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

[concernedformickey]

Map - St. Louis and St. Landry

http://goo.gl/maps/FdR0

The lasik clinic has a camera pointing towards its parking lot. Wonder if it has others.

 

[MissEm]

When you say the "gutter," do you mean the Coulee (big drainage ditch)? There's nothing visible, I assume?

 

['Ailina]

I routinely turn off my cell if I'm almost out of battery. That way, I still have some juice if I have an emergency.

Sigh. Ironic.

 

[concernedformickey]

When you say the "gutter," do you mean the Coulee (big drainage ditch)? There's nothing visible, I assume?

Ok so basically, in that area, there is a BIG smell. I caught wiffs of it going down St. Landry near the hospital, in the lane opposite St. Louis, but the strongest source was near the Coulee and near the gutters. We could NOT pinpoint the source (I was not alone) but we think it's the gutter. It stinks. Also there were some other people there trying to understand the smell. So I'm sure others called in the same tip and it will be ruled out pronto if it hasn't already. It seems a little hard to believe that if it meant something the police wouldn't have been all over it already. It is afterall right next to the surveillance footage.

 

[Dum-Dum Sucker]

When we were out searching during the day we looked in them all but it was hard to see without flashlights. No odor that we noticed though.

Maybe not enough time had passed for an odor to be prominent? (I hate typing this.)

 

[Isabelle]

Just my :twocents:, y'all don't hang me for it! But reading the previous comments about seeing someone in the back of the truck, I was extremely skeptical. However, after just a little playing with the contrast and midtones in the photo, I can see what several of you were talking about. It really does look very much like someone sitting with her feet on the rear bumper, and the "legs" appear to be flesh-colored. I'm not committing myself to that opinion though; it could very well be the glare or an optical illusion, or just wishful thinking.

By the way, I am so SO impressed with this community and how generally respectful you are of others' opinions. There isn't any of the spatting I'm seeing on Facebook. Kudos, Websleuths!

We behave.....most of the time!

 

['Ailina]

And that area has surely been searched? From Day 1? You think?

ETA: I see the posts now. Was searched in the daytime but difficult to see.

 

[Isabelle]

I just got answer. Was on my usual route and there is a foul smell from the gutters there (St. Louis and St. Landry). So called it in as a tip. I was not the only one there reacting to the odor.

OMG! is that one of those metal drain things on the side of the street? How could someone get a person in there?

 

[kgeaux]

Maybe not enough time had passed for an odor to be prominent? (I hate typing this.)

It has been really hot here lately, so I *think* the odor would have been present sooner but you never know.

I'm really praying it's an animal.....

 

[MissEm]

And that area has surely been searched? From Day 1? You think?

I know they searched the hospital and garage extensively earlier this week (Tuesday, maybe?), but it's hard to say how thoroughly they searched the coulee or the drainage system. At that point, they were still running on the assumption that she had ridden home on Congress or possibly Souvenir Gate, from what I can piece together based on the facebook page.

The coulee runs underground right at that spot, doesn't it? Into the drainage system? I don't know how possible it is to actually get into the underground space there; I don't know whether there's a big pipe or a grate or what at that spot; it's not really visible from the road unless you look, I think.

 

[kgeaux]

OMG! is that one of those metal drain things on the side of the street? How could someone get a person in there?

She is so tiny, but I still don't think she'd fit thru right there. Those gutters lead to the big culverts, though.

It hasn't rained here since right after Mickey went missing, has it?

I guess if she entered at a culvert, she could have drifted there. But, God, I hope not.

 

[Isabelle]

Oh really? Weird. Well it stinks today. I can still smell it.

That smell can stay with you for a long time and thinking about it later will cause you to imagine you are smelling it again.

 

[Dum-Dum Sucker]

It has been really hot here lately, so I *think* the odor would have been present sooner but you never know.

I'm really praying it's an animal.....

....unless she was held for a while, and just recently dumped. UGH!!!

The image of Mickey riding innocently on her bike in the posted photo,,,,well, like another poster or mod said - it is truly haunting. I am just sick about this girl.

 

[kgeaux]

I know they searched the hospital and garage extensively earlier this week (Tuesday, maybe?), but it's hard to say how thoroughly they searched the coulee or the drainage system. At that point, they were still running on the assumption that she had ridden home on Congress or possibly Souvenir Gate, from what I can piece together based on the facebook page.

The coulee runs underground right at that spot, doesn't it? Into the drainage system? I don't know how possible it is to actually get into the underground space there; I don't know whether there's a big pipe or a grate or what at that spot; it's not really visible from the road unless you look, I think.

One of the Bike Lafayette guys rode thru the culvert/coulees very early on. Don't know if LE has searched, but I would hope so. The cyclist didn't report finding anything, but the pipes wouldve been narrower at a gutter.

 

[GulfCoastKAT]

She is so tiny, but I still don't think she'd fight thru right there. Those gutters lead to the big culverts, though.

It hasn't rained here since right after Mickey went missing, has it?

I guess if she entered at a culvert, she could have drifted there. But, God, I hope not.

It rained either Monday, I believe,

 

[kgeaux]

I'm sorry for the multiple posts, but I wanted to add this in case anyone doesn't already know: those culverts provide a large underground pathway thru Lafayette. My sons informed me (not til they grew up and moved out) that they frequently utilized that passage when they were teens.

 

['Ailina]

Terrible. The first night I drove down Congress toward downtown, I caught sight of the drainage grates on the sides of the road. I briefly wondered how possible it would be to get some city workers down there to search, and also wondered if a petite human being would be able to pass through.

When my husband was a kid, he and his friends used to climb into the grates and explore the city underground. I think it is possible someone small could either squeeze through or be forced through.

 

[MissEm]

One of the Bike Lafayette guys rode thru the culvert/coulees very early on. Don't know if LE has searched, but I would hope so. The cyclist didn't report finding anything, but the pipes wouldve been narrower at a gutter.

But the coulee stops at that point (where St. Louis hits St. Landry) and runs underground. I'm not sure if it's possible to ride into that spot, or if you'd have to crawl in (is there a wide pipe?) or if it's not possible to get in at all (is there a grate?)

I literally have no idea what the drainage system actually consists of in that part of town; I always assumed it was a fairly simple network of pipes running from the coulees. Lord knows it doesn't work; all of the downtown streets flood a couple of inches every time there's a real rainstorm.

 

[mommyof6]

Look at the pic again. Focus on the very end of the bed, next to the passenger brake light side. Looks like someone sitting, with feet on fender or floor, knees drawn up with arms wrapped around knees. Zoom a little it helps.

I've been saying that but on Facebook someone fussed about people posting things that we were making up due to our imagination. But seriously, I TRULY believe someone is sitting there with their knees bent up. My husband saw it right away, although it took me awhile. But once you see it, it pretty freaky.

 

[GulfCoastKAT]

It has been really hot here lately, so I *think* the odor would have been present sooner but you never know.

I'm really praying it's an animal.....

I really hope LE took the tip seriously and is out there checking. Praying hey can rule it out.