LA - Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette 19 May 2012 - #30

[Mahouston69]

Considered unsubstantiated rumor and deleted.

Really? When Chief Craft said on Nancy Grace they saw other bicyclists on video in that area at that time of night?

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1205/24/ng.01.html

 

[chicken fried]

Between 1:45 and 2:00

Were you out riding your bike, or did you witness this from a car, or from on foot or inside a building?

 

[De2385]

No, but I have seriously been thinking about someone watching Mickey leave Ryan St and taking St John while a car or cyclist went straight down Parkside across University and continued on Parside and cut across to the backside of M&C Funeral Home and grabbing her on St Landry. I just recently discovered that behind M&C there is actually a small driveable bridge over the coulee that connects Parkside to the back parking lot of M&C where you can drive all the way to the front and be on St Landry or the office building next door. Someone could have been waiting for her behind the very large sign in front of the office building that has Kidney Care in it. (next to M&C) it would have been easy to exit out the back of the parking lot back down Parkside without being seen. I don't know if there's any camera's there that were working.

Also, if any cyclists were involved I think Mickeys guard would have been lowered as she saw them as one of the gang of cyclists.

I seem to recall reading that BW suggested she take Parkside. Am I right?

 

[De2385]

It should definitely be looked into in younger endangered runaway cases, as slightly younger women are ideal prey for human trafficking. Mickey was a bit older and would have been much more difficult to get her to submit to such treatment. Not impossible, just not as easy.

I think anyone will submit to anything if they are scared or threatened, and they believe it may save them.

 

[LSUFanGirl]

I managed to survive a lot of stupid choices. It is not normal in the Lafayette I remember, especially on this side of town. Still does not mean it cannot happen. Sad that you have to prepare for the worst, yet hope for the best.

I also did many stupid things when I was younger. I was paranoid about opening my door to strangers, yet often went out and stayed out late only to decide to leave friends' houses for home at 2am-3am. One friend lived just down the street from one of DTL's victims, Carrie Yoder. I admit after hearing about her murder, I straightened up my ways a bit. But before that, leaving alone from apartments even in my car near LSU in the middle of the night, not a great idea. I feel lucky to have survived all those stupid decisions. I could easily have become another statistic.

 

[De2385]

I also did many stupid things when I was younger. I was paranoid about opening my door to strangers, yet often went out and stayed out late only to decide to leave friends' houses for home at 2am-3am. One friend lived just down the street from one of DTL's victims, Carrie Yoder. I admit after hearing about her murder, I straightened up my ways a bit. But before that, leaving alone from apartments even in my car near LSU in the middle of the night, not a great idea. I feel lucky to have survived all those stupid decisions. I could easily have become another statistic.

I always say I had angels. So now I send one to MS, I do not need her as much now that I am older.

 

[LSUFanGirl]

I think anyone will submit to anything if they are scared or threatened, and they believe it may save them.

Probably true, but the statistics say that younger women are usually the targets of human traffickers. Likely many reasons for this, not the least of which the clients want "clean" women or virgins, younger girls are more likely to be this. I'm not at all saying anything about Mickey, I don't know her.
I do think the LE has a responsibility to the public and her family to explore all possible directions of the case, including trafficking.

 

[Allusonz]

Oh man, I have to weigh in on this. 30mph is cranking it. If someone can ride 30 miles in a straight hour I bow down to them. That's professional cyclist material, and even so I doubt anyone of them could sprint that fast for one whole hour. When you see the sprint for the finish line where cyclist are riding so hard the bike is wobbling, that's 30-38 mph. It's hard, and it hurts like hell. I was able to get up to 34 once, but I did not sustain it for long. My legs burned and I had chapped lips from biting my lips.

20-25 mph an hour for a woman is hustling. I can do it, but It would have to be on a straight shot, no stop signs, full of coffee and definitely on the road bike. Even still It would be a test and I would pray for wind at my back.

On a fixed gear, that's pushing it. I dont know Mickey, but the photos and the time she made looks as if she was riding at a comfy pace.

*** mileage was determined by a handy dandy cyclometer. It works like a speedometer on a car.

LA

When I reposted Texaslil's map here the other night I just about fell off my chair when I realized the distance travelled / time frame.

Like you I have a cyclometer and at 5 1 I know how fast I cycle. MS was nauseated and tired and I would have a very difficult time thinking she came close to that speed.

We do know that the timestamps were adjusted according to LPD early on when the photos were released. One at least by 12 minutes being the car photo.

 

[cluciano63]

Probably true, but the statistics say that younger women are usually the targets of human traffickers. Likely many reasons for this, not the least of which the clients want "clean" women or virgins, younger girls are more likely to be this. I'm not at all saying anything about Mickey, I don't know her.
I do think the LE has a responsibility to the public and her family to explore all possible directions of the case, including trafficking.

For all we know, they are looking into it...although I too think it is very unlikely. The whole setting, to me, just screams of abduction by stranger, wrong place/wrong time for Mickey.

 

[LSUFanGirl]

I always say I had angels. So now I send one to MS, I do not need her as much now that I am older.

That is really sweet. I always believed my paw paw who died when I was 9 years old watched over me when I was growing up. I even thought I saw him sitting a few rows behind us at a LSU football game the season after he died (he had a massive heart attack after a bad LSU loss). I still believe I saw him, though my mom and dad think I'm crazy. Now that you mention an angel protecting you during those wild/irresponsible years, I guess it would have been him for me. I would honestly hope if he could that he would help Mickey. Or, at least her family. I have my maw maw now to watch over me, so I think I could share him now.

 

[LSUFanGirl]

For all we know, they are looking into it...although I too think it is very unlikely. The whole setting, to me, just screams of abduction by stranger, wrong place/wrong time for Mickey.

I hope they are looking into everything. I lean toward her being abducted by:
a)Someone she'd met out that night or someone she recognized from school (possibly posing as a student stalking her/looking for someone like her). In these cases, she may have been more willing to hop in a truck than a total stranger.
b)A stranger acting alone and somehow using force to subdue her quickly before anyone saw anything.
c)A pair of strangers attacking her and taking the bike at the same time as to make a clean getaway before anyone could notice.

With possibilities b and c I see it as a wrong place, wrong time scenario. In my first option a, I see her as being pre-chosen, planned, and patiently waiting for the opportunity. I would like to know if when she went to Artmosphere the night before her abduction if she had gone on her bike that night as well. If so, that would somewhat discount my first option.

My head is spinning, they need to find her already!!!

 

[Allusonz]

Really? When Chief Craft said on Nancy Grace they saw other bicyclists on video in that area at that time of night?

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1205/24/ng.01.html

Thank you for this!!!

I knew I had seen it but could not recall where.

 

[LSUFanGirl]

Something I would seriously love to know is what the special K-9 units found as to where her scent ended along that route. You would think that it would give them a good indication as to where she was taken. However, I wonder how much this was affected by the fact that she took these roads often and her scent was likely all over the place. You would think they would still be able to tell when the scent drastically weakened or changed. I don't know where I'm going with this, but I had really hoped that with all the search teams that have come in to help that someone would help discover something new. I hope they did and we just don't know it.

 

[megsy]

I just wish we'd get a presser with something. Anything at this point.

 

[Allusonz]

Male, average build, medium to light color hair (darker than the girl), above shoulder hair...only saw the back of him... Don't know what the front looks like...

Can you describe the bikes perchance?

 

[cluciano63]

Honestly, I am trying not to be as pessimistic as WS has made me these past few years...but so many of these missing women are never found, it is mind-boggling. I remember so many times when it seemed like they might have new info on Brittanee Drexel, or Holly Bobo or even Kara Kopetsky...and then nothing. And in Kara's case, where her ex BF is the POI, it is not like he is any brain surgeon, yet for 5+ years he has managed to keep his mouth shut AND evidently put her someplace she can't be found. That is why I never believe these crimes have to have been committed by some experienced hardcore criminal...often it is just an angry BF, husband or some sicko who sees a vulnerable girl (John Gardner-type) and takes his chances. He killed two girls (that we know of) and they found Chelsea King, IMO, because they were looking for her literally within 2 hours of her disappearance and her car was in the lot of the park where she went to jog; and would never have found Amber at all, except he eventually took LE there to avoid the DP.

Mark Klaas once said on NG that it isn't hard to hide bodies...that it is a very big world and overall, bodies are very small...a very chilling statement that seems to be all too true.

(Of COURSE I hope for the best for Mickie and all of the other women...I just wish it was possible to do more on-going searches in these cases, ruling out areas every single week and moving on. But that doesn't seem to happen...too expensive.)

Anyway JMO and sorry to ramble and OT...

 

[Mahouston69]

Probably true, but the statistics say that younger women are usually the targets of human traffickers. Likely many reasons for this, not the least of which the clients want "clean" women or virgins, younger girls are more likely to be this. I'm not at all saying anything about Mickey, I don't know her.
I do think the LE has a responsibility to the public and her family to explore all possible directions of the case, including trafficking.

Agreed on both statements, traffickers do target younger girls for all those reasons and LE should look into all possibilities. Especially since Mickey looks 12 due to her height, weight, on a bike at 2am and what perp wouldn't target a 12 year old, curly blonde haired girl out at 2am, thinking she had no parental supervision? I hope LE is interrogating every RSO for miles!

( I say 12 because my 21 year old, college, son is just above 5', has curly blonde hair and looks 12. At every place we go and he orders a beer, they think he is 12, the waitress, has rudely taken it away before or he is carded numerous times. Forget going to the Casino. He has to adamantly say his age and show his ID every five minutes. We tease him that he will need to wear it around his neck like a fishing license)

 

[oddball62983]

well, ill admit ive had too much wine tonight, but if young blonde lady from shreveport doesnt turn back up soon, im going to start getting paranoid...dont forget only last week in shreveport we had someone impersonating a police officer....very spooky. would make for a very good/scary novel.

 

[Artis]

I sure wish psychics were worth a darn but they aren't. Very nice group of them concentrating on this like crazy but it amounts to a whole lot of nothing. This whole case is full of nothing. Somebody (singular or plural) knows or saw something and I blame LPD for their complete failure to have, at least, weekly pressers to communicate with the public and keep Mickey's case in the forefront of people's minds. I am sorry but there no excuse for this. A hell of lot of people pay little attention to the news and just catching a report, even a month later, could well trigger someone's memory. This is terrible.

 

[LSUFanGirl]

I just wish we'd get a presser with something. Anything at this point.

Yes, please. I'm watching Judge Jeanine right now and she is talking to the police detective involved in Brandy Hall's six year old case. I know the case is old, but he carefully laid out the information. There wasn't a question he didn't answer with as much info as he seemed to have. He acknowledged a fair amount of her blood in the truck found submerged, who her last phone call was to, and she had previous issues with said person's wife. I don't know enough about this 6 year old case to comment, but I wonder if they released all this info initially or if they've waited this long to share it. They also showed surveillance footage of her. I realize there are those here who think concealing evidence from the public would harm the case, but I was impressed by the amount of evidence laid out by this detective. If they would let us know where they "think" she was taken, then maybe people who were in the area would recall something that didn't look right or out of place that night. This kind of witness memory won't last forever.
As I've said before, the longer LE stays silent the colder the case and trail become. Why not try something new and share little bits of info that might help people help them? For example, state where they think she may have been abducted and clarify all known details the DWTIQ. It wouldn't hurt anything for them to release that info.