BLOOMINGTON - The search for missing IU student Lauren Spierer continued Sunday despite a stormy start.
Officers from Indiana State Police, Bloomington Police and a number of sheriff's departments have been searching an area around State Road 37 south of Martinsville since early Sunday morning.
Bloomington Police Capt. Joe Qualters says his department received a tip Sunday afternoon of a suspicious odor in the area. Police arrived on the scene and eventually located a mound of dirt in the area, about two-by-four feet in size. Investigators checked the area underneath the mound, but nothing was found by an evidence technician who came in from Bloomington.
Police on the scene say the mound may have been related to recent utility work in the area.
William Gillihan was getting his family ready to go out when a bunch of state police cars came roaring up the street.
"I know that search and rescue was walking up and down the highway, up and down the creek, up and down White River," he said.
Police stopped their search around 7 p.m. Sunday.
Members of the Indiana State Police Emergency Response Team were also among those searching Sunday. Crews have been combing the area with trained search dogs, four-wheel vehicles and helicopters most of the day.
The fact that the search was continuing on Father's Day was not lost on the troopers and others who volunteered to help look for Spierer.
"I have an 18-year-old girl at home, so it touches me and all of us. So we're doing what we can to bring closure and help the family," said ISP Trooper David Meyer.
"That is a good way to spend our Father's Day, I think," said volunteer Michael Purtlebaugh.
In spite of the rain, Purtlebaugh brought his eight-year-old son Cody to Bloomington to help. He says it is a lesson in community.
"That's what I was telling him on the way here. That, if I was in his position, I would definitely want people to help us, so I want to do all we can to help them," he said.
Spierer was last seen more than two weeks ago after going out for a night with friends.
"It has already been two weeks gone by that she has been missing, you know, and it gets more nerve wracking, like I said, I watch the news and I seen her family. Our hearts go out to her family," said Gillihan.
