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

[AquaDementia]

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.

Being from Lafayette, I pronounce it as laugh fay ette.

New Or Lens is how I pronounce New Orleans.

Originally Posted by Woe.be.gone
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q...mid=1338007540


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

Congress does not have sidewalks up to the Cajundome I believe,s o she may have went to a road that did, thinking it would be safer. That road she took also leads straight o Johnston, which is near the bike Path at ULL, which should have taken her to Cajundome Boulevard, and then onto Congress.

Edit: She would have to take a left onto W St Mary to hit Johnston.,so now I see where I got mixed up. Forgot you have to turn. If she went straight down St Landry,s he would have passed up some houses etc, before hitting a back road with a long stretch of nothing on either side.

 

[MissEm]

Staying on Parkside would've forced her to ride for a block (or 2?) on University, a crappy road for biking at that time of night. Detouring a half-block let her cross it on St. John/St. Landry.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Staying on Parkside would've forced her to ride for a block (or 2?) on University, a crappy road for biking at that time of night. Detouring a half-block let her cross it on St. John/St. Landry.

It was Parkside to Souvenir Gate that looks to be more direct.

 

[MissEm]

Congress does not have sidewalks up to the Cajundome I believe

Yes it does. However, I think she is a serious biker and tends to ride on the roads (legally) rather than the sidewalks. In a lot of ways, shady sidewalks, with all the shrubbery overgrown like it is this time of year, are more dangerous than the roads. Still, you'd want to avoid the drunk drivers at ~2:00 am (right around last call), so taking St. Landry would seem to be a reasonable option. It's quick and relatively clear.

 

[Cazzie]

I am thankful for so many locals posting here. Is there any detour that Mickey may have taken (to avoid whatever) where she could be laying injured? Somehow hit or fallen, or pulled over to rest/hide? And somehow such a place(s) may not have been searched or checked yet?

 

[MissEm]

It was Parkside to Souvener Gate that looks to be more direct.

That still forces you to either ride on University or cross University at Souvenir Gate and then weave through a poorly-lit (though better-populated) residential neighborhood to get back on a thoroughfare.

 

[AquaDementia]

Yes it does. However, I think she is a serious biker and tends to ride on the roads (legally) rather than the sidewalks. In a lot of ways, shady sidewalks, with all the shrubbery overgrown like it is this time of year, are more dangerous than the roads. Still, you'd want to avoid the drunk drivers at ~2:00 am (right around last call), so taking St. Landry would seem to be a reasonable option. It's quick and relatively clear.

Now that you mention it, I did have that part backwards. Apologies.

 

[bessie]

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.

Certainly you're allowed. But we'd all know you weren't a local.

When I was a child, Orleans had three syllables, or-le-ehns or orl-yens. Nowadays, it's more like New Orlunz/Orlinz. Somewhere between "i" and "u", depending on the neighborhood, and "new" is always separate.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Night all. Sure wish we could turn back the hands of time. Streets sure seem complicated in Lafeyette. :banghead:

 

[MissEm]

Apologies.

Oh, goodness, no need for apologies. We're all trying to figure this out together.

As to the question about whether or not there are any small roads where she could be hidden on the sides, the answer is not really. I think that area has been extensively searched and re-searched. It's fairly densely populated; it'd be hard for someone to be hidden for long.

 

[Cazzie]

Certainly you're allowed. But we'd all know you weren't a local.

When I was a child, Orleans had three syllables, or-le-ehns or orl-yens. Nowadays, it's more like New Orlunz/Orlinz. Somewhere between "i" and "u", depending on the neighborhood, and "new" is always separate.

Well heck, LOL. Maybe I'm a natural born-again local then. Not sure where I got the "Nawlins" from...read/watch too much...altho I promise that I've never said it.

 

[harrison]

well this extended cab white truck scenario has me gasping, like a punch in the gut, because this exact type of extended white cab was a major element in the Lauren Spierer case. Yes indeed, Bloomington Indiana Police said they "eliminated" this truck as the owner came forward and cooperated, but that hasn't convinced many of us folks who extensively studied that GRAINY white truck for so long that we were able to decipher a strange element in the back, many of us are still suspecting that white truck in the LS case, I assume the BPD hasn't really ruled it out either.... Good news is the Bloomington Indiana Police knows who owns that truck. Should be easy to find out if that same "owner" has been in Louisiana the past months. Like i said, i suspect a tree service utility that comes in after storms, wasn't there some storms in march that may have blown some trees down there? If you search my previous posts, you will see some compelling photo enhancements of the white truck in the Indiana LS Case, indeed it appears a small blonde is in the back of a white truck in the LS case. Will see what photoshop can help me decipher in this latest grainy white truck photo.

 

[mahmoo]

Yes it does. However, I think she is a serious biker and tends to ride on the roads (legally) rather than the sidewalks. In a lot of ways, shady sidewalks, with all the shrubbery overgrown like it is this time of year, are more dangerous than the roads. Still, you'd want to avoid the drunk drivers at ~2:00 am (right around last call), so taking St. Landry would seem to be a reasonable option. It's quick and relatively clear.

I definitely understand what you're saying BUT, towards the end of St. Landry nearing Coliseum would have put her in a vulnerable location because of it's remoteness and especially at dark during the time she was traveling.

 

[AquaDementia]

I am thankful for so many locals posting here. Is there any detour that Mickey may have taken (to avoid whatever) where she could be laying injured? Somehow hit or fallen, or pulled over to rest/hide? And somehow such a place(s) may not have been searched or checked yet?

See, this is where I am confused. If she hit St Landry to go to Souvenir Gate, she would be really going far out of the way IMO. She would be taken through a residential area, but I think that would take a while.

I thought maybe she had taken a left on St Mary to hit Johnston, but she could have very well just kept goign straight on St Landry, which leads into that long stretch of a field ( though I don't think anything was found there, as I drove past Monday while handing out fliers, and there was someone mowing the grass on a tractor, surely something would have been found, as well as seeing someone drive into the barns right behind Blackham.

A route she would have then taken would have been St Landry onto Coliseum Rd, and then take a left right before the fraternity houses (I believe a park is there), end up on Cajundome Blvd which would then lead right to Congress.

I'm so confused and stressing out over this.

 

[MissEm]

Like i said, i suspect a tree service utility that comes in after storms, wasn't there some storms in march that may have blown some trees down there?

Not really.

Not discounting your theory re: the white trucks; just correcting this line. This is a rare area of the country where businesses are doing well and things like construction are booming. I suspect lots of folks coming through town for project work, especially specialized workers.

That said, white trucks are everywhere. They're easily the most common type of vehicle in town. It's a blue-collar area (thus, trucks) that's intensely hot for much of the year (thus, white vehicles).

 

[MissEm]

I definitely understand what you're saying BUT, towards the end of St. Landry nearing Coliseum would have put her in a vulnerable location because of it's remoteness and especially at dark during the time she was traveling.

Yes, and much of that route is covered by the abandoned (creepy) empty Lourdes hospital campus. I suspect (and I am purely guessing) that her plan was to get to St. John, cross Uni onto St. Landry, and then take St. Mary down to Johnston, and zip home in the bike lane on Johnston. Though Johnston is high-trafficked, there IS a bike lane, which makes things safer.

I'm not clear on why we think that Souvenir Gate was part of her planned route at all. Did I miss something in that regard? It's not an impossible route, but I don't see why it's the likeliest?

 

[AquaDementia]

I could have sworn someone said something about her normally taking ParkView to Souvenir gate, though I may have misread.

I would hate to say something wrong, and have it spread.

 

[MissEm]

A route she would have then taken would have been St Landry onto Coliseum Rd, and then take a left right before the fraternity houses (I believe a park is there), end up on Cajundome Blvd which would then lead right to Congress.
.

Well, first of all, there's no indication that she got this far.

But if you take St. Landry to Coliseum and take a left, you end up on Johnston. If you take a right, you can weave through sorority row and end up on Congress. But we're talking about this like great distances are involved; they're really not. I mean, a 4 mile bike ride takes 15 minutes for an advanced rider. So these little one-block detours are not likely tremendously significant, the way I see it, if they make sense for a cyclist.

I don't ride a bike in this town, but I know that when I've lived places where I did ride in town, I often found my favorite little routes that I liked for one reason or another, even if they weren't the most absolutely efficient, you know? Like, one little stretch of road has crappy potholes that make it hard to ride, so you go a block to the side; or another piece is always creepy and poorly-lit, so you go a little way around.

Nothing about what we know of her route leads me to suspect she was trying to outrun someone or lose a "tail." It's seems reasonable enough.

 

[harrison]

Not really.

Not discounting your theory re: the white trucks; just correcting this line. This is a rare area of the country where businesses are doing well and things like construction are booming. I suspect lots of folks coming through town for project work, especially specialized workers.

That said, white trucks are everywhere. They're easily the most common type of vehicle in town. It's a blue-collar area (thus, trucks) that's intensely hot for much of the year (thus, white vehicles).

"Other tornadoes touched down in Louisiana and Mississippi on March 20 and March 21." [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornadoes_of_2012"]Tornadoes of 2012 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

i wanted to go back to march due to that report of the witness who came forward talking about being propositioned for sex from a white truck.

 

[mahmoo]

http://goo.gl/maps/u3Wp

There are only 2 buildings on Versailles from Parkside to St. John. Bldg on the left is the Midsouth Bank Bldg and on the right is Cathedral Carmel (a private school). Cathedral definitely looks to have video surveillance and I would imagine Midsouth does as well. I guess it would be fairly safe to assume video of MS and the white truck (at the Versailles location) came from one, or both, of these buildings. Wondering if they were able to get a good view of that truck and are maybe fairly certain it's the same truck that was seen at the St. Landry/University intersection??

Edited to add: That Midsouth parking lot would have been the perfect place for someone possibly stalking her to lie in wait ... from there they would have been able to easily follow her no matter what direction she went from the intersection of Parkside/Versailles.

After almost a week of no leads in the case of Mickey Shunick, Lafayette Police said they finally got the break they were looking for with video surveillance of Mickey riding her bike on Versailles Boulevard and St. Landry Street. In both videos, a white, four door pickup truck is captured on video after Mickey traveled those streets.

http://www.katc.com/full-coverage/searching-for-mickey-shunick/