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

[Boudin]

I would think if anything, that time of the night would have more riders in that area due to the bars letting out and people riding home ....

Spring semester was over when Mickey disappeared so there were a lot less students around than when school is in session. Often times students will go to McKinley street bars or downtown to Downtown Alive (outside) and then the clubs on Jefferson St. Some will hang out at the sports bar near Campus Crossings Apts across from Taco Bell on Congress St. depending on where they live or want to go. I am trying to figure out if the bike video was from the St Landry St area or if it was a video from inside somewhere else-like perhaps a business on Congress St. I may have missed it but it wasn't clear to me where exactly Chief was talking about.

 

[redhairedgirl]

I feel like Mickey is still very close to the area where she was taken. I suspect that the bike was disposed of at WB to take the search focus away from the abduction area. I think the bike was disposed of later than the first night, and maybe even because the search/investigation was getting too close to the perp. I would suspect that one of the reasons the bike was disposed of is because it was too hard to hide, could cause questions from family and friends.

BBM I don't think he intended to ride the bike.

 

[De2385]

thanks for your response. I guess I was thinking about last night I went out to look at houses for sale. Some streets are very dark and quiet. Backing out of driveways can be a little difficult depending on the vehicle you have, and if someone isn't paying attention, or drinking, anything can happen.

drive ways can be very dangerous for riders. People have a tendency to not pay attention as they are backing out. With garage doors, cell phones, satellite radio and kids it's even worse.

It could be probable that someone hit her backing out, but in that instance it would most likely be from the side or the front tire. Most riders are alert to the dangers of driveways, so they slow down as they approach. At that time of night back up lights and brake lights would alert her to a car in the driveway.

so while not impossible, definitely doubtful in my opinion.

 

[helpwithhope]

:welcome:

Thank you
:seeya: more of a lurker than commenter, but I'm with everyone in the frustration of it all.

 

[cluciano63]

thanks for your response. I guess I was thinking about last night I went out to look at houses for sale. Some streets are very dark and quiet. Backing out of driveways can be a little difficult depending on the vehicle you have, and if someone isn't paying attention, or drinking, anything can happen.

I know my street is like that...so dark, I need a flashlight to check my mail or even get into my car after dark. It is seriously dark.

Not sure how dark it would be on the streets near Mickey's house. But if something like that happened, that could be an explanation for taking the bike far away too.

 

[TheTruthWillOut]

The biggest problem is we don't know where exactly Mickey went missing. All we have is after Circle K and before home.

I'm really surprised there were no eye witnesses that saw her that night. Surely there would be quite a few people making there way home after a Friday night out just like herself?

 

[De2385]

I know my street is like that...so dark, I need a flashlight to check my mail or even get into my car after dark. It is seriously dark.

Not sure how dark it would be on the streets near Mickey's house. But if something like that happened, that could be an explanation for taking the bike far away too.

I believe they were referring to one of the neighborhoods that she may or not ridden through off of St Mary,or Brashear. Not specifically in her own.

We still are not sure she got as far as her home. Are you saying you have considered that she did?

 

[helpwithhope]

drive ways can be very dangerous for riders. People have a tendency to not pay attention as they are backing out. With garage doors, cell phones, satellite radio and kids it's even worse.

It could be probable that someone hit her backing out, but in that instance it would most likely be from the side or the front tire. Most riders are alert to the dangers of driveways, so they slow down as they approach. At that time of night back up lights and brake lights would alert her to a car in the driveway.

so while not impossible, definitely doubtful in my opinion.

The only reason my thoughts took me there was because of it being easier for someone to just drag her into their house and the bike, and clean up evidence later. One way to explain investigators not finding any evidence alone the streets of her possible path, or so it's been said.

 

[cluciano63]

I believe they were referring to one of the neighborhoods that she may or not ridden through off of St Mary,or Brashear. Not specifically in her own.

We still are not sure she got as far as her home. Are you saying you have considered that she did?

No, just possibly into her neighborhood. Who knows...

 

[Mahouston69]

Some of what is gained by disposing the bike and/or Mickey at WB
1. Distance from the scene
2. Ties to a SK and random abduction
3. Alligators
4. Current
5. Wash away evidence
----------------------------------
Makes it likely the scene is in Lafayette, not WB
Makes it likely it's not random, and she knows the person who abducted her
Makes it likely it's a local person familiar with WB
Makes it likely they are familiar enough to know the river, current and where it might take her or the bike
Makes it likely they know enough about forensic evidence that most evidence would be washed away by putting in there
Makes it likely they knew LE would be focused on the only evidence they had and search there for weeks, distracting them from other evidence and other likely places she might be hidden.

My theories and ideas change and at the moment my instinct is that while Mickey had no enemies, according to everyone..BW might have. This act may have been to get back at or punish BW for whatever reason. Jilted girlfriend, guy friend, neighbor, hoodlums on the corner by his house spraying graffiti. I would be interested to know if BW had any run ins with any local LE, OR what if any recent police complaints he might have made against his neighbors, or suspicious people hanging out on the corner of Congress and Parkside, loud music? Vandalism? Parties? When people get in trouble, they love to intimidate the people that tell on them. I go back to was anyone rude to them when they passed that corner onto Congress in his car to go to Taco Bell or when they returned. He may not have felt it was significant to mention to media.

Facts that are strange that make me wonder are the circumstances around the theft of his bike, just taken as a taunt almost and thrown into bushes, blocks away, where he probably would have found it on his own. But, LE was looking for it, he reported it and they found it right away. As if the person who took was saying, I will make you miserable and mess with you. I can get to your bike and get rid of it, I can do anything I want. The Graffiti directly behind Ryan St. depicting a black pacman and white ghost with a bow, and the words Game Over ..still bothers me. Not just the words or the bow on the ghost but the proximity to BW and where his bike was stolen from. Home.

Despite the circles we seem to have to go in... starting back at the beginning and getting answers to simple first odd questions seems to be the right thing to do.

 

[waiting1979]

I wish there was a reward for info on the bike....like if someone took the bike would come forward and tell where they took the bike from, etc. they'd get a couple grand & no charges for stealing the bike would be pressed. Just in case.
This of course, would require more reward money. As my nanny (godmother for those of you not from south Louisiana) says "all it takes is money."

hey, that's not a bad idea. i wonder how you'd filter out the fakers..

 

[Kateinfl]

if it was an accident..then taken into the house...why not call 911..even if drinking you could have time to sober up and call 911

 

[IMPondering]

Mickey's bike had distinctive gold grips. Since the handlebars and/or grips were reportedly removed, it could be that the perp didn't want the bike to be as recognizable. If the perp wanted to make a statement or use the dumping of the bike as a ruse, wouldn't he/she have made the bike's distinguishing features more obvious? After the water level decreased, just a portion of the frame was exposed. It seems to me that the person who disposed of the bike was not necessarily wanting it to be found. I think the perp was a local who was nervously trying to get rid of the bike, and was more interested in getting rid of the bike in a hurry, than risk being seen. If the tire marks in the water near the bike belonged to the perp, it could be because he/she backed the truck up into the water to try to get it in deeper water to conceal it. JMO

-
One reason the hand grips may have been removed is to sanatize them. They are soft and an area that holds DNA. Maybe Mickey pulled them while trying to hold onto the bike, or they were removed by the perp. who may have handled them.

What worries me the most is that the phone had been reportedly turned off early on. And the credit cards were not used either. Seemed to be a professional who knew about forensics.

I continue to hope and pray for a break in this case!

 

[tula]

Ok so first, I apologize if this post is annoying since it is about the stupid white truck.

From the beginning, for whatever reason, I thought the truck was a Ford. It was the first thing I thought when I saw the pictures and I kept getting so angry when everyone was saying that it is a GMC/Chevy.

HOWEVER, I visited my dad this weekend. He is a car guy...used to own a body shop, rebuilds vintage cars for fun, etc. In particular, he is a chevy guy. Our family literally exclusively drives Chevy vehicles (it's slightly annoying). My father, naturally, owns a white Chevy Z71. So I asked him to look at the pictures of the white trucks. The first thing he said about the DWT is that it looks like it has a tool kit in the back. I cannot see that at all but I totally trust his judgement. He also said it looks like it is a 2008 or newer.

I realize that this is probably not even helpful at this point, but I just wanted to share. I may ask him to look at the pictures some more and ask him more questions about the condition the truck may be in if it actually hit her bike (he works for a car insurance company...and realizing as I'm typing this that I probably should have been asking him these questions from the beginning!).


Also, quick question....do y'all think that there will come a point in this case where LE will release all of the video footage of the truck in question? I just cannot understand why they haven't done that yet. Seems like it would be helpful...but I also don't follow missing persons cases the way many of you do.

 

[De2385]

Some of what is gained by disposing the bike and/or Mickey at WB
1. Distance from the scene
2. Ties to a SK and random abduction
3. Alligators
4. Current
5. Wash away evidence
----------------------------------
Makes it likely the scene is in Lafayette, not WB
Makes it likely it's not random, and she knows the person who abducted her
Makes it likely it's a local person familiar with WB
Makes it likely they are familiar enough to know the river, current and where it might take her or the bike
Makes it likely they know enough about forensic evidence that most evidence would be washed away by putting in there
Makes it likely they knew LE would be focused on the only evidence they had and search there for weeks, distracting them from other evidence and other likely places she might be hidden.

My theories and ideas change and at the moment my instinct is that while Mickey had no enemies, according to everyone..BW might have. This act may have been to get back at or punish BW for whatever reason. Jilted girlfriend, guy friend, neighbor, hoodlums on the corner by his house spraying graffiti. I would be interested to know if BW had any run ins with any local LE, OR what if any recent police complaints he might have made against his neighbors, or suspicious people hanging out on the corner of Congress and Parkside, loud music? Vandalism? Parties? When people get in trouble, they love to intimidate the people that tell on them. I go back to was anyone rude to them when they passed that corner onto Congress in his car to go to Taco Bell or when they returned. He may not have felt it was significant to mention to media.

Facts that are strange that make me wonder are the circumstances around the theft of his bike, just taken as a taunt almost and thrown into bushes, blocks away, where he probably would have found it on his own. But, LE was looking for it, he reported it and they found it right away. As if the person who took was saying, I will make you miserable and mess with you. I can get to your bike and get rid of it, I can do anything I want. The Graffiti directly behind Ryan St. depicting a black pacman and white ghost with a bow, and the words Game Over ..still bothers me. Not just the words or the bow on the ghost but the proximity to BW and where his bike was stolen from. Home.

Despite the circles we seem to have to go in... starting back at the beginning and getting answers to simple first odd questions seems to be the right thing to do.

I do not know BW, or MS but I looked at his FB profile and he seems to be a serious rider. A lot of people are not fond of sharing the road and as a serious rider you have to be tough at times. Perhaps he got into a spat with someone while riding with MS, and they paid it forward so to speak.

They took his bike as a warning, and then took her's with her on it.

Just my opinion.

 

[Mahouston69]

hey, that's not a bad idea. i wonder how you'd filter out the fakers..

Knowing details about the bike LE hasn't released? Which is probably why they haven't.

 

[helpwithhope]

if it was an accident..then taken into the house...why not call 911..even if drinking you could have time to sober up and call 911

Well my only thought on this is that your average decent person would do just that call 911. But...at 2:30am there are a lot of drinkers out there. Some may have other strikes against them to begin with. Depending on how drunk or high they are could alter their judgement and make them do really thoughtless things. I know of one story where a woman ran over a man and drove all the way home with him plastered to her windshield, so is not anything possible? just sayin.

 

[waiting1979]

Some of what is gained by disposing the bike and/or Mickey at WB
1. Distance from the scene
2. Ties to a SK and random abduction
3. Alligators
4. Current
5. Wash away evidence
----------------------------------
Makes it likely the scene is in Lafayette, not WB
Makes it likely it's not random, and she knows the person who abducted her
Makes it likely it's a local person familiar with WB
Makes it likely they are familiar enough to know the river, current and where it might take her or the bike
Makes it likely they know enough about forensic evidence that most evidence would be washed away by putting in there
Makes it likely they knew LE would be focused on the only evidence they had and search there for weeks, distracting them from other evidence and other likely places she might be hidden.

My theories and ideas change and at the moment my instinct is that while Mickey had no enemies, according to everyone..BW might have. This act may have been to get back at or punish BW for whatever reason. Jilted girlfriend, guy friend, neighbor, hoodlums on the corner by his house spraying graffiti. I would be interested to know if BW had any run ins with any local LE, OR what if any recent police complaints he might have made against his neighbors, or suspicious people hanging out on the corner of Congress and Parkside, loud music? Vandalism? Parties? When people get in trouble, they love to intimidate the people that tell on them. I go back to was anyone rude to them when they passed that corner onto Congress in his car to go to Taco Bell or when they returned. He may not have felt it was significant to mention to media.

Facts that are strange that make me wonder are the circumstances around the theft of his bike, just taken as a taunt almost and thrown into bushes, blocks away, where he probably would have found it on his own. But, LE was looking for it, he reported it and they found it right away. As if the person who took was saying, I will make you miserable and mess with you. I can get to your bike and get rid of it, I can do anything I want. The Graffiti directly behind Ryan St. depicting a black pacman and white ghost with a bow, and the words Game Over ..still bothers me. Not just the words or the bow on the ghost but the proximity to BW and where his bike was stolen from. Home.

Despite the circles we seem to have to go in... starting back at the beginning and getting answers to simple first odd questions seems to be the right thing to do.

I hear all of that. Most of the black/hispanic graffiti artist stuff i've seen since the 70s seems to want to be it's own unique font style, and you have to look at it for a really really long time to understand what it says.. I guess I mean if your not well familiar with it. I'm thinking gang grafitti has a cypher quality. They also seem to go for 'epic', big, easy to see, by the train track, up on the building in the spider-man place. The pacman thing is def suspicious, but is it real, or is it a false trail?

 

[De2385]

-
One reason the hand grips may have been removed is to sanatize them. They are soft and an area that holds DNA. Maybe Mickey pulled them while trying to hold onto the bike, or they were removed by the perp. who may have handled them.

What worries me the most is that the phone had been reportedly turned off early on. And the credit cards were not used either. Seemed to be a professional who knew about forensics.

I continue to hope and pray for a break in this case!

I once read that women walk a bike holding both grips and men one. I seriously do not know how true this is, so I guess we will take a survey.

If that's the case, and both were indeed removed, it's a woman.

I walk holding on to one handlebar, and I am a girl.

what about you?

 

[Kateinfl]

All we know about the bike is the back rim was bent and the tire pushed out. maybe that happened with a trunk being shut on the rim...or also i asked before...could a gator do the damage to the bike. i know the ones we have here in fl will go after alot of things floating in water...and then let off if it isn't food