones, so even areas searched are not necessarily 100% off the list.
The cost of this sort of thing is a real issue. One needs a lot of resources to do this as it is a dangerous endeavor and one that takes a lot of time to do properly. Things in Bloomington have not come to a standstill because of the LS case, and the police do have other things they need to do as well. It becomes an manpower and attention issue after awhile.
As for searching the landfill, should this be done each time someone is reported missing? What are the cost implications of this? Where is the money to pay for this?
As others have mentioned, perhaps that could have been a first place to look when it would not be so onerous a task. But now…., I don’t know. For a live person, there would be no hesitation at all, but a slim chance of finding someone’s body that was missing over a month ago, I do hesitate and ask how much and what does it comprise. She could also have been dumped in a lake and we do not drain it dry to make 100% sure she is not there. If we knew she were dumped there, more would be done. There is some cost/results weighing that is done in these searches.
FYI, in the Jill Behrman disappearance and murder case, more than a mile of Salt Creek was drained in 2002 to try to find her. Money was not much of an issue because local companies donated time and equipment. Remember, there is a $100,000 reward just for imformation leading to the safe return of Lauren.
I wish we could know whether or not What the BPD (Qualters) reporterd early on was a lie when he said landfills had been searched. Very disturbing.
Bill Parker, not Qualters, was quoted in the cite posted below by KS and others (thank you),
though I’m almost sure I read a short reference to landfill’s having been searched in a time-line accounting of what has been done, in/on a local paper/web site. Can not find now.
G, I’m sure if it comes down to money, Mr. and Mrs. Spierer would do whatever it takes to find their daughter. They have offered over $100K, and there would be others who have deep pockets to investing for a landfill search. I do agree with you that it would be a huge job, very meticulous and dangerous. Probably not something you want the average man or woman doing without being a liability if injured. Can it also be possible that the BPD had other tips that might have made more sense that Lauren S wasn’t dumped and taken to a landfill at the time?
This was published on June 10th saying that Parker said the landfills had been searched.
http://www.thedailygreenburgh.com/neighbors/spierer-case-appear-americas-most-wanted
“The case of missing Edgemont resident Lauren Spierer will be featured on “America’s Most Wanted” Saturday.
Spierer, a student at Indiana University, disappeared Friday, June 3 at roughly 4:30 a.m.
“We’re not losing hope,” said Bloomington Police Lieutenant Bill Parker at Friday’s press conference. He stated that they will remain focused on finding her alive.
Police are expanding the search for Spierer, as well as retracing their steps. Parker confirmed that dumpsters and landfills have been searched and encouraged stores in Spierer’s path last Friday morning to give their security tapes to police for analysis.
nice going there BPD. Lets waste tons of man hours looking in forests but not dumpster residuals near the scene of a possible crime. Don Knotts ought to knock on your door and punch you in the nose for giving him a bad name
What a big f-ing joke.
Look, there are different procedures that police and investigators have to use during each crime. Especially, the crimes such as this with Lauren. For me, if it was my child I would search all water, forests, fields, abandon buildings or property, homes, landfills, vehicles etc. Idk why they havent searched landfills. Its stupid I know. but we cant just look in one specific area. We have to search everywhere.
Wow. I believed the article (below) that reported Parker (of BPD) stating that the dumpsters and landfill had been searched. After the Andrew Compton incident, one would think that would be one of the first places to check. That search was not successful.
Someplace I read a rumor that stated that the dogs reacted to a dumpster but elsewhere I read that the dogs lost the scent in the gravel lot. If the dogs reacted to a dumpster, it seems like that would be cause to search the landfill right away, with cadaver dogs.
http://www.thedailygreenburgh.com/neighbors/spierer-case-appear-americas-most-wanted
Yes, unless there is new information and really good record keeping at the landfill, knowing about the case of Andrew Compton is discouraging.
There was a grueling nine day (I think) organized search at a landfill with police, trained dogs and employees from the landfill; they had what they thought very good information, not much of a delay from reported occurrance, and they still came up with nothing.
UNBELIEVABLE!!! Either the BPD doesn’t want to find Lauren (for whatever reason) or they know she isn’t in the dump. I don’t generally believe in conspiracy theories BUT it never seemed like the BPD were interested in this case
Thanks for the excerpt. Which now begs the question: What landfill was BPD Lt. Bill Parker referring to when he “confirmed that dumpsters and landfills have been searched” in a story published by The Daily Greenburgh (LS’ hometown) on June 10? [ http://www.thedailygreenburgh.com/neighbors/spierer-case-appear-americas-most-wanted ]
One would hope there is a reason they have not searched the garbage dump. The likely reasonis that they believe she is elsewhere.
One would think checking the landfills and checking the trucks that picked up garbage in that area would be one of the first things done. I have read lots of negative comments about the Bloomington police which I have dismissed(still wanting to believe in the good) but this really makes me think hmmmm…
What about the “rumor” that cadaver dogs were brought to the dumpster after it had been emptied and still reacted? Is there any truth to this? I heard this secondhand from someone who claims to know a police officer in town.
I don’t know what protocol generally is, but mightn’t it have made sense to send dogs out to the landfill as soon as it was suspected she might have been dumped there?
Puzzled.
It seemed like the cops didn’t think she was there early on. It was my early guess. I hope they were right, two months of trash is a mountain. Maybe cadaver dogs could aid. BPD needs to explain themselves publicly. They are making all of us Hoosiers look bad. Maybe they have done everything right, but we need to know. A community has to feel somewhat safe. They could put out the word, and people would volunteer to help. I want to know also why the media let JR and co. off the hook after te cops and family were pointing fingers. It is crazy.
Tony – Could your mystery man be Christopher Michael Redmond? Look at http://jayrosenbaumneedstotalk.wordpress.com/, there is a picture of him on page 6 of the latest post.
There is no evidence that this guy has ever stepped into Bloomington in his life.
A.
Decisions about any searches that would take place anywhere would be made by the investigators,” Qualters said in an email. He would not answer specific questions about Hoosier Disposal and Recycling, Republic Services or the possibility of trash searches. “We have taken the position to not speak about details related to the investigation unless it would be done to solicit tips or assistance from the public,” he said.
Qualters noted Bloomington police have not searched a landfill in his 24 years with the department. “From my limited knowledge, it seems to be a very labor-intensive process and that would seem to translate to a potentially costly endeavor,” he stated by email.
B
We’re not losing hope,” said Bloomington Police Lieutenant Bill Parker at Friday’s press conference. He stated that they will remain focused on finding her alive.
Police are expanding the search for Spierer, as well as retracing their steps. Parker confirmed that dumpsters and landfills have been searched and encouraged stores in Spierer’s path last Friday morning to give their security tapes to police for analysis.
So which statement is correct? A or B. Simple question I would think. I would pray that there is some sort of mis-quote in one of these statements. It seems to be a very simple question. The landfill was checked or it wasn’t.
EXACTLY. This is just the sort of thing ithat causes such great distrust of law enforcement by the public. They need to fix this — explain why they have put out two completely different stories. Did they search the landfill or didn’t they? this isn’t a hard question….!! Maybe a report mis-heard them? Of course, nearly everything has been recorded, so honesty is the best policy.
Really…is it that hard to clarify facts that are out there. We’re all grown-ups.
Apparently, BPD thinks It is too hard to search a landfill. BPD, I think, was hoping some info from somewhere (like a tip) would fall into their lap.
I would figger that as soon as they had a theory that didnt include an abduction, and after a week or so of searching didnt turn up a body, that they would surmise that the body was removed with the trash. I did.
I would have found out when dumpsters were emptied within a small radius of the apartments (say 6 blocks or so) and started searching where those dumpsters went.
I mean, for a dump off a body by panicked students theory, the most likely scenario would be a quick find somewhere close….. or the body was moved quickly in a dumpster or grease container at a restaurant. Right? Get the body out of sight and out of the way FAST.
Since the body has not been found, it is most likely at a landfill or is somewhere REAL OUT OF THE WAY (would a panicked student or students have been able to do that?), or an elaborate body removal effort was implemented.
Or, the panicked students theory is entirely incorrect, and she was abducted and taken far away.
A landfill search earlier could have narrowed the theories.
This makes me sick. I’ll be more than happy to go search! Unbelievable
Is there any way to fund a private search of the landfill?
Well, it seems clear that the BPD flat out lied when they asserted that all dumps and landfills were searched already. To all sensible people, those places would have been among the first places to look. They had hundreds of volunteers over many days, and they never sent anyone to the landfill where the local dumpsters are emptied? And they lied and said they did? What if the poor girl was incapacitated in a dumpster that was then dumped along with tons of garbage — I cringe at the thought. Law enforcement should have been out there early and often. What on earth is going on in Bloomington?
I think Qualters was away the first week. Maybe the dumpsters and landfill were searched but nobody told Qualters.
Story from The New Yorker. “Landfill.”
Joyce Carol Oates is awesome! Great writer.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/10/09/061009fi_fiction
you all need to visit jayrosenbaumneedstotalk.com. Incredible story posted today.
And what is so incredible about it? Some guy in Michigan is accused of sexual assault.
little jealous cause you didn’t indicate it first? I noticed you went over there and started chastising the site owner. You got a little one upped eh?
no idea what ur referring to.
its the boyfriend–what is your deal–are you jealous of tony or someone who is getting scared as Tony is finding out more than the police are??
I think this is a reach and a red herring. Doesn’t match the description of the “mystery man” at all. Say, what happened to “chickjustin” ‘s blog?
chickjustin’s mental health is spiraling out of control. Her blog was pulled because she is making threats and ranting at commenters while publishing their email and IP addresses. She is accusing IU officials, law enforcement, and H-T journalists of murder, stalking, rape, pedophilia, etc. Her mind is totally void of reality at this point.
student is right. It is really disturbing, and this latest incident undermines whatever credibility her admittedly far-fetched theories might have had. She is accusing people of horrible things with absolutely no basis in fact, and one imagines that these accusations will lead to a cease-and-desist order (or worse) pretty soon. If it were me she were accusing of these things, I would be beside myself.
It that the IP address that she is trying to pin on a specific person or group of people (“pedophiles,” as she puts it) is an IP address that could be assigned to ANYONE who is logged onto the IU network, whether they are a student or not. That could be any one of about 100,000 people, yet she has decided to target a graduate student and an IT person for the university. Given the local interest in this case, it’s not all that surprising that someone connected to IU would have found that blog and left a comment. (Full disclosure: I am one of those 100,000 or so people, which is how I know, but I otherwise have no connection to this person or with any of the POIs.)
I only mention this as evidence of the kind of unsubstantiated leaps this person seems to be making. I understand if Tony wants to delete this comment, but I at least wanted him to see it. He is a responsible reporter and, while critical of the BPD at times, has been careful to separate himself from the more outlandish and irresponsible theories floating around. (Imagine TG posting commenters’ email/IP addresses on Twitter! It would never happen.)
As they say, “Consider the source.”
In hindsight, going on 60 days, it’s easy to suggest “why wasn’t this done?” Did anyone else suggest landfills a few days after LS became missing? Maybe a few did. But I don’t think that popped up till later. At the beginning, it takes time to sort out people’s whereabouts and get the information. From a detective view, you may have all sorts of ideas but you cannot just go searching landfills because you have a hunch. You need warrants, etc. Before you can get a warrant, you need probable cause. Hard telling why Parker or whoever said that landfills were searched, why they would say that, is odd, and it makes you wonder if they are holding some vital information back within the pyramid of their own department/investigation. Stuff like this should be relayed back to the media. And I’m not defending BPD, because I think there were investigative errors, and being overly quiet is tough for the public who want answers and to find Lauren. I still do not think there was a so-called cover-up by the BPD. It makes for interesting TV/drama, but this isn’t LA Confidential, and for something like that to happen, it would be hard to keep from leaking. You have the FBI and the Spierer’s own PI involved. Sure, the BPD should have been more proactive on the landfill search.I agree. But at the time, I think they were trying to get as much info on the POIs.
Why suggest they search the landfill when they said that it had been done? There is no hindsight involved.
There are a hundred different reasons why someone speaking on behalf of BPD would say that it had been searched and it hadn’t. Let’s hope it’s simply “we screwed up” because that’s the one that is most easily explained.
Police may have quickly alerted the dumpster and landfill companies to check and be on the watch as soon as Lauren disappeared, as standard procedure; that may explain the two conflicting statements from BPD. One search by the companies, new one upcoming by police directly. Maybe the police have new information to guide them in this search.
As far as no request for volunteers to search the landfill–there may be some considerations of potential loss of or damage to evidence in the search, as well as a bio-hazards, for those not trained and equipped.
Whatever happens, may the Spierers find some peace soon!
Tony….thank you for checking into this. I posted about this possibility last week….sign me up for the search.
Unbelievable. This is the most logical place she would be, unless the police have solid evidence to the contrary. They’e searched Bloomington high and dry. I doubt she’s still there.
Tony,
I begin to wonder what Jim Irsay has to think about all this. While he was quick to toss up 10k for a reward, (which is change for him I wonder what his thoughts on this whole scenario are? I wonder if he personally knows one of the POI’s dad from his successful business in Indianapolis. I wonder if he knows the other clout that is in involved with families related to this case. All of these developments, I’m shocked as to how certain corporations (ie. NYC Wall St. with RS’s connections etc. haven’t donated money to cover the cost of the “cheap” BPD.
Good folo-up.
My three cents…
Having read all of the comments here, as well as the links posted, it seems that this part of the mystery is the easiest of all to solve.
When Lt. Bill Parker “confirmed that dumpsters and landfills have been searched” we now clearly know that he was not telling the truth.
He lied, he fabricated, he made it up as he went along, he told a falsehood, he uttered a falsity, he misinformed, he mislead, he told an untruth, he talked with an intent to deceive, he sought to fool us, and he was just as dishonest as he could be.
There, there you go. So now you know.
The question, now, is why?
Do Qualters and Parker ever talk to each other?
I doubt it Tony all about power around here.
If your angry just go to the BPD Facebook page and let them know beleive me thier wall is full of the same questions
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloomington-Police-Department/120400677981968?sk=wall#!/pages/Bloomington-Police-Department/120400677981968
Can the BPD really check every location? And had they checked the landfill initially and found nothing, would the public outcry disappear, or would it change to “Come on BPD! Stop wasting time in Terre Haute, there’s tons of forests and ditches here she could have been hidden in!” I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the area, but a human body stuffed into any type of container could be easily hidden ANYWHERE within a mile of any location in the city. There are wooded trails throughout the city, abandoned properties, and overgrown lots…the options available are endless if they left the city.
I know this case is amazingly important to the Spierers and friends but in the big scheme of things this is just another disappearance of an underage drinking possible coked out party girl. Whatever happened to the abduction theory? She could be sex slaving it up in CA for all we know, how would wasting time and money on a landfill search help?
And what do you have to say about BPD contradicting itself.
As you’ve been here for a while I’m sure you’ve noticed the townies of Bloomington aren’t the brightest bulbs, would BPD be that much more intelligent than the rest of the city they come from? Or, would they be about on par with everyone else here? Add in INTENSE media scrutiny that such a small city is not used to and I can see the BPD easily being overwhelmed leading to miscommunication.
Or the entire department, the FBI, and the family’s PI all know what happened and are protecting the guilty party due to their family’s influence…?
Still not seeing how this couldn’t be a simple abduction just because kids being accused of a variety of crimes have lawyered up.
It is possible, though I have no direct info, that the local waste removal location was searched before that trash was taken to the actual landfill in Terre Haute. We will not know unless/until BPD answers questions about the conflicting statements.
The case of Molly Dattilo in Indianapolis is interesting who disappeared in Indianapolis. No criminal charges were ever brought against the person they believed was responsible (John Shelton) so they sued him. They won $3.5 M. In the Dattilo case, they will probably never see that money; however with Spierer a lot of the POIs’ families have money.
http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-judge-orders-men-to-pay-family-111610,0,461158.story
The Facebook page for the Bloomington PD is crazy. Everything we all have been saying on this site has been posted on their wall at some point or another. The uber posters on this blog should direct some of their emotion on their Wall. Think about it.
Tony – the manipulation of the Bloomington media (story in the HT yesterday re: CR’s memory loss) and the crappy job BPD is doing or rather NOT doing investigating Lauren’s disappearance leads me to believe there is indeed something the BPD is covering up, either for the powers that be or something in their own back yard – this is reeking of something else going on
Latest Btown H-T news:
Expert: Loss of memory common after head injury
Spierer’s friend says he can’t remember altercation at Smallwood the night she disappeared.
I’m not a lawyer but I have noticed that there is at least one that has been posting. I have suggested this before and I am hoping someone could help explain why this can’t’ be been done due to the extreme circumstances of someone being missing/murdered.
There is video evidence that there was a punch in the face to CR at Smallwood. He can’t remember anything though. If no one can be questioned regarding the disappearance of LS; why can’t BPD file a simple assault charge on XX? It would at least get some of these POI’s back to Bloomington if only to answer to this charge. Would this not be better than letting them all off the hook. Who knows what might happen if they were to answer to this incident caught on tape?
So does the BPD have a right to file a charge of assault even if CR doesn’t want to press charges? He can’t remember right? I would say it was in the public’s best interest to protect the next person who is around XX when he feels like it’s ok to punch someone in the face. I just read that a guy was killed in Vegas due to one punch.
I could not agree more. From what we hear at IU this hot head (ZO) punches/fights all the time . Says he “above the law” or his favorite line “I’ll buy you, cause I’m rich”.
Is it curious that BPD was not involved in the recent arrest of a Bloomington man in child porn ring?
“Indiana FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Welch says his agency along with the Indiana State Police, the Kokomo Police Department and the Brownsburg Police Department worked in collaboration in one of the most important investigations in over 70 years.”
http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/fbi-finds-child-porn-produced-bloomington-20-arrested/
Perhaps we’re all getting a bit paranoid about the BPD, but there seems to be some very serious crimes being committed with very slow or non existent resolution. I’m thinking of Jill Berman, Molly Datillo, others we know little about. Young women for the most part.
Check out the rapes of IU students too. Maybe the BPD is overloaded with work, but there should be an alternative source for help if that is the case. The burden of any crime at IU may be too much for this town.
I’m wondering why the BPD was not involved in the child porn case when the person investigated/arrested was a Bloomington resident.
Dattilo was kidnapped in Indianapolis. Nothing to do with Bloomington as she was attending IUPUI in Indianapolis.
JD——–Reason: FBI has task force groups located in major cities around that United States that works with Innocence Lost; a non-profit organization located in Washington, DC. Money is allocated to FBI specifically for this initiative, reason being that this initiative is important, quite specialized, and one that State and local police (majority) do not have the resources or time to hone in on crimes against children (of such nature as described in the link below).
Check out the website: (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/cac/innocencelost)
Thank you Lizanne. It’s good to know about the task force organization.
Also–my brain backfired about Molly Datillo who is still missing (since July 2004), but from IUPUI–Indianapolis and not Bloomington.
Her family works to keep the attention out there and got legislation passed to get LE to begin investigation into missing adult cases much sooner than had been previously. The investigation into Molly’s disappearance did not begin for two months after her disappearance.
With the concentration of young people at these big college campuses which are located in small town police districts, perhaps there needs to be a nation-wide or federal task force to handle these cases? There would certainly be more clout to persue POI who manage to hide behind distance, big-time lawyers and money.
Molly was a student at IUPUI in Indianapolis, not IU Bloomington.
The on bright bulb the had, went for a masters in neuropharmacology. Unfortunately, Office James Lerg is no longer with us, due to an apparent suicide. On the record, I’m not buying the suicide BS.
What’s with the Lerg suicide conspiracy? Reading too much @chickjustin?
Lerg shot himself on May 28, 2011. What does it have to do with LS?
BPD may be ill-equipped, but co-conspirators on every news worthy case they have? I doubt it. Giving too much credit to a police department that rarely does much.
think logically, why would a cop commit suicide on duty with another weapon other than his police issued weapon on his belt?
IMO this doesn’t make sense. it could have been made to look like a suicide and instead of trying to use his police issued weapon, because signs of a struggle would be apparent. another weapon someone else used.
S,
“Think logically”. Right, logically it’s more probable that Lerg committed suicide then it is that he was murdered and that his murder was covered up by BPD.
kind of curious, but was it cool that evening on June 2?? I looked at various highs/lows, and the low for Bloomington seems to be in the low 70s then. It looks like LS was holding a jacket in her left hand in that last photo of her. Not sure what that would imply, but just curious.
I have also been curious of the jacket from the first time I seen the photo and am I correct in saying it was not found anywhere?..i have heard of a purse and phone but dont remember ever reading that her jacket was found.
The way she was dressed suggested that she was cognizant of what to wear, as if perhaps going out for dinner to a nice restaurant with a date, instead of hanging out in the middle of the night/bar and with a group of dudes (duds). She wore heels, leggings, blouse, and carried a jacket because it was somewhat cool that evening. I don’t know what young women wear to go out that late, perhaps that’s quite the norm around Bloomt’n. I’m thinking past midnight and just going over to someone’s apt. to hang out, I probably wouldn’t be dressing up, even a bit midly. I mean it’s not as though she was first meeting them, right? Not suggesting this leads to anything, except for maybe she was planning on meeting someone else later on that night and perhaps planned on going out of town with this person. LS seemed careful enough to carry a jacket, took her medication religiously for a heart condition, and then all of the sudden she’s going to try coke, forget her shoes and cellphone? I know I’m thinking more like a parent here, oblivious of what really goes on.
If I recall correctly, it was still in the lower sixties and sometimes high 50′s at night during that time, with chances of rain almost constantly. I wasn’t surprised that Lauren took a jacket with her.
The high that day was 81°F. The low was 55°F. — Farmer’s Almanac
No one thinks the coke article on the herald times web site was quite interesting? I believe it said the had only seized 400 grams or so of coke over the last 2 years. Seems like a pretty low amount for the size of the town, out of town traffic, and a college being located in the town. Maybe they were turning a blind eye to it? I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but really that is nothing amounts. They were bragging about 2 big coke busts that never even ended in conviction for trafficking. Real fishy article. Its free to read here… http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/18/news.qp-1176138.sto
Yes. I have always said that this case has big names involved. The cocaine industry has the money and motivation to deal with “a problem”. Bloomington residents need to take a second look at the prominent people in their city and be ready for the answers. Any one who has ever lived there knows who runs the town, who owns the town. It appears to be a piece of Americana. Looks are deceiving.
Who owns the town?
Cook, Inc and IU – both innocent. Bloomington is a typical small city that is home to a huge state school. Like State College, PA. It is more liberal than any other town / city in Indiana, more green, culturally diverse. Although conspiracy theories make great stories, I doubt you’ll find anything except unintentional dropped balls. Drug dealers? Absolutely! It’s a college town. But who has control of the town?! LOL
Sdb–yes, interesting, particularly these quotes…”police arrested a Michigan man on multiple felony drug charges in late January 2010, finding almost 111.9 grams of cocaine, 4.5 grams of heroin and $2,500 cash in the apartment he rented by the week.”
..”With an extensive arrest record and violent criminal history in Battle Creek, Mich., Shawn Martez McCullough had only been in Bloomington for about three weeks before the drug bust, police estimated. He’s since been arrested two more times on similar charges”.
I’m wondering where the apartment he rented/rents (?) is, and ask how he was able to have two subsequent arrests for similar crimes?
Is there a Michigan connection which coincides with any the POIs?
Not to be funny at all, but I was watching Steven Seagal’s Above the Law last night, and the film ends with a simple quote which may apply here in this case. It is sad, but true…
“”Gentlemen , whenever you have a group of individuals who are beyond every investigation , who can manipulate the press , judges , members of our congress , you are always gonna have within our government , those who are above the law !” – Nico
This case got my attention because I perceived it to be a domestic version of the Natalie Holoway disappearance. No, it’s not Aruba, but girl hanging out and partying with the wrong guys ends up going missing. What I don’t understand is why this incident never got the same airplay in the MSM as Holoway, where, if you remember, Greta Von Sustern devoted at least a segment, if not her entire show to the cause every night. Not even Nancy Grace seems motivated to give this the coverage it deserves. Any thoughts as to why this appears to be fading from view?
I think the Spierers were on The Today Show a few weeks ago. They’ve pretty much put this out nationally … on “America’s Most Wanted.” At this point, since there have not been any breaks, they would be repeating themselves. And it’s not as flashy as the Holloway case, I don’t think. Different set of circumstances except it involving young blonde women partying in the wee hours of the night with some shady guys.
Furthermore, Indiana University doesn’t want this to draw a lot of attention for obvious reasons. Of course, they want to help and assist in the case however they can, but from an objective view, this falls back on personal responsibility among the students. All of them involved, yes, including Lauren, should have known better. I think this is a view the university is taking now. Until LE finds a body, this will linger on. But I would not be surprised to see this appear on Dateline or 48 Hours, maybe even 60 Minutes in the next six months or year.
you’re right. unless some producer somewhere out of the blue gets inteterested — or if her parents want to say something different — the case will not get natl attention again til there is something really new. but it WILL get huge coverage when and if that happens.
Because, and I shit you not, this is not amazingly rare! A case in a foreign country involving an blond hair blue eyed 18 year old is much more exotic and entertaining than it happening in middle of nowhere Indiana. Just a couple weeks ago when a body was found in a creek it was massive news because it could be Lauren, when they announced it was instead some missing black chick from the same area the story died immediately. In all of these cases white beats black for media coverage but exotic beats domestic as well, sorry.
Because when LS disappeared, everything was about Casey Anthony and her trial and then her aquittal. Now, LS is old news.
New article about searching landfill.
http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-lauren-spierer-landfill-has-capability-to-search-for-missing-iu-students-possible-remains-20110719,0,7245432.story?track=rss
By Edward Moody
Fox59
5:45 p.m. EDT, July 19, 2011
Pimento, Ind. — Many are urging the Bloomington Police Department to search a Pimento landfill for the possible remains of missing IU student Lauren Spierer
The Sycamore Ridge Landfill is where all of Bloomington’s trash is dumped. Management said if Bloomington Police wanted to search this landfill for Lauren Spierer’s possible remains they could find the specific trash they want using something many of us have in our cars: GPS technology. Per state guidelines, each load of trash dumped at Sycamore Ridge is plotted using a GPS locator system.
“Each day the trash that’s deposited in the landfill, we have the coordinates of where that trash goes for each day.” said Kenny DePasse with Republic Services of Indiana, the company that runs the landfill.
DePasse said trash from Bloomington isn’t placed separately, but instead mixed with trash from other areas. GPS coordinates could help police find trash dumped on specific days close to Lauren’s disappearance.
“We would have the ability, if someone gave us specific information, to try to come as close as we possibly could to locating that day’s deposit,” said DePasse.
Bloomington Police said investigators have not searched the landfill, and detectives won’t say if that’s even a possibility, though.
Public pressure to search the landfill is building. Hundreds have posted comments on social media sites, including the the Bloomington Police Department’s Facebook Page, asking why investigators haven’t already searched it.
Some are angry, like Lillie Tennen who writes, “If you have not searched the landfill, then you are clearly not suited to work on the case.”
Other’s like Heidi Delis simply beg for more searching, posting, “The public is begging you to put the Lauren case back on the front burner and search the landfills and anywhere else that might have been missed. WE the public are ready and willing to help just say the word.”
I had said this a few weeks ago. Why NOT search the landfill? The areas in question in the landfill are known, as are records of how much additional waste was dumped there, so the proper depth could be achieved with a bulldozer. They also cover areas with dirt, so records would be available on that, which could also help with establishing the proper depth.
We searched literally miles of roads/forests/lands….no one searched the landfill? Makes no sense to me.
As far as seeing what is in a dumpster before it is dumped, most (all?) dumpsters are lifted by the truck and then dumped into the truck. The truck operators never see what they are dumping in or out.
A duffel bag, suitcase, garbage bag could easily have been tossed into a dumpster and dumped in a landfill with no one ever being the wiser.
I would bet we could get 100 volunteers to search the landfill. Just add in a few highly trained searchers to train/guide us.
If there are liability/health concerns, we can screen out those not up to it and sign waivers.
It would be a hot, nasty and vile job, and one that many would do in a heartbeat.
Thank you so much for this link – and thanks to Fox59 for keeping on top of this. The Herald-Times seems to have clammed up on the search for Lauren. Maybe people are asking too many questions and the BPD is feeling uncomfortable?
Relpy to K. Porter above….. could not agree. From what we hear at IU this hot head (ZO) punches/fights all the time . Says he “above the law” or his favorite line “I’ll buy you, cause I’m rich”.
I meant ( above) “could not agree more!
interesting blog/site: http://missingpersonsblog.blogspot.com/
Yeah, bluezone40, it was very interesting.
I clicked the link, and stayed on for a couple of hours. Even read some of the local newspapers about individual news accounts.
This missing-persons drama is all over the country and, sad to say, this link gives me more insight into what Nancy Grace thinks she’s doing.
Many are slain and discarded like their life meant nothing, like it was all just “oh well.”
I think that Charles Dickens said it best:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period….”
At the end of the movie and book named ‘The Seventh Seal’ they all danced and skipped while holding hands in a line while being led to the Seal. I fear Lauren joins that line.
But they were happy; oh so happy…
POI phone pinging in Martinsville @ 4am June 3rd. Anyone else heard this?
Police could take a clue out of this playbook: http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/missing/behrman/2002_0412.html
Did we ever hear about here being on camera earlier that day in an argument with 3 people ?
”
Meanwhile, Lauren was seen by at least three others as late as 4:30 a.m. walking barefoot around the campus. Police say she was also caught on a security camera having an argument with three men that morning.”
http://www.truecrimereport.com/2011/06/lauren_spierer_missing_in_indi.php
Why not contact the Bloomington PD and ask them to make a public response to the questions about why they haven’t searched the landfills? There may be a good reason none of us know about. Then again, there may be no reason.
They have a Facebook page where people are posting this question. Put the pressure on!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloomington-Police-Department/120400677981968
I wonder if BPD even checked the POI’s phone records, too? They said they checked the landfills but didn’t. They could easily say the same for the phone records. The more I read and learn about this case, the more I need to take some ALEVE.
I would love to hear some more info on the rumor that Jay R. cell phone pinged on a tower in Martinsville around 4 am the night Lauren went missing.
where is this coming from?
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6933168&postcount=367
You may have better answer by now. I didn’t find (yet) the original post w/the claim, so don’t know where this originated.
Very interesting though…makes me think the BPD have a LOT more info than they can tell us…and perhaps are doing a connected drug investigation and that’s why no info is out to the public…
WB and Phish
Sorry, not “WB”, but rather WS and Phish.
This case isn’t getting more coverage for 2 reasons:
1) Casey Anthony case was just dominating everywhere.
2) There’s not much to be reported on honestly. No true leads or anything.
Tony would like your email. I have a possible story for you.
tony at tonygatto dot com
Tony: Any support for the rumor that JR’s phone pinged in Martinsville around 4:00 a.m. on June 3rd?
no info on that
I would explain why LE took a report of ‘odor’ around Martinsville seriously enough to sent even helicopters.
Very good point. It was a “credible” tip — but maybe part of the credibility was the location. I was in Btwon that day. It was the closest we came to “this may be it.”
I thought the response to that was a-typical. I know there was at least one ‘odor’ call in the Behrman case close to the location she was believed to be riding, and no neighborhood was shut down.
Everybody says he doesn’t have a car. Probably no drivers license either. Dude is the type to use dumpster and go back to bed.
DB OTOH. When are you going to investigate Bleznak tony?
If I were working for a leading newspaper or media company, I would definitely try to get an exclusive interview with the Spierer family right now. (come on Indy Star, where are ya?). It will be 50 days this Saturday since LS’s vanishing … a lot of questions to ask. Number one question I would ask them is if they think that the Bloomington Police department is doing all the can despite some recent news that a landfill was not checked. Number 2 question: Knowing Lauren’s heart condition, were there any inclinations that your daughter would deviate toward something that would interfere with her condition or for her to act in a way with the ideas floating around that she could be involved in drugs?
I have not once approached the Spierers out of respect. You may be right. This may be the right time.
Suddenly 3 or more talking about a JR phone ping in Martinsville…what is the source of this? Legit, or “kids talking” (which turns into the “telephone” game. It starts out as “I wonder if they pinged any phones”. Then “I heard they pinged phones”. Then “I heard they pinged JR’s phone”. I heard someone’s phone pinged in Martinsville. I heard it was in the morning. I heard”…blah blah, on and on into “I heard they pinged phones and one was JRs and it was in Martinsville at 4:00am on that morning”.
So…where is the start of this info? Each one just quoting the other? I’d LOVE for this to be real, because we NEED real info.
I am totally with you on this. It’s one person who posted somewhere that this is what they heard. Not saying it’s true or false. Just not coming from multiple sources, as it would appear.
I first saw it on Jay needs to talk. Followed that back to Web Sleuths. When I went back to WS to read for first mention, the entries talking about it later had been removed and edited. something weird going on over there.
ok so heres the deal. jay needs to talk…garbage…never anything new…always stuff from others sources…and often misquotes and just gets things plain wrong. So one person mentioned on WS that they had heard this. That’s our source.
I’d disagree that Jay needs to talk is garbage, just amateur blogging. But some interesting ideas and pathways that it would be nice if a professional would follow through with. Appears that the original posts about the ping have been deleted and several after have been altered, but one message quoting an old message mentions your “I was told by someone in the know” type source, which is obviously not very credible.
There are actually 2 sources to the same rumor. The rumor is that the cell phone belonging to “the last person to see her” was used in Martinsville around 4 AM. One poster to WS (from a client) and one different poster on PT (from a fireman). Two sources, same rumor.
We have no idea that these two are not one and the same. This is the reality of ANONYMOUS posting.
Tony….if Lauren’s cousin is posting here perhaps you could be in touch with him to see if the family would consent to an interview. you are the man for the job!