Scarsdale Temple Holds Prayer Vigil for Missing Edgemont Girl

Hundreds of people filled Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu –El Tuesday evening to pray for missing Indiana University sophomore and Edgemont resident Lauren Spierer.

“We have come together as a community to support this family,” Rabbi Stephen Klein said to the room full of bow-headed attendees, many whom were personal friends or acquaintances of the Spierer family. “We continue to keep hope and faith alive.”

Several of Lauren’s college friends were in attendance, including Jordan Stern, 20, of Roslyn, and Nicole Kronfeld, 20, from Scarsdale.

“We just want to keep spreading the word [about Lauren] to everyone we can,” Stern said.

Kronfeld and Stern described Lauren, a fashion major who had stayed behind in Bloomington to take a summer course before returning to New York to intern at Anthropologie, as “very talented, very creative.”

Neither Kronfeld or Stern knew any additional details about Lauren’s disappearance other than what had been released by investigative teams.

“All we know are the police facts,” Stern said.

Kronfeld described the Indiana University as “well-lit” during the evening, with police cars driving by “every day.”

“When we’re at school, we always stick together…. We walk together… It’s very safe,” Kronfeld said.

As of Tuesday evening, over 9,000 people had joined a Facebook group titled “Missing: Lauren Spierer,” which has been posting updated news and search party information since Lauren’s disappearance last Friday.

Friends and family have also been using the group to share their condolences and prayers for Lauren, who has been described by acquaintences as “beautiful,” “bubbly” and “kind.”

“She’s an amazing friend, and she deserves a long life to live,” Kronfeld said. 

According to the Indiana Daily Student, the Bloomington Police Department executed a search warrant last night in Smallwood Plaza, Lauren's apartment complex. Patrol used battering rams to break into two rooms – a mail room and a security room – and took three computer towers and four CD cases. 

The Bloomington Police Department has scheduled a press conference to be held at 11 a.m today, at which they will discuss the search warrant's execution.