Lauren Spierer case: Family waits for information about skull found in river

INDIANAPOLIS — A human skull found in the White River last week has caught the attention of the family of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer.

pierer's family posted a message on their Facebook page Saturday with a link to a news report about the discovery of the skull.

The 20-year-old Spierer is an Indiana University student who was last seen on June 3, 2011, when she left a friend's apartment in Bloomington.

The widespread media coverage and continuous efforts from her family has led to no one coming forward to report seeing Spierer and leads provided to police haven't turned up anything.

The deputy coroner for Marion County told WXIN in Indianapolis that the skull "has been submerged for some time, at least more than a year."

Authorities said the water where the skull was found is just a few feet deep and the skull might have still been submerged if it wasn't for the summer drought conditions.

According to the coroner, the teeth are intact, which could allow investigators to possibly use dental records and DNA to identify the person.

Authorities can't identify the race or gender of the skull and laboratory results could take weeks.

The area where the skull was found is more than 50 miles from Bloomington campus where Spierer attended school, but the Spierer family has been following news of the investigation.