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

[shitstorm]

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!

Double ditto!

[Lady Cop]

stop! you're making me blush!! i really like to try all sources of information, sometimes reporters and local police will talk to me, sometimes not.

SS, yes, prints may be present after being in water, depends on the surface of the object.

i did get another email reply, i was asked not to quote. but i was told Equusearch is still there and did search on the water. evidently there was tough current yesterday and divers could not go in. same today and only 3 boats in.
very little is being released.

and the news station was also puzzled about why they quit so soon.

i think i'm done for the night. been here since 0430.

[shitstorm]

Night, LC.

[Red_velvet71]

LC, last night they said they wouldn't release the condition of the bicycle, why's that?

Just curious.

[Lady Cop]

LC, last night they said they wouldn't release the condition of the bicycle, why's that?

Just curious.

it gives too much away, such as, was it hit by a vehicle? or was it in perfect condition?

much has to be kept to themselves for use in future interviews.
the authorities never tell the public everything they know, nor should they.

Mickey's ankle tat

[koko]

clipped a little bit from quoted post by SS

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. 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 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

Thanks for all the info Shitstorm.

To me, this seems a little creepier of a turn than I'd expected. Not that I ever had the idea that they'd find mickey picking flowers in a field somewhere but idk...now there's a bunch of "what if" scenarios popping into my head.

Also, interesting to hear the detail about the bike being submerged in water. Since the reporters say that detail came from the Lafayette Police Chief, im entertaining that idea, for now at least. With things like this I always want to know more than LE wants the general public to know. Such as: when the fisherman found it, what did they see first that made them actually take note and decide it was something they should take a look at and notify LE about. Did they see the glittery gold handlebars? was there part of one or both of the tires sticking up out of the water? bike on it's side maybe? How deep and vast was this body of water that the bike was found in: deep puddle? pond? bigger area of the marsh?

but then there's this too:
(I've resized the pic, just bc we dont NEED the file so large in 2 different posts, the post by LC is #119 if you want to go back and check it out full size)

WAFB TV

bike found here

It's a different tv station (KSLA reported later the submerged in water detail, and that photo of where the bike was found is from WAFB) is one (or both) wrong with the info they are reporting? or does is just so happen to be that because of the angle of the photo we cannot see the water where the bike was supposedly submerged?

im a curious bitch

[Lady Cop]

KSLA

good report and video report at link.

By Graham Ulkins
and Cheryl Mercedes

HENDERSON, LA
Investigators are redirecting their focus in the search for a missing college student after what they thought was a smoking gun failed to produce any additional clues.

The Lafayette Police Department has stopped searching the Whiskey Bay area of St. Martin Parish for missing ULL student Mickey Shunick. Crews combed through the area after fishermen found the 22-year-old's bicycle underneath I-10 Sunday.

They were spread across the dry, rough terrain looking for any evidence that might lead them to finding Shunick. They scoured every puddle of water and patch of woods surrounding the one-mile radius near the site where the bike was discovered.

"We have actually checked this waterway from here to Morgan City," said Police Chief Jim Craft. "We still have boats in the water searching by sonar."

Crash said the fishermen found the bicycle submerged in water. However, he would not say what condition it was in when the outdoorsmen happened upon it.

"We are now processing that for evidence. Our crime scene techs are going over the bike to see if there is any additional information to help us find this missing person," Craft explained.

Authorities decided to discontinue efforts in that area Monday afternoon. Officials said they are now determining the next area to continue their search. Craft said it is still too early to tell what may have happened the morning Shunick disappeared.

"You always have to assume there's foul play involved. The longer the case goes on without her being located, the slimmer the chances of finding her," Craft added.

video report:

http://www.ksla.com/story/18639942/shuni...Id=7337226

[shitstorm]

That the bike was found in water completely blows my theory about Mickey's abductor trying to make some diabolical statement. What that means, imo, is that's he so stupid that he chose the location simply because every other criminal uses it. Being found in water seems to indicate that he did not want it found. It's hard to get a sense from the pictures of where the water is. LC's article talks about dry land and the picture looks like dry land. The previous pic looked like a small patch of shallow water. I know there's a boat launch down there, though, so it's deep enough to boat in. At this point, we don't know if it was tossed off the bridge or driven down there.

One thing I don't buy, which has been speculated, is that she was hit by a drunk. I think this is a predator. If her bike was hit, it was deliberate, imo. Just enough of a bump to knock her down and grab her. Anyone who would do this will do it again and may have in the past. This guy (guys?) needs to be caught ASAP.
What I wonder is if her abductor uses the I-10 to traverse the country committing crimes or if he's in Lafayette and just made the 50+ mile round trip out to Wiskey Bay to dump the bike. Is this a case of abduct at location A, dump evidence at location B and dump the victim at location C? Naturally, I want to hold out hope that he's holding Mickey somewhere where she'll end up being found or escaping from, but even to myself that sounds naive. Not to mention that being held could be a fate worse than anyone wants to consider. I just hope that LE continues to proceed as though she is alive and time is of the essence.

And, LC, I wanted to ask your opinion about something - people have also speculated that this is someone she knew. I don't buy that, either. The reason is that she had just a left an entire group of friends, some with cars. I can't see her taking a ride from a passing friend or acquaintance when she could have had one from one of her trusted friends, just a half hour earlier. She wanted to ride her bike. I'm thinking stranger abduction. Do you agree with that?

[NightOwl]

Two snapshots of Whiskey Bay Exit, maybe there are watery ditches running along at the back under the bridge? You can see the boat ramp here clearly.

[Lady Cop]

i just missed a presser because the local TV station couldn't get their act together to stream it. :(
what the hell, that's only their job.


synopsis:

Officials searching for Lafayette resident Mickey Shunick are no longer using volunteers to help find the missing UL student, and police said today that her bike was found under water in the Atchafalaya Basin with damage to its rear tire.

According to a message posted to the "Find Mickey Shunick Now" Facebook page, "the volunteer portion of the search effort is indefinitely suspended, however [the search] is still ongoing."

During a news conference this afternoon, Cpl. Paul Mouton, a spokesman for the Lafayette Police Department, said the bike believed to be Shunick's was damaged. He said the bike was submerged in water, and its rear wheel was damaged. He said the bike is at the state crime lab for further examination.

"We don't want to jump to conclusions," Mouton said.

Mouton said police have not yet identified the drivers of three vehicles that police are calling persons of interest in the case. Mouton said police are still receiving tips about the vehicles and about "other items of interest," but he did not release any further details.

Police found Shunick's bicycle Sunday after fishermen reported seeing it below Interstate 10 at the Whiskey Bay exit on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge.

"We feel that we searched that area enough," Mouton said of the Whiskey Bay area. "We believe the perpetrator went beneath the bridge and dumped the bike."

The only visible damage to the bike belonging to missing Lafayette woman Mickey Shunick was the rear tire, according to Lafayette Police Cpl. Paul Mouton. During a media briefing around 3:35 this afternoon, he said the rim was bent. Fishermen found the bike Sunday at the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge Whiskey Bay exit. Mouton said her bike was submerged in the water off the bank of the Atchafalaya Basin.

Investigators believe the bike was dropped off and not thrown from the bridge. Also, they believe the bike was dumped the morning Shunick went missing.

[ZEROSPHERES]

That appears to me to be very sinister. I am guessing the vehicle was stalking her from behind and then hitting her rear wheel to knock her down for the abduction.

[Lady Cop]

Two snapshots of Whiskey Bay Exit, maybe there are watery ditches running along at the back under the bridge? You can see the boat ramp here clearly.

does everyone see these pics? i don't.

[shitstorm]

That appears to me to be very sinister. I am guessing the vehicle was stalking her from behind and then hitting her rear wheel to knock her down for the abduction.

I think you're right. It was probably the only way to get her down.

Police don't think bike was thrown from bridge
http://www.theadvertiser.com/interactive...ey-Shunick

[shitstorm]

I see the pics, LC.

[Lady Cop]

well i will be frank. i believe maybe websleuths members can see the pics, i cannot. :(

i don't really like ws stuff brought over here. i have made that clear before, and have seen a lot of it recently.

[JsMom]

Two snapshots of Whiskey Bay Exit, maybe there are watery ditches running along at the back under the bridge? You can see the boat ramp here clearly.

does everyone see these pics? i don't.

nope

[shitstorm]

The photos that were posted were of the traffic cam views of the Whiskey Bay exits, east and west. You can see them here:

http://www.trafficland.com/city/LFT/came...index.html

[shitstorm]

LC, do you know if the not so helpful pics of vehicles on the traffic cams can be zoomed in on by LE or the DOT? Like well enough to read plates or get clear vehicle descriptions?

[NightOwl]

well i will be frank. i believe maybe websleuths members can see the pics, i cannot. :(

i don't really like ws stuff brought over here. i have made that clear before, and have seen a lot of it recently.

I'm guilty because I was over there checking Katelyn Markham. I thought the pictures would be helpful. Hope I'm not

[Lady Cop]

SS thanks...that was not the origin of photos posted. thanks for link. very interesting!

i don't know if DOT would have cameras with zoom capability out there in the middle of a swamp.

Owl, i would never ban you!