6/10 Press Conference
http://www.theindychannel.com/video/28197690/index.html
We’ll be transitioning to regular public information officer.
To address a couple things you’re probably wondering about: The dive team search based on tip we got about a specific location we should search. They did not get finished, so they did go back out and finish that up. Didn’t get it covered in one afternoon, so went back to finish. Negative result.
We did a checkpoint this morning. Not a traffic checkpoint or for drunk driving. 11th and College about same timeframe and of course we’re talking about the same day of the week to see if anybody is someone who comes through regularly to see if they saw anything. Made contact with 135 cars. Spoke with everybody, passed a flier and asked if anyone saw anything. That did not provide any results. May be looking at doing that again, particularly at select times and date we may get someone who does go through there occasionally.
Additional canine searches last night, negative result.
I’d like to put out a little bit of a plea. We very much appreciate the businesses that provided us with video footage. Some we knew had video footage and we solicited it and received it from them, we may have missed some businesses that have video, so if there are businesses that think they have it, just reach out to us, we’ll come take a look and see if we can find out anything from that. Between Smallwood and Apartment on 11th either on Morton or College or the alley between them.
We know that AMW is getting ready to run the Lauren’s case on their program this Sat. night, so we have some things set up, FBI helping, tip management program capable of maintaining information on a large number of tips.
Any Q’s?
Q: It’s been a week now. Are you losing hope, how are you feeling about the search and the investigation?
A: We are not losing hope. We are concentrating completely on this case, and finding Lauren, and we certainly want to find her alive and hope that’s the case.
Q: Do you believe she’s alive?
A: I believe she certainly may be, and I hope she is.
Have you checked dumpsters, landfills, waste facilities?
A: We have checked that with negative results.
Q: What type of questions did you ask at the traffic stop last night?
A: We basically asked is this someplace you normally go through at this time and day? And, did you see anything, were you here last week at this time of day? That kind of thing.
Q: Aside from the search warrant to get the surveillance video, have any other search warrants been executed?
A: Yes, many search warrants have been executed.
Q: What did you find in CR’s apartment? (other question at same time, not answered)
Q: Dive teams, and various checkpoints you’ve mentioned, they’ve all within this area at the last week, what does it tell you about this area? The searches have all come up negative? (question inaudible)
A: We want to cover very thoroughly but we also gradually are spreading out. Mr. Spierer will mention a couple things about that in just a minute.
Q: Do you now feel this area locally is completely covered?
A: Absolutely not. I’ll never feel it’s completely covered, could always be a searcher that missed something or something like that. That’s why we continue to go over it
Q: Can you tell us if there’s anyone who’s a suspect? Anyone who’s suspected in this at all?
A: We do not have anybody that we characterize as a suspect at this time.
Q: Have you looked into any of that surveillance video from the apartment.
A: At this point we are not releasing any of it. We are still discussing it.
Q: Do you think you might be?
A: We are discussing that.
Q: Why have you asked for US Marshalls downtown today?
A: They are helping us with a particular type of search. We don’t want to go into any more detail on that. We have investigative reasons we don’t want to go into detail on that.
Q: Sex offenders? That possibility?
A: We’re not going to go into more detail on that.
Q: There’s multiple construction sites between 11th street and LS’s building at Smallwood, have you talked with construction workers people who may have missed work or who may have developed an interest in her?
A: We have spoken with many construction workers like that, yes.
Q: You spoke about 10 POIs in the beginning of the week, is that number still the case? Is it less than that?
A: We are not prepared to __ anybody and so yes, anyone who’s a POI remains so.
Q: Do you have more than that now?
A: No, I would say that that’s our group of POI that we’re looking at.
Q: The businesses along there on 11 and College that do have surveillance video set up, and I understand that you’re looking at some of that, do you have cars or something that you’re looking at that were going down the street at 4:30 in the morning?
A: We’ve seen some vehicles in those videos that we are working to ID by video enhanced because typically surveillance video like that does not show… you know it’s hard to tell the specifics, so we’re working on that.
Q: How confident are you that she really was at 11th and College around 4:30 in the morning?
A: Well, the last place that we can be totally confident she was was further south. So, you know, we’re just going again on various statements to place her at the more northern part.
Q: Is the Monroe reservoir search completely over, completely done?
A: Absolutely not. We searched a particular part of that, based on the information we got, naming a particular part. As we get any info like that we will do the same thing.
Q: Can you comment on Mr. Saltzman’s statements that there were perhaps 2-4 individuals who may have seen LS after she left the apartment?
A: I don’t want to comment on Mr. Saltzman’s statement.
Q: Out of the 10 POIs, are all of them known to Lauren’s group?
A: Not necessarily.
Q: Smallwood apt complex just turned in 200 pages of data log, card swipes in and out of the building for a 36 hour period at the time when she disappeared. How useful could something like that be to this investigation?
A: As you say they just turned it in. So we need to look and see what information was included there. So we can can track when POIs when they came in and out. We have not actually seen it, it just got turned over to us.
Q: Can you be more specific when you say the last place you can be totally confident where she was further south?
A: Well, she was depicted on video between 10th and 11th.
Q: Was that on College?
A: No, that’s in between the buildings on 10th and 11th.
Q: Heading toward her apartment?
A: Heading toward the apartment on 11th.
Q: Have all 10 of the POIs now been interviewed? You said yesterday that you were still arranging interviews?
A: There are still some that have not been interviewed.
Q: Is that because they are not cooperating or just because they can’t be reached?
A: No, I can’t characterize it like that. To some extent it’s just that we haven’t received return phone calls from a couple people.
Q: Have you found her keys?
A: We found keys, that were…actually, friends first found keys turned them over to us, but we found keys in the small card purse or coin purse in the alley. The same place we where last saw her on video.
Q: What’s going to happen this weekend?
A: Basically, we’re getting ready for the… we’re setting up this new tip procedure…Reminds me, I’d like to put out an email address,
policetips@bloomingtonpolice.com. <more about email address> … I’m sorry, I’ve lost track…what was the…?
Q: So what are you doing this weekend?
A: We are getting ready to set up that… we’ll actually have an investigator go out, two waiting for tips that need immediate attention, mean time our personnel are set up to take tips the whole weekend, we’ll be meeting with the family, we’ll have investigators ready to act on any information we get.
Q: Regarding the Smallwood data you got today, did you request that previously?
A: We had asked for, and they told us they would give it to us that they did bring it over today. My Sargent just told me that they brought it over before the meeting.
Q: Why did it take them a week?
A: I’m not sure.
Q: The video you say that caught her was 10th toward 11th, can you give us the time exactly?
A: I don’t have it in front of me, I don’t have the exact time, but it was after the video depicts her leaving Smallwood.
Q: Oh, so she was not alone?
A: No.
Q: So she was with this other gentleman? You believe, right?
A: One of the acquaintances, yes.
Q: And Nothing after that?
A: Right
Q: After that - so we’re talking roughly 3?
A: Yes, a little after 3
Q: Do you believe her boyfriend was with her at any point during that night or in the early morning hours?
A: That’s information that I just don’t want to go into… the specifics on that yet.
Q: Have you spoken with her boyfriend?
A: Yes.
Q: And what’s the situation there?
A: We continue to speak with him, he’s cooperative.
Q: Is he one of the POI?
A: Certainly.
Q: Has he helped at all with the search?
A: I don’t know if… I think he’s participated with the volunteer searches.
Ended Q&A, turned over to the family.