LA - Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette 19 May 2012 - #28

[Jefferson]

just to reiterate, this just happened within the last couple of days 3 hours north up I-49 from Lafayette. someone in shreveport tried this with a woman but she was smart enough to stay in her car and demand to see his id. when his plan didnt work he drove off. very scary to imagine what could have happened. if mickey were"pulled over" by a police impersonator , would she have taken a ride from a cop that accidentally nudged her tire?

Wouldn't even need a nudge. A fake cop could stop her for DUI and fake arrest her. Take the bike with them. And the damage to the bike could have come from being tossed in the river. This would explain why the perp took the bike... To better sell his story of arresting Mickey.

Or he could have stopped her and asked questions like are you carrying anything illegal or something I should know about? Mickey gets scared and tells him a pipe. He then fake arrests her.

Just tossing out scenarios.

 

[Isabelle]

I'd be very interested in what the people at Circle K pumping gas would be thinking

Probably wouldn't notice or wouldn't care!

 

[GulfCoastKAT]

4 weeks and Mickey is still missing.

 

[Isabelle]

What kind of video's captured MS and the vehicle, were they a continuous recording type or ones that record every so many seconds? Thanks

 

[Jefferson]

What is badly harming Mickey's chances of staying in the public awareness, and LE getting held accountable, is the fact that Lafayette barely has a functioning newspaper. Gannett bought the Advertiser and has mercilessly slashed it to an 8-page front section, with only a couple real reporting stories, and has cut out all investigative reporting. Local TV news isn't much better.

The town suffers because it's like not having a mirror in your house and trying to put on makeup. The town can't see itself. It's the largest town I've ever experienced with a non-functioning news media.

The problem with local news is reporters have to put out stories every day. If they spend more time on one story, they miss their quota. So instead every day we get stories about every fender bender in a 50 mile radius and every trash can fire. It's why I don't watch or read local news.

 

[Angree Cajon]

I think he said an emergency.

He said on NG he was called on a job

 

[who knew?]

I asked my SIL about this (she's a reporter) and she says emails and snail mails are easy to ignore, but showing up in person would be more effective--and not necessarily a large group at once, but say, one person showing up at the office every hour all day might get the ball rolling. I did email all media outlets I could find email addresses for, asking about the lack of info. I heard back from only two of them. Both said they have not been able to get anything out of LE. One may be willing to put together something soon...still working on it!

Wonder if it would be more results-driven if we contacted the mayor's office instead of the news outlets? Mayors are elected and they don't want the public to think their city is out of control under their guidance. Everything is so political these days and it seems like politicians are out for one thing and that thing is themselves. (JMO by the way) The mayor could put pressure on LE to either offer information that would not be harmful to the case, or admit they have nothing but are still working the case. It would be nice if LE just acknowledged everyday that Mickey is still a priority and the case is not sitting in a box in a back office.

I guess it's possible LE is giving updates to the family, but if they were, I'd think Charlie would be mentioning it since my understanding is that she reads WS and knows we are all wondering about this. She would put it out there that LE are keeping them informed but all info is confidential. Again - JMO.

 

[who knew?]

maedlamsmom, knowing that Mickey armed herself with the mace before leaving Brentley's house indicates that she was aware of the possible dangers of riding her bike at 2 am on a Saturday night and she would have been extra observant and cautious, imo.

Mickey Schunick's abductor/s would be extremely difficult to profile with the info we have available.
Obviously he/they have no empathy for others, are calculating, elusive, controling, violent, and more than likely not their first abduction, or sexual offense, jmho.
Usually when a predator is inexperienced, they will make mistakes. With each offense, they hone their skills, become more confident, and eventually master their trade.
A serial killer with victims from multiple states, arrested in GA a few years ago made these statements in a LE interview: 'I am a hunter, a professional, as well as an artist, my life is my art'..

That would give anyone the willies.....

 

[Mahouston69]

What kind of video's captured MS and the vehicle, were they a continuous recording type or ones that record every so many seconds? Thanks

I emailed a city planner and asked. No response yet.

 

[megsy]

Wouldn't even need a nudge. A fake cop could stop her for DUI and fake arrest her. Take the bike with them. And the damage to the bike could have come from being tossed in the river. This would explain why the perp took the bike... To better sell his story of arresting Mickey.

Or he could have stopped her and asked questions like are you carrying anything illegal or something I should know about? Mickey gets scared and tells him a pipe. He then fake arrests her.

Just tossing out scenarios.

This is intriguing.

 

[who knew?]

I keep seeing references to "enhancement" and "adding pixels" to the surveillance images, and I think it might help clear things up to understand how a photo editIng program does those things.

You cannot add pixels or resize an image and find more detail. It's not like an old film negative that you can blow up to reveal more than is visible to the naked eye. Once you get down to viewing individual pixels, even though resizing the image will *appear* to add additional detail, that detail isn't real. What you're seeing is the guess the computer program made at the color of the new pixels based on nearby pre-existing pixels.

An example:

Photo #1 is 3"x3" and has a resolution of 100 pixels per inch (the actual measurement is DPI, or dots per inch, but the explanation will make more sense if we use pixels since that's the term being bandied about.)
I enlarge Photo #1 to 4"x4". since the image itself is now larger, to keep that density of 100 pixels per inch, the computer adds pixels that didn't exist before.
The way it adds those pixels is by guessing their color, based on the pixels that are already there. So where originally there was 1 green pixel, there will now be pixels that are different shades of green, maybe blue and yellow too. but it's still just a guess!

Enlarge the image over and over and those various colored pixels start to look like a light or a body or blonde hair or the virgin Mary. But the only *real* pixel is that very first green one.

We all want to help find Mickey. That desire affects the way we view these images. I empathize with those who want to see more clues in these images, but in the strictest technical sense, those clues aren't there to be coaxed out. All we have is that 1 green pixel. Hopefully LE has more pixels to work with!

I hope this all makes sense. If something is unclear, I'm happy to explain further. I have been reading WS for years but this is the first time I've had something relevant to contribute.

I'm a professional photographer/retoucher and have been using Photoshop extensively for almost a decade. I spend a lot of time creating "fantasy images" and I know intimately what marvels photo editing programs are (and are not) capable of. I'm happy to get verified, although most if not all of what I'm saying can be found (likely said better!) on the net. I will try to find some relevant links when I'm not posting from an iPad.

Thank you! You did a great job explaining this - I am photoshop-illiterate!

 

[jujube]

Wonder if it would be more results-driven if we contacted the mayor's office instead of the news outlets? Mayors are elected and they don't want the public to think their city is out of control under their guidance. Everything is so political these days and it seems like politicians are out for one thing and that thing is themselves. (JMO by the way) The mayor could put pressure on LE to either offer information that would not be harmful to the case, or admit they have nothing but are still working the case. It would be nice if LE just acknowledged everyday that Mickey is still a priority and the case is not sitting in a box in a back office.

I guess it's possible LE is giving updates to the family, but if they were, I'd think Charlie would be mentioning it since my understanding is that she reads WS and knows we are all wondering about this. She would put it out there that LE are keeping them informed but all info is confidential. Again - JMO.

Contact everyone who can possibly help.

.....
Oh dear God! Mr. N has posted another PURELY FANTASY PICTURE! I can't believe we are going to have to go there again!

It is his own, personal imagination at work! It has nothing to do with reality!

MR. N: WHY are you doing this? How is a fantasy picture going to ever, ever bring Mickey home?

As long as he is posting w/in ws guidelines, he's fine. Mr. N also has put qualifiers both in his post and on the picture. I don't see what he sees but he has the right to post unless and until ws mods/admins say differently. If these posts bother you, don't read them.

 

[Labikegirl]

-----------
Some short, rich guy collecting his type? Shouldn't be dismissed, IMO.

I have considered this, not short and rich but rich guy. This seems like a very calculated, precise grab and go. Usually with SK's the victim always shows up within a matter of days, usually dead.



LA

 

[kgeaux]

I guess it's possible LE is giving updates to the family, but if they were, I'd think Charlie would be mentioning it since my understanding is that she reads WS and knows we are all wondering about this. She would put it out there that LE are keeping them informed but all info is confidential. Again - JMO.

I don't think any member of Mickey's family is going to make any statements to satisfy the curiosity or wonderings of WS members!

 

[Buckeye lady]

lease:
Invite... I'll be a Carpe Diem Sunday pm if anyone would care to come to brainstorm constructive ideas. I don't know about y'all, but one more DWT pic of inconnue provenance & I'm in migraine territory ahead of the rest. :banghead:
Bring Mickey home!
Doña Mena

Tienes razon! Gran dolor de cabeza!!

 

[Angree Cajon]

IMO, LE would not have released a photo that was a "crime scene". Ever notice when there is a scene, the "sheets" or "tarps" are in place o obstruct . LE is not going to give "every little detail" to the every day Joe Blow either. I think that LE is "tight lipped" because they DO have something & are keeping it to themselves, especially if the "right tip" is key to unlocking this case. Over the years, hubby look a lot of pics at crime scenes that family nor the media would ever see. He's got a book (no, this is not uncommon, especially if he needed copies for court/evidence). Many officers keep their own due to things getting lost or ruined. Also, JMO the person behind this crime had to have approached MS in a "friendly" or "non-threatening" manner. Do we know for sure that she could have gotten a flat (we don't really know bike details) & pulled over to check it out or something o the effect to have caused her to maybe pull over & check her bike? Roads in LA are not great & I know I've had to have my car realigned 6-8 times this year (I was throwing weights) due to the construction around town. From the pic, the road sign she passes is obviously a "work" related sign...a lot of road construction has taken to doing it at night since its cooler & less traffic especially in a highly populated traffic area. I haven't seen this theory given...or did I overlook it?

 

[Allusonz]

What news affiliates are in Lafayette? The family should contact the big offices-Atlanta, New York, etc. and ask to be on their programs. If they bite, then the local news will be all over the story because the news business is not about the news, it's about moving up from small town to larger town to big time. New Orleans had a bunch of people who have moved to the national spotlight. It might be worth it to contact someone at channel 4 (CBS) or the channel 8 (Fox) and tell them you want to keep the story moving.

They need to somehow get the attention of the national media again. They need to do whatever it takes to get them asking hard questions of LE. As pointed out by other members, if the national media rolls with it, the local will pick up from them.

I am concerned that this will go cold very quick if something is not done soon. If it is not already cold.

 

[Angree Cajon]

They need to somehow get the attention of the national media again. They need to do whatever it takes to get them asking hard questions of LE. As pointed out by other members, if the national media rolls with it, the local will pick up from them.

I am concerned that this will go cold very quick if something is not done soon. If it is not already cold.

If Larry King was still on this would be great for him...maybe like Anderson Cooper, Elizabeth Smart has a new program, and even hitting the satellite radio stations. I saw where someone even sent a post to a woman by the name of Noreen (can't remember last name) she's an investigator who works w/FBI & US Marshalls. Her investigative measures are "different" but big name people have used her.

 

[spurdie]

They need to somehow get the attention of the national media again. They need to do whatever it takes to get them asking hard questions of LE. As pointed out by other members, if the national media rolls with it, the local will pick up from them.

I am concerned that this will go cold very quick if something is not done soon. If it is not already cold.

Why does this particular case deserve National media attention but not all the hundreds of others? Just wondering. Some of these cases barely get local attention.

 

[Annie1004]

I believe the WT photos were released by LE purely as identifiers, as in have you seen this truck? I don't think the photos were released to be sleuthed upon. Hopefully, LE has other videos that it is keeping confidential because they may show more specific activity. LE already told us the truck they were looking for was a newer model z271 four-door cabbed truck, and the photo(s) are supposed to confirm that visually. JMO.