The mother of Lauren Spierer is speaking out, 10 years after the Indiana University student disappeared following a night out with friends in the college town of Bloomington.
Charlene Spierer took to Facebook June 3 to pen an emotional message about her family's search for Lauren. Though Lauren, who was 20 at the time of her disappearance, is presumed dead, no official suspect has been named in her case and what happened to her is still very much a mystery.
"My heart goes out to anyone searching for a missing loved one," Charlene wrote in the post. "When you are 'in it' you can't see beyond it. You try everything humanly possible to get answers. You are willing to work from first light until you collapse exhausted at the end of the day. You read everything written, every blog, every Facebook post, every tweet, every comment at the end of every article you have access to, just hoping someone will post something to move your case forward."
The family has long stated that they believe someone knows the truth about what happened to Lauren. And Charlene called upon anyone who knows anything to speak out.
"You open your door to the worst of humanity, desperate to believe their convincing lies, but I think the worst offense comes from those who hold the answers and refuse to share them," she wrote. "You are gullible. You are exposed to things you've never known about and wish you had never learned about. I empathize with you. I walk in your shoes; I carry the same burden. I wish we never had to experience this."
Charlene also thanked those who worked beside the family "tirelessly" and "put their lives on hold" to help find Lauren.
"This is what I know," she continued. "What happened to Lauren was shocking. It is inconceivable to have spoken to Lauren hours before discovering it would be for the last time. Shocking that someone so loved could vanish without a trace but entirely possible. It did happen and ten years later I still struggle. The space that once held hopes and dreams for Lauren will never heal. It is replaced by an ache fueled by the not knowing. I have learned to manage my days, months and years, but in an instant, something will happen which sends me reeling back to the day it all happened. I try my best, I will survive, I will never forget. I do not need a day like today to remember because every day is a day of remembrance."
She also took time to say how "grateful" she was to Rob and Rebecca Spierer, her husband and daughter, who "share in this tragic loss and without whom I could not have survived."
The family has not given up their search for Lauren. A post written by Charlene on the website FindLauren.com reads, "We are still no closer, we are still without answers, we are still searching now almost ten years later. How soon will it be twenty years later? The time ebbs and flows with no notice of a family who has lost someone. It seems like only yesterday someone offered Rob a pair of pants noticing his legs ripped to shreds from searching deep in the forests of Indiana. It seems like only yesterday Rebecca received the call telling her that her sister was missing. It seems like only yesterday I honestly thought I could ask for help from people who knew what happened to Lauren and they would willingly come to our aid but I was wrong. They never came."
"If you are reading this, you have most likely been introduced to Lauren," the post continues. "I end as I began on June 3, 2011…if anyone has any information about the disappearance of our daughter, Lauren Spierer, please contact us. We continue to search for answers. As always, hoping today is the day."