Lauren Spierer’s Parents Sue 3 Friends Over Daughter’s Disappearance, Death

The parents of a missing Indiana University student from New York are suing three men who were with Lauren Spierer the night she was last seen, alleging they gave the underage student a large amount of alcohol and then abandoned her, which led to her disappearance two years ago.

The federal lawsuit claims the three male students gave alcohol to the already intoxicated Spierer and, when she became too drunk to care for herself, they failed to help her. Their actions resulted in her disappearance and, most likely, her death, the lawsuit alleges. It seeks unspecified compensation.

The 20-year-old from Greenburgh, N.Y., vanished June 3, 2011, after a night of partying in downtown Bloomington. Charlene and Rob Spierer have been frustrated by what they call a lack of cooperation from the three men -- Corey Rossman, Jay Rosenbaum and Michael Beth -- since their daughter disappeared, and their attorney claims the lawsuit was filed in part to compel them to provide more concrete answers.

Attorney Jason Barclay said Robert and Charlene Spierer are using the legal system "to obtain answers to questions that have gone unanswered for too long."

"Any parent in search of information about a missing child would use every resource available to them," Barclay said. "Therefore, we intend to use the rights afforded by the civil justice system to obtain answers to questions that have gone unanswered for too long. We fully expect that those with relevant information will cooperate with this process."

The lawsuit was filed four days before the two-year mark of their daughters disappearance, and alleges the defendants' "negligent actions and omissions resulted in the disappearance, injury and death of Lauren Spierer."

Messages for the three students' attorneys weren't immediately returned Thursday.

None of the defendants have been named suspects in Spierer's disappearance. No arrests have been made and there's been no sign of her despite numerous searches around Bloomington and parts of the surrounding wooded countryside that's dotted with old limestone quarries and lakes.

The Spierers have maintained that several of the people who were with her that night haven't fully cooperated with investigators. The lawsuit would require the three men to answer questions posed by the Spierers' attorney under oath, as they would in a pre-trial deposition process.

Bloomington police officials won't comment on the search other than to say the department has received more than 3,000 tips.