LA - Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette, 19 May 2012 - #3

[LafayetteMom]

Ok, Can I rant real quick about the news? I keep reading that there is a video of her being followed by the truck in two separate instances, but all I am seeing is stills, with one photo of a truck and her not in the frame. Am I missing something here?

I do not see the truck in either photo that was posted of her riding, and the truck only shows up in one picture with no sight of her.

They released the stills, not the video. LE had this video Thursday but it was grainy and had to be sent off and enhanced, then shown to family to see if it was really MS. So they released a couple of the enhanced shots to the news. No video as far as I'm aware (yet). And no, the stills do not show MS and the white truck in the same frame.

 

[GulfCoastKAT]

Mickey's case reminds me of when I used to bike in a college town...even late at nite, but not every nite. It was safe, I felt safe...but of course, anything could have happened.

Another aside...in listening to the local videos, I realized but did not previously know that it's pronounced "LAH"fayette, not "LA"fayette. "LAH" as in the beginning of "laugh", rather than "lofty". Or did MSM get that wrong, too?

LAHfayette (like Laugh) is how I say it. I was born here. Husband from West Virginia says LAfayette (like Lofty).

 

[LafayetteMom]

Mickey's case reminds me of when I used to bike in a college town...even late at nite, but not every nite. It was safe, I felt safe...but of course, anything could have happened.

Another aside...in listening to the local videos, I realized but did not previously know that it's pronounced "LAH"fayette, not "LA"fayette. "LAH" as in the beginning of "laugh", rather than "lofty". Or did MSM get that wrong, too?

It's often abbreviated as "Laffy," think laffy taffy. Laffy-ette.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&...e_result&sqi=2&ved=0CBEQ8gEwAA&mid=1338007540

Hope I linked this correctly - be back.

No, didn't work the way I hoped. Okay put the enlargement thingy about 1/8" down from the top of the strip to get the roads visible. Then touch the left arrow once so that Ryan Street is visible. That pink ballon will move over to the right.

Why would MS go east after leaving Ryan Street? She could have gone a little south and then west.

bumping . .. can someone explain this please?

 

[Cazzie]

LAHfayette (like Laugh) is how I say it. I was born here. Husband from West Virginia says LAfayette (like Lofty).

Learn something everyday (or hope to), LOL.

Thank you both (A.I.C. too).

Who woulda thunk it? I pronounce the NC one like "lofty" too...hopefully not another faux pas. :blush:

 

[Cazzie]

That white truck is going to give me nitemares (half-kidding, but I surely will go to sleep brain-storming about Mickey). If she's not injured from a spill/wreck but still alive, she could be held captive a la Sarah Maynard (who survived).

Has anyone heard that the FBI is involved? They were instrumental (along with many other LE agencies) in saving Sarah.

I really relate to Mickey altho I'm a bit older. Her life (what little I know of it) is similar to mine at her age. One of the many reasons that I still have hope for a good outcome for her.

 

[JurysOut]

It's often abbreviated as "Laffy," think laffy taffy. Laffy-ette.

I heard that and hadn't known it. My father's middle name was Lafayette, pronounced with the LAH sound, although my mother liked to call him Lāfe

I'm in PA, we have the same thing with Lancaster. We pronounce in LANK'-uh-ster, most people pronounce it Lan-caster.

 

[JurysOut]

That white truck is going to give me nitemares (half-kidding, but I surely will go to sleep brain-storming about Mickey). If she's not injured from a spill/wreck but still alive, she could be held captive a la Sarah Maynard (who survived).

Has anyone heard that the FBI is involved? They were instrumental (along with many other LE agencies) in saving Sarah.

I really relate to Mickey altho I'm a bit older. Her life (what little I know of it) is similar to mine at her age. One of the many reasons that I still have hope for a good outcome for her.

Me too. I'm hoping to wake up to good news.

 

[CajunTattooer]

Another aside...in listening to the local videos, I realized but did not previously know that it's pronounced "LAH"fayette, not "LA"fayette. "LAH" as in the beginning of "laugh", rather than "lofty". Or did MSM get that wrong, too?

its like laugh. some call it laffy for short. (think laffy taffy)

edit. this town is also nicknamed "the flats" because the whole area has no hills or natural elevation changes

 

[mahmoo]

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&...e_result&sqi=2&ved=0CBEQ8gEwAA&mid=1338007540

Hope I linked this correctly - be back.

No, didn't work the way I hoped. Okay put the enlargement thingy about 1/8" down from the top of the strip to get the roads visible. Then touch the left arrow once so that Ryan Street is visible. That pink ballon will move over to the right.

Why would MS go east after leaving Ryan Street? She could have gone a little south and then west.

Good question ... I was wondering the same thing.

 

[MissEm]

Why would MS go east after leaving Ryan Street? She could have gone a little south and then west.

My impression is that she left Ryan, hung a left (South) onto Parkside. Then she rode a block and hung another left (East) onto Versailles. The East turn down Versailles is, I think, a better-lit block with a school and a bank, whereas the West turn is some houses. Also, turning East allowed her to go onto St. John and thus cross University (a busy road) without having to ride on it at all. Plus, it's just a couple hundred feet, not a major detour -- 30-45 seconds on a bike, I'd guess. My impression from her route overall (as little as we know of it) is that she was probably avoiding heavy traffic/drunk drivers while keeping on the best-lit and safest biking roads possible. Congress is schwaggy on the East side of University, as it's been mentioned. University itself is just a big, fast road with minimal shoulders for biking.

Pure speculation, but I don't think her route is out of the ordinary for a cyclist at that time of night.

 

[CajunTattooer]

My money says its the truck they're looking for. Now the concern is, if the owner of the truck thinks they're looking for him, he'll bug out. If they take the heat off of him and say its just one that looks similar, hopefully he won't bug out.

my thoughts exactly.

 

[Cazzie]

its like laugh. some call it laffy for short. (think laffy taffy)

edit. this town is also nicknamed "the flats" because the whole area has no hills or natural elevation changes

So interesting...

Is the pronunciation a Cajun thang? I'm more than a bit intrigued by Cajun thangs (food, culture), etc..

I noticed on Charlene's FB that there's a large group of NOLA's that are putting out flyers for Mickey. And someone posted upthread that she and Brettly were planning to move to Nawlins (am I allowed to call it that?) as roomies.

 

[Cazzie]

Originally Posted by reedus23
My money says its the truck they're looking for. Now the concern is, if the owner of the truck thinks they're looking for him, he'll bug out. If they take the heat off of him and say its just one that looks similar, hopefully he won't bug out.

I think so too, and lost a post about maybe that post from Charlene was "CYA mode". But if so, why not put it out to media that way in the first place? Maybe media messed up...or the whole thing was orchestrated by design.

 

[MissEm]

Is the pronunciation a Cajun thang?

Quite the opposite! Cajuns are traditionally French-speaking, and would've pronounced it LA-fie-et, as opposed to the VERY Anglo Laffy-et (YouTube a version of the song "Allons a Lafayette," and you can hear the Cajun pronunciation for yourself). I suspect it was Anglicized in the post-WWI era, when all things Cajun became very Un-Cool in the Ultra-Patriotic climate of the day. The culture (and particularly the language) took a big hit at that point, but had a major renaissance, starting slowly post-WWII and building up to a fervor by the mid-1970s. Nowadays, people (well, many people; still not all) are proud to identify as Cajun, cook their grandma's Cajun dishes, dance to Cajun music, and they're even offering French Immersion classes at the public schools.

 

[A.C.I]

So interesting...

Is the pronunciation a Cajun thang? I'm more than a bit intrigued by Cajun thangs (food, culture), etc..

I noticed on Charlene's FB that there's a large group of NOLA's that are putting out flyers for Mickey. And someone posted upthread that she and Brettly were planning to move to Nawlins (am I allowed to call it that?) as roomies.

Most commonly pronounced "New or-lens"

Not sure how the pronunciations came about. I was born and raised here but have little to no accent. These pronunciations are just how i was raised to say them. *shrugs*

 

[finishstrong]

Johnston is the main drag through town, which passes by the University on the South edge of the downtown/Saints Streets region. Congress parallels Johnston north of the downtown/Saints Streets region. Artmosphere is about 3 miles from the intersection of Johnston and South College (a major North/South road that intersects both Johnston and Congress).


Sorry to just jump in here; this was the first question I could answer.

Welcome to Websleuths MissEm.

 

[Cazzie]

Welcome to all the locals who are new WSers!

Wish we'd "met" under better circumstances...

Not giving up hope yet tho...when I was Mickey's age, I had a couple close calls due to being naive and trusting...

She's intelligent and strong...like Tim Miller (Equusearch) said at today's presser, we have everything going for us, now we just need that little bit of luck.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

My impression is that she left Ryan, hung a left (South) onto Parkside. Then she rode a block and hung another left (East) onto Versailles. The East turn down Versailles is, I think, a better-lit block with a school and a bank, whereas the West turn is some houses. Also, turning East allowed her to go onto St. John and thus cross University (a busy road) without having to ride on it at all. Plus, it's just a couple hundred feet, not a major detour -- 30-45 seconds on a bike, I'd guess. My impression from her route overall (as little as we know of it) is that she was probably avoiding heavy traffic/drunk drivers while keeping on the best-lit and safest biking roads possible. Congress is schwaggy on the East side of University, as it's been mentioned. University itself is just a big, fast road with minimal shoulders for biking.

Pure speculation, but I don't think her route is out of the ordinary for a cyclist at that time of night.

Is there a reason she wouldn't just stay going south on Parkside until she could turn right on forgot the name - Souvenir Gate is the street I was wondering about why she wouldn't take. LE said she - ok, I can't see straight - sorry be back tomorrow.

What I'm trying to comprehend is if she may have been pushed into a detour because she felt threatened and tried to loose the perp. But then why wouldn't she seek out a safe place like ride into the gas station area or anywhere with people - unless they crept up on her again.

 

[bessie]

My impression is that she left Ryan, hung a left (South) onto Parkside. Then she rode a block and hung another left (East) onto Versailles. The East turn down Versailles is, I think, a better-lit block with a school and a bank, whereas the West turn is some houses. Also, turning East allowed her to go onto St. John and thus cross University (a busy road) without having to ride on it at all. Plus, it's just a couple hundred feet, not a major detour -- 30-45 seconds on a bike, I'd guess. My impression from her route overall (as little as we know of it) is that she was probably avoiding heavy traffic/drunk drivers while keeping on the best-lit and safest biking roads possible. Congress is schwaggy on the East side of University, as it's been mentioned. University itself is just a big, fast road with minimal shoulders for biking.

Pure speculation, but I don't think her route is out of the ordinary for a cyclist at that time of night.

Welcome, MissEm! Your first two posts have been very helpful. I had the same opinion from looking at a google satellite image. The chosen route was presumably safer late at night than riding through a quiet, residential neighborhood.

:welcome5:
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