Is body found in creek missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer?
(CBS/WISH/AP) INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis Police hope that an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday morning will help determine the identity of a woman's body found floating in a local creek Sunday. The discovery has raised the interest of investigators who are looking for 20-year-old Lauren Spierer, the student who went missing in Bloomington more than a month ago.
The unidentified woman was found near the banks of the creek just before 7 p.m. Sunday. The body was stuck on some debris, and was discovered by a family of six who were walking through the creek searching for clams, reports CBS affiliate WISH.
Due to severe decomposition, officials say they can't determine the woman's age, height or build. Police reports say the woman appeared to be white, though decomposition had called even that into question.
"Bloomington Police investigators are in contact with IMPD, but at this time there is not enough information for IMPD to determine the identity or a basic description," wrote Bloomington Police Lieutenant William Parker in a statement released Monday, reports the station. "A forensic examination is pending which hopefully will provide more information."
IMPD spokesman Officer Kendale Adams stressed that there are several missing persons cases also open in Marion County, but that there's no reason to speculate on any connections yet.
"In most cases we're able to identify them pretty quickly, and we can start back tracking what happened. But, in this case, we just don't know. We really have no idea who this woman is. Until we can get that report back from the Marion County Coroner's office, we just won't be able to determine who it is and how they ended up there," Adams said Monday, according to the station.
An autopsy is expected to begin around 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Lauren Spierer was last seen on June 3 walking back to her Bloomington apartment barefoot after a night out with friends. She wearing a white tank top with a loose light-colored shirt over it and black full-length stretch pants. She is described as a white woman, with longer than shoulder length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slender build. She is 4-feet-11-inches tall.
Bloomington is about 50 miles south of Indianapolis.
Complete coverage of Lauren Spierer on Crimesider
