A flyer seeking missing IU student Lauren Spierer. provided

(Bloomington, Ind.) - A $145,000 reward is now being offered for the safe return of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer.

The undergrad was last seen a week ago Friday morning when walking home to her Bloomington apartment after a night of partying with friends.

In announcing the reward offer Thursday, Lauren’s father Robert Spierer said the response in searching for his daughter has been amazing.

“Everyday we get a tremendous amount of support. Physical and emotional. Strangers come up to us everywhere. Volunteers are coming out by the hundreds to help us search,” he said.

A new twist in the case arose Thursday.

Fellow student Corey Rossman was one of the last people seen with Spierer before she disappeared.

A lawyer for Rossman told the Journal News of West Chester, New York he was assaulted outside Spierer’s apartment around 2:30 a.m. and he does not remember anything until the next morning.

After being punched in the face, Spierer helped Rossman back to his apartment a couple blocks away. The lawyer said there was a second altercation there.

The attorney also says Rossman was not the last person to see Spierer that night, but there were three or four others at about the time she was last seen walking back to her apartment around 4:30 a.m.

Bloomington Police say they are investigating all leads. Lead investigator Lt. Bill Parker said one anonymous tip gave information relating to Lake Monroe. Dive teams found nothing there he said.

Parker said there are multiple persons of interest. He would not give a specific number. Investigators are using lie detectors when interviewing those people.

Parker also said they do not believe that Spierer was involved in any altercation that night or morning. Reports have said video footage from security cameras at Spierer's apartment building show her and several men in an argument, but that’s never been confirmed by police.

Spierer’s mother, Charlene, spoke Thursday about the last phone call she had with her daughter.

“My mother became ill and I had to go out of town and Lauren had called to tell me that she was there for me. She wanted me to call her at anytime,” said Spierer.

IU President Michael McRobbie said the university is doing what it can for the family.

“The entire Indiana University community is deeply concerned over the disappearance of Lauren Spierer. We will continue to cooperate in every way possible with the Bloomington police and others who are conducting an intensive investigation and search for Lauren. I have met with the parents, as has Provost Karen Hanson, and we both have pledged to them that IU will do all that we can to support them and to help find out what has happened to Laure,” McRobbie said in a statement.

LINKS:

Police Learning More About Missing IU Student

IU Student Missing Since Friday