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

[Annie1004]

Why couldn't two people in one truck/other vehicle pass Mickey on her left, make a slight drift to the right, which caused Mickey to swerve, falling off the bike, then one perp grabbed her, the other one took the bike?

Could be done in a matter of minutes.

Thought about this while bicycle riding today.

 

[pjcitizen]

The picture of Mickey in front of Circle K was approximately 1:48. http://www.lafayettela.gov/Police/Press_Releases.asp

The photo of the white truck heading in Mickey's direction was said to be taken at 1:48 here:
http://www.theadvertiser.com/articl...sey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE&nclick_check=1

So it seems it was less than or about a minute between Mickey and the VOI behind her.

This article also says the truck "crosses University" but I don't know if the news just assumed it crossed instead of turned.

 

[RANCH]

yeah, never mind about that. the light i was talking about is actually in the z71 pic, it's bright. I'm getting tired...

It only takes a couple minutes to fill a car tank, and Mickey pic/Z71 pic seem to have the same cars filling up. I'm not willing to put these stills more than 2 minutes apart, likely less.

the police "had to enhance" the video footage, so I guess it looked even worse before. almost useless.

I would imagine that it would depend on how much gas you need and how sober you are to determine how long you should be at the pump. JMO.

 

[jujube]

It's gotten to the point I don't even wat to chime in for fear of scowls and ugliness. Love to all of my sweet WS

I belong to a Disney chat board that is way worse than this is.
I'd love to see you post. All contributions are valid if they are the poster's opinions, at least in my opinion.
There have may several times that I don't agree with or like what someone says but it is their right to post as long as it follows the ws guidelines.
Chime in!

 

[maedlamsmom]

My eyes have seen SO many things in the pic in front of circle K. So, let me ask, am I seeing what may be a "tow package" on the front of the truck where the front bumper would be? I was just looking at Chicken's pics .....

You know, I saw that too. I posted about it many, many threads ago, but it was during an especially intense truck debate and didn't get very many takers... I think there is something to that bumper that sets it apart, whether it is a tow package, or something else, I'm not sure. But, if you are seeing things, so am I (a totally possible explanation!).

 

[LafayetteMom]

Regarding no information to the public from LE...everyone seems pretty frustrated about the lack of information from news outlets and LE. I'm wondering how effective letters to the editors of the paper would be. If the local papers get a lot of letters from the public, then it seems they would put more pressure on LE. If not, then at least the letters to the editor section would have some Mickey dialogue.

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!

 

[LafayetteMom]

Maybe you should climb up where the camera is and take a pic in daylight! Ha. Kidding. Would be interesting to see to the left of the pic all the way to the corner. Your photo has been invaluable. I have referred to it many times when comparing facts. The corner area is just such a blank to me.

I thought about doing this. Would be helpful to get closer to the same perspective. I go back and forth from the WT photo to your photo Chicken, not seeing the curb/grass area in your pic and trying to measure distance by the fire hydrants and gas pumps. Maybe I could park under the cam and climb on top of my truck and snap a pic lol.

 

[Foxfire]

As a woman, I know that it has been difficult trying to balance being "polite" with being cautious with strangers. It is only since I have become a mom, that I started not caring if I hurt someone's feelings; I need to protect my own. I think for a young, southern, girl, raised to be kind, friendly and trusting, there would be a momentary internal debate if she were stopped at night on a darkened road. Her thoughts would be along the lines of, "I am kinda freaking out and my intuition is telling me to peddle the heck out of here, but what if he needs help, or I embarrass myself by overeacting?" I know that I have had this conversation with myself at times in my life. And, I think that a man who takes advantage of (and even relishes in) the fear and anxiety of woman would be aware of this.

My point is, I don't think that it would take a bump from a vehicle or a weapon to grab Mickey. I think a vehicle pulling alongside her, a quick smile, a wave and some mumbled words would be enough for her to slow down, and move close enough to be grabbed. Honestly, this is what I think happened. Jmo.

Now, my question is, what kind of man would do this? Would he be a married man? Employed? Is this something he has been planning? Did he have only a short amount of time to accomplish what he wanted to before someone from his life would be expecting him? Here is where the profiling becomes handy. If it can be determined what kind of perp we have (one with attachments to a normal life??), then we may be able to figure how much time he had and so how far away Mickey could actually be. All jmo...

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'..

 

[RANCH]

You know, I saw that too. I posted about it many, many threads ago, but it was during an especially intense truck debate and didn't get very many takers... I think there is something to that bumper that sets it apart, whether it is a tow package, or something else, I'm not sure. But, if you are seeing things, so am I (a totally possible explanation!).

What is considered to be a "Tow Package" that is visible on the front bumper? Tow hooks? Or you talking about the rear bumper?

 

[pjcitizen]

I thought about doing this. Would be helpful to get closer to the same perspective. I go back and forth from the WT photo to your photo Chicken, not seeing the curb/grass area in your pic and trying to measure distance by the fire hydrants and gas pumps. Maybe I could park under the cam and climb on top of my truck and snap a pic lol.

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

 

[jujube]

The picture of Mickey in front of Circle K was approximately 1:48. http://www.lafayettela.gov/Police/Press_Releases.asp

The photo of the white truck heading in Mickey's direction was said to be taken at 1:48 here:
http://www.theadvertiser.com/articl...sey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE&nclick_check=1

So it seems it was less than or about a minute between Mickey and the VOI behind her.

This article also says the truck "crosses University" but I don't know if the news just assumed it crossed instead of turned.

It could have been that Mickey was seen at 1:47:55 and the white pick up at 1:48. There's no way to tell. It could have been as long as a minute or just seconds.

 

[pjcitizen]

It could have been that Mickey was seen at 1:47:55 and the white pick up at 1:48. There's no way to tell. It could have been as long as a minute or just seconds.

In other words, "less than or about a minute"?

 

[bethofalltrades]

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.

 

[jujube]

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!

I'm surprised that none of the media outlets-print, radio, or tv- seem to have been pushing hard on Mickey's story. Is it because they're concentrating more on the corruption investigation?

 

[jujube]

In other words, "less than or about a minute"?

:great:
I'm getting punch drunk.

 

[pjcitizen]

I'm surprised that none of the media outlets-print, radio, or tv- seem to have been pushing hard on Mickey's story. Is it because they're concentrating more on the corruption investigation?

I've never known the media around here to seek much beyond what they are given at face value.

:great:
I'm getting punch drunk.

I think those of us who are not new to the Mickey threads are all getting that way. I know I am, I am just hanging in here praying for something new before the case is "cold."

 

[Allusonz]

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!

Somehow the family has to get the attention of the media again so I am going to toss some ideas out.

Maybe announcing the differences in the timestamps on the photos and asking anyone including LE for clarification.

If it is accurate that LE is talking about the wrong vehicle maybe the family can ask for the publics help again even if it is just the fact that it could be a different colour such as silver.

Something that the media can grab the readers attention. Such as additional missing girls. Maybe the families can work together.

I am certain others can come up with much better ideas than what I have posted.

 

[Foxfire]

I'm surprised that none of the media outlets-print, radio, or tv- seem to have been pushing hard on Mickey's story. Is it because they're concentrating more on the corruption investigation?

Prolly just don't have any new info to report..

A.C.I. joining the team would make a great media story for KATC TV & others to fill the void for awareness, imo.

 

[jujube]

I've never known the media around here to seek much beyond what they are given at face value.




I think those of us who are not new to the Mickey threads are all getting that way. I know I am, I am just hanging in here praying for something new before the case is "cold."

That's terrible. We worked harder for stories in college. Of course, those were the days of Watergate and reporters had to find their stories.

 

[Bacalla1a]

What is considered to be a "Tow Package" that is visible on the front bumper? Tow hooks? Or you talking about the rear bumper?

Some trucks I've seen around here have a tow package in front of their trucks..looks almost like a large metal spool with a tow cable wrapped around it..