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'Looking for Lauren:' Former FBI agent tracks new lead in Lauren Spierer case

20/20's Brian Ross looks into missing IU student
Lauren Spiere
Posted at 11:22 PM, Jun 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-25 00:40:34-04

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Even though it's been five years, a former FBI agent investigating the Lauren Spierer disappearance believes the answers are still out there.

TIMELINE | The disappearance of Lauren Spierer

Brad Garrett, a former FBI agent and now consultant for ABC's 20/20, has spent the last year tracking down leads, old and new, in the Indiana University student's unsolved case.

MORE | 20/20 investigators say they received 'no cooperation' from Bloomington police in Spierer case

On Friday, Garrett and ABC News Chief Investigator Brian Ross unveiled the results of their investigation in an hour-long 20/20 special dubbed "Looking for Lauren."

Wanting to work the case from the ground up, Garrett and Ross began the same place Bloomington police did: the friends who were with Spierer the night of her disappearance.

See what Garrett learned from looking at Spierer's friends in the player below (mobile app users click on the video player above):

Ultimately, while Garrett said he couldn't rule out Spierer's friends, he moved on to another lead. Tipsters suggested Spierer could have owed money for drugs to an alleged member of the Sons of Silence motorcycle club. Ross went to his door hoping to speak, but was rebuffed.

See what alleged Sons of Silence member Bo Dean had to say when Brian Ross knocked on his door in the player below (mobile app users click on the video player above):

Garrett then looked into a new lead generated from a website maintained by Spierer's parents. The tip suggested former IU student Corey Hamersley could have information about Spierer's disappearance.

MORE ON COREY HAMERSLEY | Police arrest naked gunman shot by officers near IU campus

Hamersley, currently serving a prison sentence for firing shots at police officers near Bloomington's campus in 2012, agreed to speak with Garrett – but said he didn't know anything about Spierer's disappearance and didn't want to be associated with the case.

See Garrett's interview with Corey Hamersley in the video player below (mobile app users click on the video player above):

Though Garrett hasn't yet solved Spierer's disappearance, he believes he's close -- the investigator says he thinks he's just one interview away from finding the answers to the case that has haunted Bloomington for half a decade.

READ MORE | Years later, Bloomington still remembers Lauren Spierer |  On 5-year anniversary of her disappearance, Lauren Spierer's parents post heartfelt message | Bloomington police say Lauren Spierer 'not a cold case'