COCAINE WHISPERS HEIGHTEN SPIERER MANHUNT

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Indiana cops intensify dragnet for missing coed LAUREN SPIERER as rumors of cocaine use surface, The ENQUIRER has learned. 

Within hours of the petite blonde student’s disappearance Indiana authorities said they suspected foul play, grilling college pals who were the last to see Lauren, 20, alive.

Surveillance cameras captured a mysterious van in the vicinity of the sports bar where Lauren had partying prior to her baffling disappearance.

But now, Indiana media reports that state troopers are following up on rumors that Spierer may have died from an overdose resulting from heavy drinking and cocaine use

Lauren, who is 4-foot-11 and weighs less than 100 pounds, has Long QT syndrome, a heart rhythm disorder in which the heart takes longer to recharge after each beat.

Lauren’s medical condition can lead to fainting, seizures or potential sudden death but factor in the use of coke and booze and the absence of medication and death can come suddenly.

The beta blocker "blunts the adrenaline response in the body," Dr. Patrick Thomas, chief of cardiology at Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt, Ill. explained.

He said alcohol can influence the risk of a heart rhythm disturbance because of the loss of potassium and magnesium if the person urinates frequently.

Cocaine poses an even greater risk because it the body responds as if it is pure adrenaline, Thomas said.

"It substantially compounds the risk of heart rhythm disturbances," he said. "That combination would be very dangerous in someone with Long QT syndrome."

Spierer was a known drinker, and in September, 2011, she was arrested and charged with public intoxication and illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage.

 Her roommate, Hadar Tamir, told cops that she was unaware of Lauren’s heart condition until Jesse Wolff, Spierer's boyfriend, brought it to her attention after Lauren vanished.

Meanwhile, the dredge of a nearby lake netted zero results despite a proliferation of tips following a seg on “America’s Most Wanted”.