The Spierers posted a link to a story about the skull on the "Official Lauren Spierer Update From Her Family" Facebook page, with the following message:

"In the days ahead, a family will have answers they have been desperately seeking. Will it be ours? When will you end this nightmare for our family? We will never give up. We are just as determined as we were on June 3, 2011. You need to know that. It's our promise to you. For now we continue to wait…. The Spierers"

Robert Spierer, Lauren Spierer's father, said he has no reason to believe the skull is his daughter's, The Journal News reported.

“We don’t have any information,” Robert Spierer told the paper. “We’re just waiting like everybody else.”

Bloomington police called the family to tell them about the skull, which was found July 9 under the Raymond Street Bridge, about 60 miles from where Lauren Spierer was last seen.

The skull has been sent to a forensic anthropologist, who will try to determine its age, race, and gender. It could be six to eight weeks before that information is available.

Divers searched the river for additional remains after the skull was found, but they came up empty handed.

Lauren Spierer, a student at Indiana University, has been missing since June 3, 2011.