ON THE EVENING of June 3, 2011, Lauren Spierer, a vivacious fashion merchandising major at Indiana University, left her Bloomington apartment to hang out with friends. The 20-year-old from Scarsdale, New York, never returned. Her last known location in the early morning hours was a townhouse complex where three male IU students lived. They claim Lauren passed out, later woke up, and left before dawn. Either way, she never made it home; she has not been seen again.
Her disappearance and the search for answers drew national attention. Fifteen years later, the case remains unsolved. Shawn Cohen, author of the 2025 New York Times bestseller, College Girl, Missing, covered Spierer’s disappearance extensively for the Spierers’ hometown newspaper and ultimately grew close to the family. Cohen talked to Mary Milz about the case and why he’s convinced the truth will come out.
What was it about this case that captivated the country?
I’ve learned a lot of people relate to Lauren’s story, specifically young people—now adults—who’ve found themselves in compromising positions or a very dangerous situation. So the thought that a young woman could just vanish is terrifying. … I think people also felt a real emotional connection to this because of the family. To see Lauren’s family not have answers, not know what happened to their daughter, is painful. … The initial energy to solve the case brought in everyone from Kim Kardashian to football stars using their own platforms to hashtag “Find Lauren.” People magazine and TV shows all focused on it, and it became a national story.
You initially thought this case would be solved long before now.
I’m surprised after all these years nobody has cracked. … Seven years after Lauren’s disappearance, I approached the Spierers about writing the book and investigating the case. I did so wanting to make headway, put it back in the spotlight, and light a fire under people who were essentially still withholding information.
The book prompted more tips.
Yes. People have shared social media posts from back in the day of individuals considered persons of interest. I’ve learned a lot more about the circle of friends around all these people that night and their real-time communications … so it’s opened a new window for reporting. It’s been almost two years since the book came out, and I’m anxious to get back to it.
Could it lead to a break in the case?
It could be because individuals who are withholding information may have told people what was going on or told people over the years what happened. I want to find those people they confided in. … It could help turn up the pressure and crack the case. All these years later, we have no new information about her getting out of that townhouse alive. If she indeed died in that complex, you’re dealing with young men who are acting in the moment, perhaps under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and whether there was a rational thought process there. … So, one major theory is she died in the townhouse and that one or more of the boys panicked and disposed of her … to protect their own reputations and abilities to go on with their lives.
What about close family and friends?
She had a loving family and friends who adored her. At the same time, she was at a party school and living in an apartment building with students where drugs were sold down the hall, and she became a regular user, and drinking was the norm. … So, she had some issues, but nobody thinks she was a bad person.
What other factors are there to consider?
She was petite [4-foot-11-inches and no more than 95 pounds], and she had a heart condition, Long QT syndrome, which doctors say could cause her heart to stop if there was a lot of stress. I’m no doctor, but I know enough that drugs, a [traumatic] fall, and extreme stress could have been contributing factors.
Is her family still hoping she comes back or is found alive?
I think about the one-year mark, they were already at that point—seeing the reality that she was dead. … But last July, the latest tip came in that bones were found near Bloomington, so police tipped off Lauren’s parents, and weeks went by as they waited for the forensic analysis. … To this day, the Spierers have to relive the experience and have their hearts stop as they wait for information. [In the time since this interview took place, authorities determined the bones do not belong to Lauren.]
So as far as we know, Lauren’s body has not been found. What are the theories?
We’re in pure speculative mode. … You have a girl under 100 pounds. One theory is that she was placed in a dumpster that would have been hauled off that morning to a transfer station and then a landfill many miles away. If that was the case, there’s almost no way to have found her. By the time police went there, all the trash had been moved to Terre Haute, and by the time they got to Terre Haute months later, they had acres of garbage. It’d be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
You’ve grown close to the family.
When this story broke, I was a single guy with no kids. When I approached them about the book, I was about to get married, and now I have two children of my own. So, through the years I’ve kept in touch with Charlene and Robbie, and we’ve grown close. … I’m amazed at their strength. Even as they’re still trapped in that nightmare, they’re living their lives and trying to be present for their surviving daughter and grandchildren.
You feel it’s critical they get answers.
It would be a new lease on life. It’s not just about justice. It’s about having answers. It’s the not knowing that’s eating them alive. To actually know what happened … there could be daylight again because they’re still trapped in the night. … But even if I had my suspicions, certain people I’d like to ask more questions of, I can’t waterboard those individuals. I can’t force information out. … When Lauren’s family pursued a wrongful death lawsuit against the alleged persons of interest, they couldn’t force information out. The court tossed out the case because there was no evidence to support the claim that they contributed to her death. They didn’t even have a body.
Have you talked to any of those individuals since the book came out?
Their lawyers have certainly reached out to me. One of the persons of interest, their parents, sent me a video of themselves setting fire to my book and throwing it in a fireplace.
Yet you’re confident we’ll eventually know what happened?
Yes. I think there’s probably more than one individual who knows exactly what happened, who probably paid attention to the news coverage and knows of the family’s struggles. The question is, will they ever grow a conscience? It’s hard to predict whether that would happen now or on their deathbed.
And if they don’t?
There’s a good chance they shared information with people in their family or inner circles. So, there are a lot of ways for this story to break, even now. All it takes is one person to come forward. … I believe that will happen, and the best way for that is to keep reporting and to keep attention on the case.
