BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Police in Indiana have begun sifting through a landfill as part of their search for an Indiana University student missing since June 3, authorities said.
Bloomington police department officers and the FBI plan to search an 8,400 square-foot area at the Vigo County landfill, The Indianapolis star reported Wednesday.
The landfill is believed to contain trash from the Bloomington area dumped during the time period that 20-year-old Lauren Spierer went missing, the newspaper said.
The search could last up to two weeks, Bloomington police said.
"Preparations for this undertaking began within days of Lauren Spierer being reported missing," said Capt. Joe Qualters.
Police say they had contacted the owners of the landfill the week of June 6 to arrange a search, then cordoned off the area where Bloomington trash from around that time was placed.
"That location within the landfill has remained isolated and secured since that time with no additional waste placed in the identified area," Qualters said.
The missing girl's parents, Robert and Charlene Spierer, said they were informed of the landfill search by Bloomington police.
"We don't know what will come of it," Robert Spierer told The (Bloomington) Herald-times. "But we are appreciative of the efforts of everyone who's participated in the search. It's not easy work."
