Mickey Shunick, murdered. 22, La. vanished riding her bike

[Jimbone]

After reading up on the area that the bike was found, I fear she may never be found. There are a lot of gators in that refuge, and they would make short work of evidence left behind.

[shitstorm]

Thank you zero for your shot of the map, made it so much easier for me to pull it up myself. I was looking at the area on google earth (satellite view for any who aren't familiar), fucking desolate. Such a bad feeling in my gut.

NightOwl, some peeps in the area said it's 27 miles. Other stories about that area are pretty scary. Most say they wouldn't dream of getting off there. There's NOTHING there. It leads into those places where there are swamp people who live off the grid. Serious backwoods shit where no regular person should wander and outsiders are not welcome. It's also full of alligators and snakes.

I'd take my chances with the Toledo hoodrats before ever venturing into a place like that.

just curious SS, any more details you could provide on the stories about the area? I've read up a little about the serial killer who dumped the body near the same bridge (derrick todd lee, right?) and after checking that area out on google earth i'm kind of intrigued to know more.

Just that even locals say it creeps them out. I-10 is a 19 mile long bridge or raised highway there because of the swamps/basin. That exit has nothing at it - no gas station, no bathrooms, nothing. IOW, you don't get off there unless you have a reason like fishing or hunting. There's a gravel levy road that runs for many miles along the river. I saw a post by a women who said she got lost and ended up on that road. I think she said she drove for 18 miles of nothing and that she was really scared. Another woman said she was driving on I-10, with her husband, and she had a bathroom emergency - like have to go NOW. They got off on that exit and she squatted off the gravel road. She was it was just piled with tall weeds and trash and she and her husband completely creeped out and beat it out of these. My best friend lives in Houston and her father was born and raised in Houston bayou country. He's a real southerner, in his 70s. His career was laying cable for off shore rigs. He went into the basin because there was supposed to be good eating. He found some bar that was a shack on stilts and served whatever the hell it is they catch and eat down there. He said those cajun boys looked at him like he was from Mars. Fortunately, he was scruffy from getting back from the Gulf and he IS a good ole boy, himself, so they ended up being cool with him. Unless you've been around like he has and you know the ways of those folks, I don't think you have any business in there. My girl friend said it may as well be another country. I think that places like that conjure up a huge fear of the unknown. It's difficult terrain that the locals know the back of their hand and outsiders don't, which puts them at a huge disadvantage. It's like any vast and remote place, I suppose, but with water all over and alligators *shudder* I'm not sure if other dead bodies, besides Lee's victims, have been found in there but it has that reputation as a dumping ground. All that said, it's probably the kind of place that National Geographic would do a spread on. Unique ecology and amazing wildlife. I've read that bird watchers go there. There's a southern writer of crime fiction whose detective stories are set in that area in a town called New Iberia. He's know for giving a real feel of what the place and people are like. I'll see if I can find his name for you. Anyway, I'm a huge chicken who is easily spooked so places like that creep me out. I'm sure that lots of southern Louisiana people would get a chuckle out of those of us who find it spooky. Or not. My Texas friend said "think Deliverance, only worse" and I believe her.

Here's the wiki on the basin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchafalaya_Basin

[Lady Cop]

SS i think the author you're thinking of is James Lee Burke

http://www.jamesleeburke.com/

[shitstorm]

I don't believe that Mickey's mom thinks this was an accident. IMO, she's trying to give Mickey's abductor a way out, hoping that he's holding Mickey and will let her go out of compassion, because it was an "accident" after all. Just my thoughts, anyway. I would say the same thing in an attempt to put the psycho at ease and get my girl back. Considering where Mickey's bike was found, it doesn't even remotely appear like an 'accident'.

Derrick Lee's victims were found in the water, so alligators didn't eat them. Sorry to be graphic but it's a swamp. Maybe alligators prefer other food.

I've seen people say that on Memorial weekend the basin gets lots of fishermen. Hopefully they'll all be on the look out for anything unusual.

[shitstorm]

Here's that novelist who writes about Louisiana -

http://www.jamesleeburke.com/

[shitstorm]

SS i think the author you're thinking of is James Lee Burke

http://www.jamesleeburke.com/

Snap! Just found him. Have you read him, LC?

[Lady Cop]

i read a couple of his books long ago, i was more into South Florida writers when it came to fiction (Carl Hiaasen). i mostly read non-fiction.
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Lafayette police have confirmed to KATC that the search efforts at Whiskey Bay have been canceled. Cpl. Paul Mouton says the search was called off around noon today. He says no further evidence was found at the site. He would not say where these crews will be sent to search.


that was a lot of water to cover. if they did.

[shitstorm]

Whoa, that's an abrupt end to the search. No way they could have done a thorough search of the water/bays/bayous/river. Maybe they don't think she's there.

[Jimbone]

Depending on the condition of the bike, they may have concluded it was tossed from the highway above?

[NightOwl]

Do you suppose the police are possibly thinking this was nothing more than a sick diversion? The bike dumped & left visible is really strange very brazen! It leads you to believe she is not there IMO

[shitstorm]

Either her abductor is so dumb that he couldn't think of any place more original to drop the bike (known dumping ground) or it's more sinister, like my last theory - bike = dead victim. Granted, I have a big imagination and I may be giving him credit for being more clever than he is. There's just no way to know. I do think that FBI profiler was way off in thinking it was as simple as just wanting to get rid of a hot item. The location is very significant, imo.

[Lady Cop]

i just emailed this reporter to ask where he got idea bike was submerged in water. nobody else has said that. including police.


KSLA
The Lafayette Police Department has stopped searching the Whiskey Bay area for missing ULL student Mickey Shunick. Crews had been combing through the area since fishermen found the 22-year-old's bike submerged in the water underneath I-10 Sunday.

Officials say they are now determining the next area to continue their search.

[Lady Cop]

re: post 132 ^ i got a reply from reporter:



Our reporter on the story, Cheryl Mercedes, said that detail came from Lafayette PD Chief Jim Craft in an interview today around noon.
Hope that helps!
Graham



this says to me the bike was not left out to find as a red herring, but it was concealed.

[Lady Cop]

i just sent this to the reporter.
i don't know yet if i'm a pain in the ass.

we'll see if i get another reply.

my email:
is texas equusearch still there? i have seen no photos or report.

did they search the water? TES has side-scan sonar. that was a lot of water to cover.

most importantly, why did they quit so soon???

[Jezreel]

Thanks LC for trying to find the answers for everyone here

[JsMom]

re: post 132 ^ i got a reply from reporter:



Our reporter on the story, Cheryl Mercedes, said that detail came from Lafayette PD Chief Jim Craft in an interview today around noon.
Hope that helps!
Graham



this says to me the bike was not left out to find as a red herring, but it was concealed.

Do you ever tell these reporters that you're a former LEO? Just curious.

[Lady Cop]

i tell them the truth...that i'm a retired LEO with a crime forum and will give them attribution if they wish.

[JsMom]

i tell them the truth...that i'm a retired LEO with a crime forum and will give them attribution if they wish.

You're the best, LC. You really are!

[ZEROSPHERES]

LC, if the perps had handled it with their bare hands, could fingerprint info be lifted even if the bike has been in water?

I think she was still alive when the bike was discarded and the perps took her further out of the area. A bike is something if left in the bed of the pickup truck, (because it wouldn't fin in the cab), would be easy to spot and could have led to their apprehension.

[NightOwl]

i tell them the truth...that i'm a retired LEO with a crime forum and will give them attribution if they wish.

You're the best, LC. You really are!

Ditto!