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Large Weekend Search Planned For Missing Student Lauren Spierer

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Three weeks after she disappeared, volunteers are planning a large-scale search in Bloomington, Indiana where Westchester native Lauren Spierer was last seen.

Spierer's heartbroken and determined parents say they are continuing to search for their daughter.

Organizers of "Find Lauren Day'' are asking volunteers to show up Saturday morning at the Bloomington Indiana University campus for assignments in the search for the 20-year-old.

"Lauren, I miss everything about you. There's not one thing any given day that I'm not missing about you," Spierer's mother, Charlene, said.

Lauren's father, Robert Spierer, said Saturday's search for his daughter will cover a large area outside the city that has been suggested by experts.

WCBS 880's Catherine Cioffi reports: Qualters Says They're Not Giving Up On Search

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'We just need Lauren. We need our daughter," Charlene Spierer said.

Until now, the trail has been cold as  hundreds of police tips have yielded little information. Lauren was last seen walking home to her apartment around 4:30 a.m. on June 3 after a night out with friends.

Police say 1,500 tips have come in to the Bloomington Police Department since she went missing, but so far none of them have panned out.

Bloomington police Capt. Joe Qualters said Friday that investigators weren't going to stop working on the case, but that the department would stop holding news briefings until developments warranted.

"I assure you that out efforts will not cease. We will persevere. We will continue to work very diligently on this case," Qualters said.

He says police don't have a better idea today of what happened to Lauren than they did three weeks ago. Qualters says that at this point, the fact that Lauren's friends have not come to talk to police is "perplexing."

"We could all probably read something into that," said Qualters. "I think that all in all, it could probably be characterized as unfortunate."

Police have already searched a five-mile radius around Bloomington.

Meanwhile, back home in Westchester County, it has been a delicate balance between fear and faith for Spierer's friends neighbors.

"I don't know. I don't want to think the worst but, I don't know, it's awful at this point,"  Melissa Cunningham said.

"There's obviously the possibility that something awful happened, but I'm staying positive," Emma Cohen said

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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