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

[AquaDementia]

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 see what you are saying, but we have to keep in mind that she was tired and possibly not feeling well when she left. So, it could have taken her longer than normal.

 

[MissEm]

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.

I hear ya. There was no major damage in this immediate area, as far as I know. There's certainly not the kind of tree damage that would require calling in out-of-state crews, particularly ones that would stay several months.

 

[krisstanamus]

I just read this in a post on the "find mickey now" FB page...
"*Referring to the photo of the truck of interest:
My hubby and I just enlarged this and he says it's her on the bike pulled up to the truck talking to the driver. Like maybe he stopped and offered her a ride and she slowed down and answered him. Her back tire and the back side of her is facing the camera. Her left foot is up on the pedal and right foot is on the street holding her balance. You can... make out her leg coming off the seat and see the leg in a straight down position. He has foot on the brake and that is bright brake lights shining-not reverse lights. You can see the two bright brake lights and the third one lit up at top of rear window. What everyone thinks is something under the truck is reflection of lights at Circle K and shadow of truck underneath the truck. I too thought it was someone standing at the truck but enlarge it and look from a distance away from screen"

Has anyone else seen this photo?

 

[pjcitizen]

:fence:

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.

The normal route given early on was Parkside (crossing University on Parkside) to St Mary to St Landry. Instead she turned left on Versailles (which really brought her out of her way), then turned right on St John, and crossed over University to St Landry there.

Did something spook her and make her change from staying on Parkside to turning onto Versailles?

The Souvenier Gate route I have seen as speculation here as being better than taking Coliseum, but I don't think she took Souvenier Gate.

 

[harrison]

I hear ya. There was no major damage in this immediate area, as far as I know. There's certainly not the kind of tree damage that would require calling in out-of-state crews, particularly ones that would stay several months.

My suspicion is that the abductors were not from the immediate vicinity, they just picked this city because it has a major university. "The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is part of the University of Louisiana System. It is the second largest university in the state, with an enrollment of approximately 16,000."

 

[MissEm]

I see what you are saying, but we have to keep in mind that she was tired and possibly not feeling well when she left. So, it could have taken her longer than normal.

Well, sure, though she wasn't sick enough to ask for a ride home, nor was she sick enough that she didn't have an appetite or something (Taco Bell is hardly gentle on the system, and not often the first choice of someone who's feeling deeply ill).

But I (gently and respectfully) think you're missing a little bit of my point, which is that we can nitpick why she took this block or that half-block or this thoroughfare or that one -- the different routes we've theorized thus far have been only fractions of minutes different, in terms of time they'd take. I think she, like any seasoned biker, chose her route based not just on efficiency, but also ease and perceived safety.

I maintain that what we know of her route thus far does not seem particularly odd.

 

[pjcitizen]

I just read this in a post on the "find mickey now" FB page...
"*Referring to the photo of the truck of interest:

I can't see that, but heres the thing - the police don't just have this pic, this is a still from a video. They would see the truck approach her in the video and I don't think that's the case.

 

[AquaDementia]

Well, sure, though she wasn't sick enough to ask for a ride home, nor was she sick enough that she didn't have an appetite or something (Taco Bell is hardly gentle on the system, and not often the first choice of someone who's feeling deeply ill).

But I (gently and respectfully) think you're missing a little bit of my point, which is that we can nitpick why she took this block or that half-block or this thoroughfare or that one -- the different routes we've theorized thus far have been only fractions of minutes different, in terms of time they'd take. I think she, like any seasoned biker, chose her route based not just on efficiency, but also ease and perceived safety.

I maintain that what we know of her route thus far does not seem particularly odd.

Yeah..I think i was. It's late and I think I am just hallucinating right now trying to picture the routes in my head and just getting all confuzzled.

 

[AquaDementia]

I just read this in a post on the "find mickey now" FB page...
"*Referring to the photo of the truck of interest:
My hubby and I just enlarged this and he says it's her on the bike pulled up to the truck talking to the driver. Like maybe he stopped and offered her a ride and she slowed down and answered him. Her back tire and the back side of her is facing the camera. Her left foot is up on the pedal and right foot is on the street holding her balance. You can... make out her leg coming off the seat and see the leg in a straight down position. He has foot on the brake and that is bright brake lights shining-not reverse lights. You can see the two bright brake lights and the third one lit up at top of rear window. What everyone thinks is something under the truck is reflection of lights at Circle K and shadow of truck underneath the truck. I too thought it was someone standing at the truck but enlarge it and look from a distance away from screen"


Has anyone else seen this photo?

Honestly, I do not see that at all, it just looks like its the door there, and the dark spot is the tire on the passenger side. Plus that means, she would have cycled back to talk to the guy.

 

[MissEm]

Did something spook her and make her change from staying on Parkside to turning onto Versailles?

Certainly possible.

There's a stoplight at St. Landry/John, though, and there isn't one at Parkside. That would be my personal inclination for a nighttime crossing, were I on a bike; perhaps I'd choose differently during the day. It's truly not a massive detour, though. As I mentioned upthread, we're talking about a difference of 30-45 seconds on a bike; a minute at the most.

I'm just hearing hoofbeats and looking for horses, that's all. If she was spooked, I would think she would've circled right back to her friend's house, which was just a block away from the big decision point (taking Parkview or detouring via Versailles). Or, when she hit University, zipping up to Johnston, where there would've been large crowds of folks leaving the dozen bars in the vicinity of that intersection, rather than taking St. Landry deeper into a low-populated area.

I think if she was kidnapped (and I think she was), it happened quickly and without significant warning.

 

[MissEm]

just getting all confuzzled.

It's confuzzling, no question. And it just HAD to be in the Saints, right? She took St. Whatwhat to St. Whowho? Shouldn't she have taken St. Somebody to St. Someoneelse? No way, St. Someoneelse crosses St. Whowho, and St. Whatwhat parallels it. Gah.

:banghead:

 

[finishstrong]

It's confuzzling, no question. And it just HAD to be in the Saints, right? She took St. Whatwhat to St. Whowho? Shouldn't she have taken St. Somebody to St. Someoneelse? No way, St. Someoneelse crosses St. Whowho, and St. Whatwhat parallels it. Gah.

:banghead:

true dat! lol

 

[pjcitizen]

Certainly possible.

There's a stoplight at St. Landry/John, though, and there isn't one at Parkside. (snip by me).

Ah, thanks for that! I wondered that as well, but was too lazy to type it in my already long post. That makes sense.

 

[pjcitizen]

It's confuzzling, no question. And it just HAD to be in the Saints, right? She took St. Whatwhat to St. Whowho? Shouldn't she have taken St. Somebody to St. Someoneelse? No way, St. Someoneelse crosses St. Whowho, and St. Whatwhat parallels it. Gah.

:banghead:

You have been a good source of info because even as a local, those streets confuse me

 

[GulfCoastKAT]

I can't see that, but heres the thing - the police don't just have this pic, this is a still from a video. They would see the truck approach her in the video and I don't think that's the case.

I agree. I think if the video showed her talking to the occupant(s) of the truck, that would have been mentioned by the MSM.

 

[cajngrl02]

Been lurking here for a few days. Brought here of course because I also am a local hoping to find Mickey. I used to lurk years ago for the Natalee case. I joined i hanging flyers and such on Monday, and hope to join the search either tomorrow or Sunday (hoping we won't have to be searching much longer, in a good way). I did see a post on facebook on a local site that CPL Mouton stated it is THE truck they want to find. I agree with others that the family may be trying to keep the perp from getting spooked!!
So glad to be here, and will try to keep up in posting with ya'll.

 

[cajngrl02]

Going to bed now in hopes of waking up to good news!!!

 

[mahmoo]

Both pictures side-by-side. I hadn't noticed this before but someone on KATC's facebook did; in both pics the same dark colored car (left side of pumps) is in both photos. A lighter car (to right of pumps) appears in the truck pic. Probably doesn't tell us anything but does appear her and that truck were at the same location within moments/seconds of each other ... just from opposite directions.

Perhaps the truck/driver are not under any type of suspicion and LE just wants to know if the driver remembers seeing her and how far down St. Landry she got??

 

[MissEm]

We don't know for sure which order these two pictures went in, right? Nor do we know whether that's the only time a white truck passed that camera. There are a few possibilities there.

It takes a fair bit of time to fill up your tank. Usually at that time of night, you have to go in and pay, too, often in advance. It wouldn't be unreasonable for that same car to be sitting there for 10 or even 15 minutes, in which time a lot of events could've transpired.

I'm sure they're looking at credit card slips at that gas station to see who bought gas that night. I hope so, anyway. It certainly would be nice to know if anyone saw anything; there certainly are people in the pictures who could've seen something.

 

[GulfCoastKAT]

??? Well, this appears to be a merry mix-up.

What's the link here?

http://m.nbc33tv.com/w/main/story/62343301/

http://www.bustedinacadiana.com/201...k-and-mystery-truck-of-interest/#.T8CGoYl5mc1

“That vehicle just happens to be in both locations that we captured the woman on video in the area where she was traveling,” Cpl. Paul Mouton, Lafayette Police Department, explained. “Until now we had no confirmation that she even left the original location she was in. Now, we have a better idea of where to canvas for clues.”
Although suspicious, detectives have not captured any images of the driver interacting with Shunick. For that reason, the case is still being classified as a missing person investigation.
“This is only a vehicle of interest,” Cpl. Mouton, stressed. “Nothing shows that she was taken by the person in that vehicle.”

I'm still not sure why CS would post that not being the truck they were looking for. Seems highly unlikely LE would release the still photo taken from a video and the statement above of it's not the exact truck they are looking for. I'm guessing she is either trying to act like it's not THE truck in case the person who has/had Mickey is following the story closely as it unfolds on Facebook or it's just like she said about not wanting people to focus in a specific make/model.

When DTL was on the loose and LE knew that he drove a white truck, they contacted owners of white trucks that fit the description. Several men I know who own white trucks were asked to voluntarily submit a DNA sample for comparison. I don't think Lafayette PD has the manpower to track down all the owners of white trucks, though