BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) – June 3 marks five years since Indiana University student Lauren Spierer disappeared, the story made national headlines and she is still missing.

Lee Mysliwiec has lived in Bloomington for 30 years, and every now and then he thinks about what happened.

“Hey honey, where are you my sweet girl? I miss you so desperately,” Charlene Spierer said.

“Every time they find a body, you hope it’s Lauren. They find bodies, you know every now and then they find a body and it’s never her,” Mysliwiec said.

Spierer vanished on June 3, 2011. Police said she disappeared after a night of partying with friends at a local bar. The case sent shockwaves through the country.

“I was nervous, but I also felt like I had good mentors and I had a good community at IU coming in.” Dotson said. Bridgett Dotson was a senior in high school at the time, and just months away from enrolling at IU.

Police said Spierer was last seen leaving a friend’s place, They said she left alone and was walking back to her apartment when something happened. For weeks the whole town searched, the school held vigils and her parents desperately pleaded for answers.

“Hey honey, where are you my sweet girl? I miss you so desperately,” Charlene Spierer said in a YouTube message at the time

Weeks became months, months became years. And still, nothing.

Now, nearly five years later in her front of her apartment, which was ground zero for search parties, there are no signs and no national news media trucks. In fact, if you didn’t know what happened here nearly five years ago, you would never know.

Bloomington police declined to comment about the case on camera but did send 24-Hour News 8 the following statement.

“Lauren’s disappearance has never been considered or labeled a ‘cold case’ by the department.”

“Even though it has been over 4.5 years since Lauren disappeared, the case continues to be a priority for the investigators assigned and there is work being done on the case literally every day. The investigation into Lauren’s disappearance has never been considered or labeled a ‘cold case’ by the department.”

“I think it kind of changes the way everyone goes out obviously you have to be more cautious and not be by yourself ever,” Bloomington Resident Emily Robertson said.

The story hits closer to home for Mysliwiec. He’s a father to a 30-year-old daughter.

“I’m sure they want to just know, where she is. Dead or alive, I can’t imagine a parent not knowing where their child is, I just can’t imagine that,” Mysliwiec said.

It’s been nearly five years, hopefully for the Spierer family, an answer will come soon.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) – The Bloomington Police Department released a statement regarding the case of Lauren Spierer.

They said that from the time of the disappearance they have been working every resource they have to investigate the case. The department has received over 3,500 tips since the case was opened.

Lauren Spierer disappeared June 3, 2011 after a night out with friends in Bloomington.

Volunteers from all over the Bloomington and Monroe County searched landfills and many areas in the county. Police believe over 2,505 hours of overtime were spent tracking down leads along with other investigative work.

In a release the department also said that department has looked into a number of criminals during the investigation.

“The Department has explored possible connections to a number of criminal suspects arrested in other jurisdictions for heinous crimes against female victims. Investigators have contacted numerous agencies located within and outside the state of Indiana where bodies or human remains have been found in an effort to see if there might be a connection to the case.”

Several law enforcement agencies have been involved in the search including Indiana State Police and the FBI.

• Photos: Search for Lauren Spierer
• Related: Spierer’s mom: Missing child is ‘nightmare you never wake up from’

The department continues to investigate the case even though it’s been over four years since her disappearance. Investigators say the case has never been labeled as a “cold case.”

Police will continue to work diligently to investigate the circumstances behind the disappearance of Spierer. They said they will continue to do so until all avenues have been investigated thoroughly.

Anyone with information on the Spierer investigation is urged to contact the Bloomington Police Department at 812-339-4477 or via email at policetips@bloomington.in.gov Police say that anything small could be big.

24-Hour News 8’s Phil Sanchez has been working on a story surrounding the Spierer case and where the investigation stands. The story airs on WISH-TV Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) – The Bloomington Police Department has been working the Lauren Spierer case since day one. On Friday they had little to say about the latest developments in the case. But people in the community are talking to 24-Hour News 8.

“Everyone’s got their own idea of what they think may have happened or suspicions,” Bloomington Resident Daniel Stockberger said. Stockberger was a student at Indiana University when Spierer disappeared.

Now more than four years later, there is a possible break in the case.

“You’ve got to hope that they will come up with something. I’m sure if they did a raid they had some pretty good leads and hopefully in continues until we know what went down,” Stockberger said.

But as of Friday, Bloomington Police have not released a lot of information on the case.

“We did in fact assist the FBI in Morgan County as part of an ongoing investigation in the Lauren Spierer case,” Lt. John Kovach said.

The press conference came after an extensive search of a piece of property in Martinsville on Thursday. The house is owned by family members of convicted sex offender Justin Wagers.Wagers is already being held in the Johnson County jail for allegedly exposing himself to a woman last summer. Bloomington Police would not say anything about him either.

“At this point no there is nothing new to release,” Kovach said.

But on IU’s campus, many students are talking.

“My brother was actually here when it happened,” one student said.

The case and latest developments are serving as a lesson for students.

“No one walks alone at night or goes home alone or anything, we try to stick together,” IU student Ali Feinberg said.

For Stockberger, life has moved on. He graduated, and works at a local running store . But the Lauren Spierer case remains the same.

Unsolved, hopefully he said, not for long.

“I certainly hope they’re able to find out what happened,” He said. “I’m sure it’s terrible for the family to have some at the very least closure.”

TRAFALGAR, Ind. (WISH) – The father of the man whose home was raided Thursday in connection to the Lauren Spierer disappearance says police have it all wrong and his son is innocent.

24-Hour News 8 reporter Elizabeth Choi spoke with Doug Wagers Friday. His son, Justin Wagers, is currently in the Johnson County Jail on charges unrelated to the Lauren Spierer case.

Doug says the public image of his son; from the mug shot, to the sex crime convictions and now, a possible connection to the disappearance of Spierer, inaccurately portrays his son. He agreed to talk because he wants people to know who he says the real Justin Wagers is.

Doug shares a photo of Justin; arms around his family. He says this, not a mugshot, is a better representation of his son. He describes Justin as a family guy, who loves the outdoors.

“He’s courtesy, worked. He’s quiet, to himself,” he described.

But that didn’t stop authorities from zeroing in on places where Justin has stayed. Police raided the home where Doug lives along with his parents in Trafalgar, he says. It’s a home where he says Justin visited often. Doug says for six hours, police searched the home, campers on the property, sheds and even Justin’s truck.

“I want them to investigate. I want them to do a thorough investigation. I want them to know without a reasonable doubt,” he said.

Doug claims during the raid, a cadaver dog picked up on something coming from a camper. He says authorities used shovels to dig the area around the camper, but found nothing. According to Doug, the previous owner had died of natural causes in the camper and that’s what the dogs picked up on.

Police have not confirmed that they raided the Trafalgar home.

When asked if he believes his son is responsible for Lauren Spierer’s disappearance, Doug says, “Indecent exposure to a pedophile sex offender to Indiana’s number one murder suspect. Where’s the evidence of that?”

In Johnson County, Justin Wagers is behind bars. Police accuse him of being a serial flasher, exposing himself to women. Doug says they have the wrong guy.

“Bald headed, this that, drive a white truck, whatever. That fits a lot of people. I shaved my head one time, when I was younger. A lot of people shave their heads. Put them in a vehicle with a shaved head, a lot of people look the same from a distance,” he said.

Doug believes that police are profiling his son after an indecent exposure charge. He says in that incident, Justin was using the bathroom outside near a school, when somebody complained.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) – The mother of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer just wants answers.

“If Lauren is there, I just want to know,” Charlene Spierer told 24-Hour News 8’s Jessica Smith Friday morning.

• FULL COVERAGE | Missing IU student Lauren Spierer

Spierer’s parents spent long days in Bloomington after their daughter’s disappearance on June 3, 2011. They created a P.O. Box for anonymous tips, setup a website and social media channels, and led searches in the city and in nearby forests. They even hired private investigators to help find Lauren.

Charlene Spierer initially heard about a potential development in the case from media reports, according to someone close to the family. Friday morning, Charlene said she hadn’t heard anything new from police. She called the situation nerve-racking.

• PHOTOS | Search for Lauren Spierer

Thursday morning and afternoon, investigators from the Bloomington Police Department and FBI converged on a Martinsville home. They searched the grounds with cadaver dogs, later confirming their investigation was related to the search for Lauren Spierer.

JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — During an FBI search of a Martinsville property, an attorney for Justin Wagers said the investigation was related to the Lauren Spierer case.

• Martinsville investigation tied to search for Lauren Spierer

Spierer disappeared in 2011 and now eyes are turning to Wagers, a man with a lengthy criminal past.

35-year-old Justin Wagers now sits in the Johnson County jail, according to Sheriff Doug Cox, on charges unrelated to the Spierer case.

According to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, Wagers has been a registered sex offender since 2007. That’s when he was released for crimes he was convicted of in 2005. But Indiana court records indicate Wagers first faced criminal charges as early as 1999. In total, he’s been charges with sex crimes, including public indecency and vicarious sexual gratification, more than two dozen times in several counties.

In 2011, Wagers was picked up again for intimidation, invasion of privacy and harassment in Monroe County and public indecency in Johnson County. He later pleaded guilty to the intimidation, invasion of privacy and public indecency charges and was sentenced to two years in prison. The harassment charge was dismissed.

Most recently, Wagers was arrested and accused of being a serial flasher by Johnson County Sheriff’s Office investigators. A woman claimed Wagers exposed himself to her while she was riding her bike in Greenwood last August. Investigators believe he committed similar crimes in Franklin and Edinburgh.

• Police arrest suspect in Johnson County ‘serial flasher’ case

He is now in custody for those crimes at the Johnson County Jail.

Sheriff Cox released a statement saying his agency has nothing to do with the investigation carried out Thursday in Martinsville. Cox also said the investigation is not based on any information obtained from Johnson County.

Chris Eskew, attorney for Justin Wagers released the following statement Thursday in response to the investigation:

“Mr. Wagers has no knowledge regarding the disappearance of Lauren Spierer or any other missing person. The family has no further comment at this time and asks that the media respect their privacy.”

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — See images from the search for Lauren Spierer, who disappeared June 3, 2011 after a night out with friends.

Click here to see the photos.

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) – After 4 1/2 years, there’s been movement in the Lauren Spierer case.

Investigators converged on a home in the Martinsville area Thursday afternoon, and the FBI was involved. They spent part of the day and evening inside a home and barn.

• PHOTOS | Search for Lauren Spierer

24-Hour News 8 watched as crews sifted through dirt at a home located on the 2900 block of Old Morgantown Road. Cadaver dogs were on the scene sniffing in and around the compound.

Investigators would not give hints on why they were on the scene; however, an attorney for a man named Justin Wagers says it’s connected to the Lauren Spierer case.

Late Thursday evening, 24-Hour News 8 got a tip about another extensive search that happened earlier in he day at a home in Trafalgar which is in Johnson County.

Neighbors say a man named Frank Wagers lives at the location where the search happened.

The neighbor said she witnessed several unmarked cars parked in the driveway. She also said she saw about eight K-9 units on his property for several hours.

“You could tell that they were searching. They had the dogs out and they were going through stuff,” said the neighbor who asked we not use her name. “(They were) walking in and out of their shed, barn…each of their houses, little shacks that they have on their property.”

The Johnson County Sheriff said none of his deputies were on the property, but he did confirm a family under the name Wagers lives at that address.

• FULL COVERAGE | Missing IU student Lauren Spierer

Justin Wagers’ lawyer released the following statement:

Mr. Wagers has no knowledge regarding the disappearance of Lauren Spierer or any other missing person. The family has no further comment at this time and asks that the media respect their privacy.

Spierer disappeared June 3, 2011 after a night out with friends in Bloomington. Her disappearance prompted large group searches for her in and around Bloomington. Posters and billboards also spread the message, and many of those can still be seen four years later.

“We still think about that and we still think about her and we’re still more cautious when we go out at night,” IU Graduate Student Holli Kyle said.

As the years passed, there has been constant speculation on what happened to the college coed. Every time human remains were found in southern Indiana, speculation would swirl.

“It’s crazy they’re finding a new lead this late because I started hearing about it a long time ago and I started seeing the posters a long time ago, but I guess it’s good for the family if they can solve it they can finally have some solace,” IU student Clay Catlin said.

Wagers is the latest person to be placed under the radar. Wagers is currently in jail after police say he exposed himself to multiple women. In 2015, Wagers was labeled as a “serial flasher” after police say he flashed several women in Greenwood, Franklin and Edinburgh.

A man who identified himself as Wagers’ grandfather said, “I don’t know what they are searching for.”

Bloomington Police have yet to confirm that there is a connection to the Spierer case, but did release the following statement:

On today’s date, the Bloomington Police Department was assisted by the FBI at a location in Morgan County as part of the active and ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Lauren Spierer.

No other information will be released other than this confirmation that the Bloomington Police Department was the agency involved in Morgan County as previously reported by various media outlets.

Her parents have never given up hope that one day there would be answers to what happened to their daughter. Just less than two weeks ago, the family posted on a Facebook page created to update people on the case. It was Lauren’s birthday, and the family was thinking of her.

Friday morning, a private investigator confirmed to 24-Hour News 8 he was in Indiana. He works for the firm the Spierers previously hired to help find their daughter.

“If you know they found out what happened I’m sure there’d be some good closure there,” Bloomington resident George Snyder said.

“Someone once asked me how it feels like to be the parent of a missing child. It is indescribable,” Charlene Spierer once wrote. “The nightmare you never wake up from. Spend a moment with your son or daughter today, something we have all taken for granted.”Here’s a look at the month of Lauren Spierer’s disappearance:

Spierer’s parents also tried to sue the two men that were with their daughter on the night she disappeared. The lower court and appeals court decided that the Spierers could not provide sufficient evidence to support their claims that they did not see her to her apartment safely.

“Because he was with Lauren the majority of the evening and bought drinks for her, (Cory) Rossman was nearest to assuming a duty to care for her. But he also appears to have been intoxicated – so much so that it is questionable whether he could effectively take care of himself, still less another person,” the federal judge wrote.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Wednesday marks four years since the disappearance of Indiana University student Lauren Spierer.

Spierer disappeared June 3, 2011 after a night out with friends in Bloomington. Her disappearance prompted large group searches for her in and around Bloomington. Posters and billboards also spread the message, and many of those can still be seen four years later.

Throughout the past four years, people have kept the message alive on social media. On Twitter, the hashtag #FindLauren is regularly used, and Spierer’s mother, Charlene Spierer, has issued a number of messages asking people to come forward with information.

Wednesday, Charlene Spierer issued another message. In this one, she recalled the day her family was notified that Lauren was missing. She also talked about what it’s like to be in her situation.

“Someone once asked me how it feels like to be the parent of a missing child. It is indescribable,” Charlene Spierer wrote. “The nightmare you never wake up from. Spend a moment with your son or daughter today, something we have all taken for granted.”

See the full letter from her here:

Anyone with information about Spierer can call the Bloomington Police Department at 812-339-4477 or email helpfindlauren@gmail.com. Tips can also be mailed to: Find Lauren, P.O. Box 1226, Bloomington, IN 47402.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — Police in Bloomington want to assure the public that they are continuing to look into the Lauren Spierer case following the death of another Indiana University student.

On Monday afternoon, the Bloomington Police Department stated that they are aware of speculation by the public following Hannah Wilson’s death.

BPD said that the arrest of 49-year-old Daniel Messel has provided “an avenue of investigation into Lauren Spierer’s disappearance that will be diligently pursued and, in fact, that investigation has already begun.”

Officials with the Bloomington Police Department said that BPD will work with Indiana State Police to determine any similarities between the two cases.

BPD said that there is no timeline for how long this inquiry may take and that their long-standing position of not providing specific details in the Spierer case will continue.