To be completely honest, I'm not sure what I want to say to you all.

I guess I'll start my explaining my relation to Lauren. I am a student at the University of Iowa, and I had the privilege of spending my spring break with Lauren this past March in Israel. While Lauren and Rebecca were not on my bus, I spent everyday with both of them, working and volunteering during our spring break time off from school.
I could tell right away that she was a fun, uplifting, and generous person. During our nightly free time, we would all gather together in our hostel or hotel and socialize. There were a few nights in particular where I stayed up with a group of people, Lauren being one of them. I cannot say that either Lauren or Rebecca know me all that well, however, Lauren's disappearance has touched me immensely.

One of my friends from the trip (who happens to be from New York and attends Indiana University as well) called me the day that Lauren went missing. She was also spending her summer at IU and was extremely distraught. She explained to me that she was coming to Chicago because the feeling of being in Bloomington was absolutely unbearable. Nicole made her way to the north suburbs and we sat at a restaurant, speechless. There were nothing to say to each other, nothing to fill the void of a fellow Alternative Spring Break participant that had gone missing. We both had so many questions and so many different emotions. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Lauren... her smile, her pep, and her zest for life.

The past four years that I have spent on a big ten campus have been nothing short of amazing. I, myself, have been guilty of walking home from the bars late at night, alone. I honestly never thought twice about it. Iowa City is mainly a safe environment, like Bloomington, but all it takes is one second for something to go wrong. Since Lauren's disappearance, my awareness on campus has heightened immensely. I make sure that I am never walking alone at night, and I also warn my friends of the dangers that this can possess. If one of my friends wants to leave the bars at night, I make sure to leave with her so that neither of us will have to walk alone. Also, when I'm studying late at the library I make sure to have a ride or a friend to walk home with. Even during broad daylight, I am aware of my surroundings to and from class. What happened to Lauren is constantly on my mind.

I am not a parent, so I cannot possibly understand the pain and struggles that you are experiencing every second of everyday. I am a sister, however, and the thought of my brother or sister vanishing without a trace makes me nauseous. I do want to let you all know that I think of you always. I feel for you, and pray for the best. You all have so much strength and integrity. Charlene, watching you speak on the live stream of #Shine4Lauren brought tears to my eyes. You have so much "Chutspah" as my mother would say. I read all of the newsletters your family writes and try to stay in the know as much as possible. Please don't give up!!
WE WILL #FINDLAUREN!
All of my love and support from Deerfield, IL,
Abby Topel

About one year ago next week would mark one year since I met Lauren. Lauren and I met on our spring break trip to Israel. I remember thinking that her and Rebecca were twins because they were both blonde, small and looked so similar. Right away Lauren and Rebecca included me in their two-some. I went on the trip alone and they did not know anyone either. We ate our meals together, sat together on the bus and even walked the streets together that night. By Lauren and Rebecca accepting me, they welcomed me into the trip and made it so much more enjoyable. I will forever be thankful for that. Lauren, Rebecca and I were continuously placed in the same volunteer group throughout the trip and spent every second we could together. When the group moved to Jerusalem, Lauren was one of my two roommates (our other roommate Sara sends her love). The 3 of us had a blast in Israel and loved every second. Lauren is so full of life. She loved Israel and especially spending time with her sister. It is unbelievable to me that so much time has passed. It seems like just yesterday that Lauren and I got our ears pierced together, or celebrated Purim together in Jerusalem. Me, being dark skinned with dark hair and tall, and Lauren who was small with pale skin and blue eyes, we were complete opposites. Yet we were the Laurens of the trip and we constantly had that connection.
I returned from Israel with plans to visit Lauren this year at IU, and meet her in the city that summer. Being from Albany, and Sara from Jersey, the three of us were so excited to meet up again. I have to admit, our trip was only 10 days. But to me that does not really matter. Those 10 days were so much fun and Lauren was a vital part of that. She brightened my strenuous labor, made my meals hysterical, and turned my evenings into a blast of fun. She is in every one of my pictures and I love looking back and seeing the smile on her face. I have continued to follow her story very closely and so have my friends and family.
Spreading the word about Lauren is very important. I will never stop. I will never stop praying. I will never stop loving her. I will never stop posting about Lauren on facebook. I will never stop tweeting about her. I will never stop believing in her. I will never stop, I cannot stop. Lauren is amazing and beautiful inside and out. Lauren will come home. I know she will. She must. I will never stop. No one will ever stop. Because our love for her will never weaken. Our support of you and your family will never falter. The determination to find Lauren is so strong. We will never stop until Lauren is brought home where she belongs.
Thank you for raising such an amazing person who has impacted my life in ways that words cannot describe.
I will love her forever. I will never stop.

Sincerely,
Lauren Kaufman

I started covering Lauren's case right from the beginning. As a college student myself, her story has hit close to my heart. I can't imagine what you, as parents, must be going through. I have recently transferred schools, and in the process of making friends, I made some decisions that I realized were not smart. Charlene, I woke up the next morning thinking of your words, "You are not invincible.Bad things happen to good people," and I realized how true this statement is. I want to tell you how extraordinary I think you and the rest of your family are. Your dedication to getting answers about Lauren is remarkable. I want to wish you the best of luck. I want you to know that I have benefited from your words. As a daughter myself, I want to say, you are great parents!

Keep your spirits up!
Alisa

We went to Find Lauren.

We came from Bloomington; we came from other Cities; we came from other States. We came to Find Lauren.

We were a law student from Bloomington, and the owner of a Mexican restaurant in Town; we were a married couple, she living with their parents and he having a simple job; we were a lady from Chicago who read the blogs and just got into her car that very day; we were a fellow who, from his Union and he and his co-workers were reading the newspapers, and he came; we were the Aunt and Uncle of Lauren who came from the East Coat; we were the two girls from somewhere-else-in Indiana who took time off from their law jobs; we were volunteers from Ohio who were involved in some of the more famous searches that had the nation enthralled for months; we were the guy who I have no idea what he did, but he had a car; we were all of us who, for each of the days thereafter, would wave in recognition even as we went on separate paths to Find Lauren, for we had a bond.

And we went on the roads and paths in ever larger circles and plotted squares as The Search expanded. We learned to scan the brush for what might be ajar. We broke off sticks and combed the greenery to lay bare what our eyes might have missed. We hiked into the trees, we looked into the dumpsters. We were told to be wary of snakes, and learned that cucumber was an odor to stay away from. We found bones, and were they deer or something else? We found pocketbooks and waited for the police, but they were just discards. We talked in the cars and then took on a solemn silence as we looked, and sniffed, and brushed the soil, and we concentrated on what we were looking for and our own thoughts, and our own fears. Most of us had never met Lauren; some had yet to meet Charlene or Rob or Rebecca; now all of us were involved in The Search to Find a Lauren that in a way we now all knew, and that beckoned our hearts.

Now, as we sweated in the hot June and then July sun, we realized that the Search to Find Lauren, had become something much more personal. We were opening up our own selves, giving of our own spirit, hoping and praying and yet being afraid, that we might Find Lauren. Exhausted at the end of the day, we spoke as now friends who had shared an experience that we could never forget. We realized that most of our lives are spent in the bric-a-brac of the everyday. These were days that we would remember.

The Evil Ones with their Protectors and their Enablers and their oh, so good-at-what-they-do Lawyers, must have a horrid blackness in their souls. It is not just what they did, it is the pain that they continue to do, to those who might forgive if only they could be allowed to Find Lauren. Where some came and gave of themselves for a few days, the Evil Ones will bear the shame every single one of their life's days.

We came to Find Lauren.

We did not.

But Lauren had Found us. In the end, we had Found a bit of ourselves, in the good that is greater than each of us individually, simply because we cared about someone and came to love someone who was now a part of us as anyone we had ever loved. We shall never forget Lauren and those days and the impact that she had on our hearts and lives.