BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Next week marks 13 years since the disappearance of Indiana University student Lauren Spierer.
It's a case that's still unsolved.
But a new book released Tuesday, May 28 is sharing new details about what may have happened to the 20-year-old woman.
Security cameras captured the last images of Spierer on June 3, 2011. The IU sophomore vanished after a night partying with friends in Bloomington.
Thirteen years later, what happened to her remains a mystery.
Journalist and author Shawn Cohen is revisiting the unsolved disappearance in a new book called "College Girl Missing: The True Story of How a Young Woman Disappeared in Plain Sight."
"Even back in 2011, while I got a lot of information, there was still a code of silence around a lot of the key people in the case," Cohen said.
The book questions whether Bloomington police botched the investigation, weren't aggressive enough in interviews, especially with the young men Spierer was with that night.
"They didn't really go at the boys, didn't interrogate the boys," Cohen said. "Thirteen years later, there's still not a shred of evidence that she ever made it out of those townhouses alive."
Cohen said the book also reveals never-before-seen evidence and new interviews with key people to the case.
"Very specifically what the persons of interest, the last people to see her alive, the private investigators, how their statements didn't necessarily mesh with each other and evolved over time," Cohen said.
Cohen came to Bloomington in 2011 as a reporter with a newspaper from Spierer's hometown in New York.
The case stuck with him, and he grew close with Spierer's family.
In the last few years, her parents gave him access to all the case files from the private investigator they'd hired to look into their daughter's disappearance.
"So I spent some time going through thousands of pages of documents and witnesses that they interviewed, and then, I re-approached them," Cohen said.
The interviews included people with Spierer the night of her disappearance, like Jason Rosenbaum and Corey Rossman.
In the book, Cohen talks about a never-before-reported 3 a.m. phone call made by Rossman. He said surveillance video shows Rossman on the phone with Spierer collapsed on the curb next to him.
Cohen tracked down phone records, found the person on the other end of the line, then talked to her and her family about the call and the case.
"It turns out it was a young woman he knew from his hometown in Massachusetts, a girl named Brooke Bowens," Cohen said. "She was 17 years old when he just turned 21. I go into that in the book, what she said and what she wouldn't answer. Bottom line is that she was claiming to have no memory of the conversation, just like Corey was claiming to have no memory of the conversation. Brooke's mother reached out to me later that same day and told me that something that Brooke did tell her in the early days of the disappearance, Brooke said that Corey had told her to 'stay off the phone,' not to talk about the case because the FBI might be tapping her phone calls."
Cohen doesn't share conclusions in the book. But he said he hopes it prompts new interest and investigation to help finally find Spierer.
"Yes, I absolutely think we'll find out," Cohen said, "and I think now is a great time to go at the case — fresh."
Cohen will be appearing at Morgenstern Books in Bloomington Tuesday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m. and at Barnes & Noble in Carmel on Wednesday, May 29 at 7 p.m. to discuss the book.
The Spierer family also weighed in on the author's work in a Facebook post.
"Thank you, Shawn, for using your skills as a writer, for being a reminder that there is a girl who seemingly did disappear in plain sight. A girl who is still missing, someone who knows the truth, a family who is still waiting," the family wrote. "Hoping today is the day."
13News reached out to the Bloomington Police Department for additional comments on the Spierer case. Captain Ryan Pedigo issued the following statement on behalf of the department:
"The investigation into Lauren's disappearance remains very active and is most certainly not a cold case. In the past two years, the Bloomington Police Department has investigated over 30 new tips and leads in the case. Investigators continue to share information regularly with law enforcement partners from Federal, State and local agencies in an effort to utilize every available resource as we work to locate Lauren and determine who is responsible for her disappearance. However, as a police department, it is imperative that we work within the laws of the State of Indiana to ensure a proper and legal investigation. We will not jeopardize the integrity of the investigation by taking shortcuts or utilizing inappropriate investigative techniques.
The Bloomington Police Department is hopeful that a recently released book will generate new leads and keep Lauren's case at the forefront of the minds of those with information about her disappearance. Someone, somewhere, knows something. Anything a person might know, even if it seems small, could prove to be essential in solving Lauren's case.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Lauren Spierer is urged to speak up.
- BPD Tips: policetips@bloomington.in.gov
- Crime Stoppers: (317) 262-TIPS | (317) 262-8477
- BPD: 812-339-4477
- Detective Jeff Rodgers: rodgersj@bloomington.in.gov"