IN - Lauren Spierer, 20, Bloomington, 03 June 2011 - #21

[bloom54]

That may well be true, but neither you nor I know either way. A POI is not a suspect, and LE has said nothing about who is or is not a POI since 6/10, over 7 weeks ago.

Exactly! We don't KNOW who is POI... and, in reality, we never did have a full list of the POI from LE - we simply had confirmation of a few names who were POI at one time or another.

The POI list could now be much longer or much shorter...

Personally, I have no problem with BPDs keeping all of their cards close to the chest on this. And the Herald Times (as opposed to HT) reminded us this morning that one of the reasons it appears that they have been late on some stories is that they have not printed stories that are unconfirmed or unsourced. So it's not surprising that other news outlets and blogs have beat them to the punch.

I found this quote to be interesting "The search warrant story is a case in point. On July 16, we reported that Bloomington Police had contacted the very same landfill near Terre Haute and that the local trash from the days close to Lauren Spierer's disappearance had been isolated. We reported that story with on-the-record sources. The story you mention had no named sources, and no one confirming or denying what they were reporting. In my mind, it's about two weeks behind ours." http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/08/03/news.387383.sto

 

[TonyGatto]

Makes more sense now. Warrant #1 as reported by WTHR yesterday is not the same as Warrant #2 reported today by the above. Thanks.

I don't see any evidence that there is a second warrant.

 

[mountainguy777]

No POI will worry unless she's in the landfill.

 

[bx2]

No POI will worry unless she's in the landfill.

They may have reason to worry if they don't know where she is, but have been withholding other information from that night.

 

[MHamby]

Anyone who could do any one of the many crimes speculated by others here, I would believe to not have the same conscience as you or I.

Now, maybe they do. But, if they have gone this long without making a peep, finding a significantly decomposed body, I wouldn't think would be much different.

Now, if there were other evidence in that trash pile, that could have held up against the elements, that may be something.

 

[imkeylime]

Ok I get contacting the landfill back in June to secure an area, if that is what I am understanding happened. What I don't get is waiting until August to get around to searching it. I mean it was pretty clear by mid-June she was not going to just turn up...

I wonder what the holdup was? So at least one set of dogs (two if you count the psychic's) "hit" on a dumpster, an area is "secured" at the landfill filled with Bloomington trash, but the area has not yet been searched? Administrative red tape or waiting for someone to crack, maybe?

 

[Jupiter812]

I don't see any evidence that there is a second warrant.

I don't either, now. Closer attention to the wording it appears that the request for the warrant was filed June 16 however it wasn't obtained or issued until recently. Then served to the landfill. ?? I'm not familiar with the sequence of events but obviously it involves very specific terminology. Still the mystery remains what took so long and why now.

 

[MHamby]

I wonder what the holdup was? So at least one set of dogs (two if you count the psychic's) "hit" on a dumpster, an area is "secured" at the landfill filled with Bloomington trash, but the area has not yet been searched? Administrative red tape or waiting for someone to crack, maybe?

From my understanding, LE would have to have reason or probable cause to search the landfill. For all we know, the judge insisted that they exhaust all other avenues before searching the landfill. Or maybe that was LE's call as searching a landfill is almost resigned to admitting she is dead.

Who knows. Just be happy that others' fears that it would never be searched is unfounded.

 

[Carmen101]

I must be stupid because I don't follow. I assume that a set aside would be less costly.

"Getting back to Qualters' statement about the expense of landfill searches, certainly a "set aside" would be less costly."

Well, certainly, you are not the one being stupid here. I misread your post. Sorry about that!

 

[Jedger]

Good question.....ive always thought he drove his roommate to class at 8 a.m. Not sure where i read that-but Ive never read that it was noon. Who knows?

And I have always thought noon bc a poster on pt who claimed to be the roomate that was driven said it was noon. I have seen the 8 am time on ws many times, but do not know where it comes from. Does anyone?

 

[cluciano63]

Is the landfill search to be a last-ditch effort then? Did they wait this long to try to rule everything else out (which is impossible to do)? And then if she is not there-what next? I am really confused as to the 2-month wait before attempting this search. I can't picture a judge saying "no" to an earlier request, it is not like violating a persons' rights to search through garbage.

 

[imkeylime]

From my understanding, LE would have to have reason or probable cause to search the landfill. For all we know, the judge insisted that they exhaust all other avenues before searching the landfill. Or maybe that was LE's call as searching a landfill is almost resigned to admitting she is dead.

Who knows. Just be happy that others' fears that it would never be searched is unfounded.

Yes, that's true ... in the end, what matters is that the search will occur. It does take awhile to get paperwork through the federal system in most areas. Perhaps some supportive evidence was required before the search was granted, which would also be a good sign (i.e., that there is supportive evidence).

 

[bloom54]

Yes, that's true ... in the end, what matters is that the search will occur. It does take awhile to get paperwork through the federal system in most areas. Perhaps some supportive evidence was required before the search was granted, which would also be a good sign (i.e., that there is supportive evidence).

And it does sound like LE and the owners of the landfill were in ongoing communication at least enough to keep the Bloomington trash from appropriate days a bit segragated. If that's the case the landfill should get some major kudos for making the search easier!

 

[phantomthought]

Exactly! We don't KNOW who is POI... and, in reality, we never did have a full list of the POI from LE - we simply had confirmation of a few names who were POI at one time or another.

The POI list could now be much longer or much shorter...

Personally, I have no problem with BPDs keeping all of their cards close to the chest on this. And the Herald Times (as opposed to HT) reminded us this morning that one of the reasons it appears that they have been late on some stories is that they have not printed stories that are unconfirmed or unsourced. So it's not surprising that other news outlets and blogs have beat them to the punch.

I found this quote to be interesting "The search warrant story is a case in point. On July 16, we reported that Bloomington Police had contacted the very same landfill near Terre Haute and that the local trash from the days close to Lauren Spierer's disappearance had been isolated. We reported that story with on-the-record sources. The story you mention had no named sources, and no one confirming or denying what they were reporting. In my mind, it's about two weeks behind ours." http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/08/03/news.387383.sto

The problem is if you go to the July 16 article it never says the trash has been isolated.What it does say is if the police request a search warrant they will know what sections of the landfill contain who's garbage from what days.http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/16/news.qp-0661144.sto

 

[Jupiter812]

Also, if they did need a warrent to search, which apparently they did, they couldn't just go in and start searching even if they wanted to.

This is interesting to consider because we used to have our own county landfill in which case a warrant would not be necessary. LE would have had to post guards to prevent the general public from searching, today.

 

[Jupiter812]

The problem is if you go to the July 16 article it never says the trash has been isolated.What it does say is if the police request a search warrant they will know what sections of the landfill contain who's garbage from what days.http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/16/news.qp-0661144.sto

Good find. There is a big difference between being able to locate it and having it cordoned off.

 

[Cazzie]

I think it's great that the FBI is involved in the case and the landfill search. After all this time, if Lauren is found there, I can only imagine how hard it will be on her parents that she wasn't found sooner. Just speculation on what might occur in the landfill search.

Won't we hear something either way soon (especially if the Bloomington trash was set aside a few weeks ago)?

 

[Darcyline]

I really, really want her to be found, but part of me is having a really difficult time imagining her poor body thrown away and sitting in the trash this entire time. I suppose if she is found it should be comfort enough that her parents will at least get to say goodbye and bury her.

 

[imkeylime]

I really, really want her to be found, but part of me is having a really difficult time imagining her poor body thrown away and sitting in the trash this entire time. I suppose if she is found it should be comfort enough that her parents will at least get to say goodbye and bury her.

It's a horrid thought, no doubt, and I'm sure there will be a range of emotions if she's found there, from family, friends, all on this board. Some families wait years for closure, which must be devastating. But I hear you.

 

[Carmen101]

http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2011/07/16/news.qp-0661144.sto

This story is dated July 16. Ironically that is the date WTHR is reporting that BPD requested a search warrant. So, this story must have been written before that request.

“'We were contacted,' Mike Calleja, a general manager for Republic Services, confirmed last week in a phone interview from his office at the Sycamore Ridge landfill in Pimento, south of Terre Haute. While Calleja did not give a specific date or time he was contacted by police, he described it as 'initially' in the investigation.

"Bloomington police called the local office of Republic, and managed to catch Calleja, who said he was in town for a meeting. 'They wanted to confirm that our landfill is in Terre Haute,' he said, 'and Bloomington’s garbage, that’s where it went.'

"In accordance with federal and state regulations, the placing of trash at a landfill is a 'very organized, highly engineered' process, Calleja explained.

“'It is identified,' he said. That is to say, landfill officials can point police to exactly where Bloomington’s trash was dumped on a given day."
(emphasis mine)

What I get from this is that BPD did not know where Bloomington's garbage goes and had to contact the Bloomington office of Republic to find out. It would be interesting to know how the question was asked. If it was "where does Bloomington's garbage go," then BPD just needed information. If it was "does Bloomington's garbage go to Terre Haute," then maybe they had heard something about Terre Haute something like, so-and-so went to Terre Haute.

Mr. Calleja said that BPD wanted to "confirm" that Terre Haute is where the Bloomington garbage goes. So did they think that Bloomington's garbage goes to Terre Haute and they just needed confirmation or did someone say something? Am I reading too much into this?

If we knew what day Mr. Calleja was at a meeting in Bloomington, we might be able to determine when BPD first talked to him. Couldn't the area where the Bloomington garbage was dumped have been cordoned off before the search warrant request?

And very early on, the police were hoping to find LS alive. How many times did Capt. Qualters say in news conferences that BPD was treating the case as a missing persons case?

A scary thought occurred to me-- do the private trash haulers in Bloomington dump their garbage at Sycamore Ridge? I would hope so, since it is most likely the closest landfill. Certainly, the BPD would have confirmed with Sears and Sons where they take their garbage, I hope.