No evidence reported in 1st week of Lauren Spierer landfill search

The Bloomington Police Department has scoured through more than 2,000 tons of trash after a week of searching a Pimento, Ind., landfill for evidence related to missing IU student Lauren Spierer.

So far, no new evidence can be reported, BPD Captain Joe Qualters  said in a press release Friday. Work was halted during the weekend, due to the landfill’s heavy equipment operators reaching their maximum limit for operating the machinery.

As the search resumed Monday, entering its second week, BPD Sgt. Jeff Canada said there are still no updates to report.

Up to 30 law enforcement personnel from the BPD, FBI, IU Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have been searching the landfill for 12 hours a day since Aug. 16.

Planning for the search began during the first days after Lauren’s June 3 disappearance, Qualters said in the press release. Dumpsters in the area of 11th Street and College Avenue, the last place Lauren was seen, were searched immediately after she was reported missing.

During the week of June 6, police contacted the waste collection companies who provide services to that area, and it was determined that all Bloomington waste is moved to a transfer station south of Bloomington and then to Sycamore Ridge Landfill in Pimento, Qualters said.

Pimento is about 12 miles south of Terre Haute.

The waste taken from Bloomington at that time was identified and Republic Services, the company that operates the landfill, isolated and secured that area of the landfill. No further waste was dumped in the area.

While preparations for the landfill search were being made, the BPD decided to allow the land search effort to continue, Qualters said.

Thousands of volunteers and professional searchers combed through Bloomington in the weeks after Lauren’s disappearance. Meanwhile, the BPD was formalizing a plan that included determining how many personnel would be needed for the landfill search, what agencies would be involved and what tools would be required.

Additionally, logistics including restroom facilities, shelter, food, water and daily transportation had to be considered, Qualters said.

Once the plan was finalized, officials decided to start the search during the week of Aug. 15. The area being searched is approximately 70 feet by 120 feet by 20 feet. Up to 60 truckloads of waste are retrieved from that area a day and spread out for law enforcement to search.

About 500 tons of trash are searched daily, Qualters said. The search is expected to continue through the end of this week.

Back in Bloomington, Lauren’s parents, Charlene and Robert, released a statement asking for volunteers to assist in putting up new missing person posters around town on Sunday.

Posters and tape will be distributed at the location of the old search headquarters in front of  former Copper Cup next to Smallwood Plaza between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

“As the summer comes to a close we are still waiting for answers, which will lead us to Lauren,” Charlene Spierer said.

— Jake New