This is the first time I've studied Mickey's path on Google Earth.
The first thing that struck was why on earth she didn't take Congress the whole way. Why did she dip down to St. Landry? Because there is no bike path and a bunch of pain-in-the-rear sidewalks, because traffic is too close to you to ride in the road. I'm satisfied that the reason she didn't just get on Congress right after leaving Ryan St. was bad riding conditions. To get good ones, she had to get to the Blackham Coliseum/Cajundome area and cut north. Congress has a good bike path there.
Here, my thoughts pursue several paths:
1. Foul play in the short distance from the Circle K to 224 St. Landry, causes her to take evasive action into the LafConGov parking lot - two perps in the truck follow her into the large deserted lot, easily catch up before she can escape out the back, hit her with the truck - knock her off the bike, and scoop her up - possibly with the use of chloroform to instantly subdue her. Big wide lot. It's the only escape route to her right in the short distance before she doesn't appear on camera at 224 St. Landry. I strongly lean toward the lot as the location of the abduction. If so, the evidence is on the ground right there in the parking lot of the seat of government. This leads to some strange thoughts.
2. OR, if the perps know the area, they circle around behind the lot, and take a right on St. Mary and then on Parkside, and intercept her as she flees out the back, so that she doesn't appear on camera. This rules the truck IN as a suspect vehicle. But the timing would be tricky, and if she knew she were being followed, she would have a good chance to escape while the truck circled the block.
3. Foul play in the short distance from the Circle K to 224 St. Landry, causes her to take evasive action to her left, all the way across St. Landry, onto Brashear. I am starting to really doubt this scenario. If the perp is closing in from behind, why would you risk crossing in FRONT of him to escape across the road down Brashear? Seems unlikely. And those houses are right on the road, with old, thin widows. Someone should have heard something - a scream or a crash.
4. No foul play in that short distance, and an alternate route taken through the back of the Lafayette Consolidated Government parking lot, so that she never crosses 224 St. Landry, and foul play occurs later, in the neighborhood north of St. Landry, on St. Mary or Souvenir Gate, or around the Cajundome or Coliseum or even later. This likely rules the truck OUT and means the truck is a wild goose chase.. Going all the way down St. Landry would have taken her further out of her way, when I believe her goal was to get to the good bike path on Congress.
IF foul play was not the reason that she didn't show up on camera at 224 St. Landry, I see a good chance that to cut her route shorter and get off of St. Landry as it angled farther and farther away from her desired direction, she purposely cut through the back of the LafConsGovt lot to access the neighborhood north of St. Landry - and took Azalea out of the back of the parking lot, right on St. Mary, and left on Souvenir Gate.....over to the Cajundome to take a right on the bike path to get her back to Congress and get her home.
So.... I'm checking the Lafayette Consolidated Government parking lot, Azalea, St. Mary, Souvenir Gate (and surrounding streets) the bike paths around the Cajundome, and then the stretch of Congress the rest of the way back to her home.
And the truck could be ruled in, or out, depending. What a case.
