What Happened to Lauren Spierer? The 'Finding Lauren' Podcast Explores the Details of Her Disappearance

On June 3, 2011, 20-year-old Lauren Spierer disappeared. She had spent the night out with friends from Indiana University, where she was also a student. From there, the mystery continued to unfold, and today, her case still hasn't been solved.

That hasn't stopped some from wondering if 2021 brought any updates, though. And now, a podcast, Finding Lauren, aims to put more focus on the case.

At the time of her disappearance, Spierer was reported to have gone out partying with her friends. Witnesses reported that she drank a considerable amount of alcohol and, through surveillance footage, investigators were able to piece together some of her whereabouts the night she vanished. They weren't able to figure out how it happened, however.

According to friends, Spierer was heavily intoxicated, and theories about her disappearance range from an abduction to an accidental drug overdose.

According to ABC News, Spierer had been arrested for public intoxication a few months before her disappearance. And at the time, police found cocaine in her room.

As of September 2021, there are no solid updates regarding Lauren Spierer's case. However, her mother, Charlene Spierer, retains hope that there could be a break in the case at any time.

In July 2021, she shared a Facebook post in which she wrote that she hoped that day would be the day someone out there submitted any small bit of information that would lead to something bigger in the case.

In August 2021, Charlene Spierer addressed a TikTok that had gone viral, and although she didn't specify which TikTok it was, it's been speculated that she was referring to the one from @tythecrazyguy. In it, the TikToker claimed that a video poker dealer looked like the missing college student, and some users hoped it would mean a break in the case.

Charlene Spierer wrote on Facebook, “We have seen the TikTok video, and while we do not believe it has anything to do with Lauren, it has been forwarded to the authorities, who were aware as well."

She later added, "Our efforts to find out what happened to Lauren continue."

Finding Lauren is a true-crime podcast from journalist and Indiana University graduate Kyra Breslin. She's also the granddaughter of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jimmy Breslin.

With her podcast, Kyra aims to focus on the case and all of the details some more casual true-crime buffs might not be familiar with. She also offers insight into what campus life was like at the time of Lauren Spierer's disappearance, since Kyra attended the same school at that time.

"Lauren's disappearance was a defining factor in my college experience and something I have continued to think about," she explains in a press release. "When listening to hours of other true-crime podcasts it always struck me why more hasn't been done on her and how we still have no idea what happened to her that night. I certainly do not have all the answers. In fact, there is so much more I wish I knew."

With the podcast, Kyra plans to help keep Lauren Spierer's story alive.