Body Found in Illinois Field Not Lauren Spierer

The Herald Times Online has reported that a decomposed female body found yesterday afternoon near a harvested cornfield in Bloomington, IL, is not missing 20-year-old Indiana University student Lauren Spierer, according to Indiana officials. 

Though he did not elaborate, Bloomington Police Captain Joe Qualters stated that the two cases were unrelated.

"All I know is that we did make some contact with the investigators [in Bloomington, Ill.], and determined there is no connection to our situation here," Qualters said.

The body, which showed no signs of trauma according to the Associated Press, will be identified using dental records, an autopsy and a DNA test. 

Spierer, who following a late night of drinking with classmates at a local sports bar, has been missing more than four months. Parents Charlene and Rob Spierer have spent the past 17 weeks searching Indiana for their daughter and holding fundraisers and awareness events to raise contributions for the "Find Lauren" fund. 

Although Bloomington police are still on the case, the Spierer family has hired Richard Alfredo “Bo” Dietl, a retired New York City police officer, to investigate Lauren's disappearance.

Dietl, who is is working in conjunction with four other private investigators to find Spierer, told "Good Day New York" last month that he and his colleagues had been working on Spierer's case "for some time now." 

"They’ve uncovered stuff that really is giving us a direction on this case,”  Dietl said about his team. “We have a lot of information.”

For more information on Lauren Spierer's disappearance or donating to her cause, visit the official search website, Find Lauren.

Editor's Note: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that the unidentified female body was found in Bloomington, Ind. Patch regrets the error.