LA - Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette, 19 May 2012 - #5

[Unscripted]

Oh gosh....that sounds like something out of a James Patterson novel I once read. Ugh.

Off topic and perhaps a bit of a diversion while we all check in from time to time feeling completely helpless and on pins-and-needles.

I'm not local but have to say that I've obtained a wonderful sense of day-to-day life in southern LA by reading the award-winning mystery novels of James Lee Burke and his fictional stories about a policeman named Dave Robicheaux who is based in New Iberia.

He has a new book coming out this summer:
http://www.jamesleeburke.com/bibliography/46.php

 

[chicken fried]

Just checking in... hoping there will be some more info from LEOs. I see there's been a bit of discussion about the car in the photo, and my comments. I'm giving my opinion because I am an old car nut and, until recently, didn't own anything later than a '79. Gave in and got an '85 Supra. Driving around town, I always check out older cars. at least 99 out of 100 drivers driving that car- which definitely is a '79-'87 Cadillac, are black. I drive a '78 Lincoln and black folk approach me in parking lots all the time try to buy it off me. I literally get an offer almost every week. It's a complete fashion trend among south Louisiana blacks. The latest offer was this morning at the parts store. I'm the only white person I have ever seen driving one of those big 4-door boats.

The whole point of it is that if they are looking for that car, they are looking for a black driver, 99%+, guaranteed. Maybe it's different in different parts of the country, but we're talking about a search for a girl in her hometown, and that is the way it is in her town.

What's bugging me is that I am almost certain I saw that car a couple weeks ago somewhere here in town parked at a store. I think it was Wal-Mart on Pinhook, Academy or Lowe's on Ambassador Caffery. It was beige/tan. I remember it because it was unusually beat-up, the plastic taillight-to-fender fairings had rotted away, leaving a gap and I (I'm trying to remember better now - beating my head) think the right quarter panel had body work/primer.

Going to have to almost hypnotize myself to try to remember.... because I remember thinking that it was a beater... and many of those old Caddys actually have been kept in decent shape by the owners.

Later I'm going to get real quiet and see if I can remember where. Yeah, there are a lot of those old Caddys around town, but I specifically remember the beige/tan beater.

 

[hollyblue]

It really bothers me that there has been three females missing from the area; one for the last three months. Two 16 yr olds...and now MS. Granted MS is a bit older, but she is tiny. Could there actually be someone gathering these girls up and holding them somewhere? Perfecting his skills and wants for a little more mature female? Three missing from a population of 120K ...at the rate of 1 per month is pretty darn scary, imo.

 

[chicken fried]

I'm not local but have to say that I've obtained a wonderful sense of day-to-day life in southern LA by reading the award-winning mystery novels of James Lee Burke and his fictional stories about a policeman named Dave Robicheaux who is based in New Iberia.

Yes, James Lee Burke is one of the best writers I have ever read. He gives you an exact sense of this area, and most of the stories are about missing women. You read Burke, you get an idea of how difficult a job law enforcement has down here, due to the terrain.

 

[Billiam]

Bump for this theory

bump.

 

[RWRNHZ40]

Off topic and perhaps a bit of a diversion while we all check in from time to time feeling completely helpless and on pins-and-needles.

I'm not local but have to say that I've obtained a wonderful sense of day-to-day life in southern LA by reading the award-winning mystery novels of James Lee Burke and his fictional stories about a policeman named Dave Robicheaux who is based in New Iberia.

He has a new book coming out this summer:
http://www.jamesleeburke.com/bibliography/46.php

I appreciate the suggestion. I'm always looking for new authors to read. Thank you!

 

[Eavesdropping]

That's why I feel badly sleuthing and posting about RSOs....as someone else said only 1% of them commit crimes like in SL's case and I hate even hinting at someone being involved in that kind of a crime. However, according to the RSO website, he did 7 and a half years in prison for sexual battery. I'm not sure what all "sexual battery" entails though....but 7 years in prison makes it sound like something really bad.... But who knows? Sorry to bring someone you know in to this. I just get worried - thanks to the Jaycee Duggadd case- that some RSO is being overlooked or not fully investigated.

I agree to look into EVERYONE. I don't know the specifics in why he was in prison, I was just putting in my two cents about him watching them from the restaurant.

I agree the perp may likely be local. Or if not from South Louisiana, maybe employed offshore or at a plant.

I think it would be worth it to search the parking lots at the PHI heliports in Lafayette, Houma, Morgan City, etc. If a similar truck is found, it could at least be visually inspected without a warrant.

I work at PHI. At most of the bases actually. You can not imagine the amount of vehicles at some of the locations. I see people drive in and out all day and I can tell you a large percentage of vehicles are white four door pickup trucks. They are just such a common crew truck. BUT, I do know that they all have security that drive around the parking lots all day. Some even log license plate numbers of every vehicle that parks there.

 

[chicken fried]

Driving around town, I always check out older cars. at least 99 out of 100 drivers driving that car- which definitely is a '79-'87 Cadillac, are black.

I meant to say, I THINK it's a '79-'89 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham/Brougham. not definitely, of course. But I've studied the picture and compared it to a lot of photos, and I think that's what they're looking for.

 

[ktgirl]

[quote\]
The whole point of it is that if they are looking for that car, they are looking for a
Going to have to almost hypnotize myself to try to remember.... because I remember thinking that it was a beater... and many of those old Caddys actually have been kept in decent shape by the owners.

Later I'm going to get real quiet and see if I can remember where. Yeah, there are a lot of those old Caddys around town, but I specifically remember the beige/tan beater.[/quote]

I think it's good that at least that car is much more distinctive than a white 4 door pickup, which really common in south LA. Someone has to recognize it. Are they making flyers with the cars on them now as well? I think they should...in case someone doesn't have TV or the Internet or lives outside of Lafayette (for example, not as much coverage in NOLA- Times Picayune today finally had a short article but it wasn't on front page or anything- it was hidden away and I don't think it had the pics of any of the vehicles), so maybe flyers with the car/trucks pics and Mickey's pic should be put out everywhere possible.

 

[Schmidty]

Catching up on the thread, I just read the article at the link posted on the Sarasota PI. I don't think there's a connection between the petite blonde girls this PI has complied -and Mickey - but that could explain why the FBI was in on it so soon.

 

[wfgodot]

Sun sets in Lafayette at 8:03 p.m. CDT this evening. Still plenty of search daylight left.

 

[CIRCA]

As far as sleuthing out RSO's, how do I explain this.:waitasec: They're not all alike.
Just because someone is an RSO, doesn't mean they are involved in committing violent crimes. In no way am I sticking up for someone who's made that list, but they are more often smooth operators - not abductors.
That said, when I look at their pics most of them sure look creepy.

This is what the Sheriff in S. Lamar's case said publically last week though - only one percent of RSO's commit these types of crimes (taking a person and killing them).

Derek Todd Lee was an offender http://www.icrimewatch.net/offenderdetails.php?OfndrID=571157&AgencyID=54068
I guess when your hands are tied and you really don't have anywhere else to search, you just go for the only options.

 

[insaneatlast]

Hello everyone! I am from Lafayette and have been following this story from the beginning and following the WS thread from the beginning and I want to say I am completely addicted to this site now. I never knew there was anything like it and I can't wait to try my hand at sleuthing.

First off I'll say, I feel as though our community should be praised for the way it has come forward to help in this case. I will commend everyone who volunteered including myself and donated time, events, resources, food, money, or whatever. I believe if it was my daughter who went missing, and I have a 2 year old, I would have not been able to hold it together without support of family and friends. And with the support of thousands, I believe we are giving a little strength to the Shunick family.

Now for my two cents.

1. I also believe or hope to believe that LE would not have came forward with pictures of vehicles without good reason to suspect they were either involved or close to where they think she was abducted. It's hard to say "let's look for this truck" and leave the vehicles at the gas station alone.

2. IMO, having lived here my whole life, I know the routes between Lafayette and the Basin Bridge very well. The thing I don't understand is if presuming they had sexual intentions in mind for picking her up, between University and the Basin Bridge is about 15-20 minutes. If I am going to go through the hassle of kidnapping someone for sexual intentions (thinking like a criminal or trying to), I'm not going to be able to get my "enjoyment" in 15 - 20 minutes. So I believe more in they were trying to get rid of the bike in the back of their truck. (I also could be way off here, because they could have parked under the bridge that night and did whatever they did, but I find that wierd because anyone could go down there to ex. Drink, Screw, get high, what have you...,and I wouldn't want to get caught)

3. In South Louisiana, there are different kinds of people just like everywhere else. If they lived in Lafayette their entire life, they may think a coulee, or a drain, or a patch of woods off a main street would be a good place to hide someone, but drive 2 minutes out of town and they have people who haved lived in the country their entire life who will say this is ridiculous. There are woods, the Gulf of Mexico, Rivers, swamps, and of course the Atchafalaya Basin where the bike was found. But also saying that, there are better places than an exit. Which leads me to believe it is someone from in town Lafayette who just figured this would be the farthest, best place to lose the bike.

That's it for now. I've got alot more in my head.

BRING MICKEY HOME!!!

PS - If any of the veteran sleuthers wants any information about the surrounding areas, I'll try to help. I'll log in later.

 

[wfgodot]

Hi insaneatlast, and welcome to WS.

 

[bonbonbelle]

I'm not blonde and about 10 inches too tall to be petite, but that link about all the missing girls is spooking the bejeezus out of me. I really do wonder if Mickey's disappearance could be related. The fact that the FBI stepped in pretty quickly seems to lend credence to that theory, but I'm hardly an expert.

The fact that they found her bike way out there gives me a very bad feeling. I've driven on that bridge many times and it's a wild, lonesome place, especially at night. It's also a huge area to search. I'm praying that she's found alive and ok, I really am, but I have a very heavy heart about all this

 

['Ailina]

I agree to look into EVERYONE. I don't know the specifics in why he was in prison, I was just putting in my two cents about him watching them from the restaurant.

I work at PHI. At most of the bases actually. You can not imagine the amount of vehicles at some of the locations. I see people drive in and out all day and I can tell you a large percentage of vehicles are white four door pickup trucks. They are just such a common crew truck. BUT, I do know that they all have security that drive around the parking lots all day. Some even log license plate numbers of every vehicle that parks there.

Thanks, Eavesdropping! Good to know a WS'er is in the heliport sector!

Do you know what security service PHI uses? Do they contract out?

I'm wondering if Mickey's case information has been dispersed to them, if they've been briefed.... I'm afraid there are still so many pockets of the community that still haven't been tapped.

For instance, we visited the Rok Haus today on Grand (recreational rock climbing facility), and though their main clientele are exactly Mickey's demographic, I didn't see ONE flyer anywhere on the premises, inside or out.

I asked the staff if they'd mind putting up flyers for her, and offered to bring them some if they were unable to print out some themselves. I was there for two hours, but there were still no flyers up by the time I left. A bit disheartening.

Anyway, do you know if there are any of Mickey's flyers in/on/around the PHI bases and in the parking lots?

 

[rachelle]

Hello everyone! I am from Lafayette and have been following this story from the beginning and following the WS thread from the beginning and I want to say I am completely addicted to this site now. I never knew there was anything like it and I can't wait to try my hand at sleuthing.

First off I'll say, I feel as though our community should be praised for the way it has come forward to help in this case. I will commend everyone who volunteered including myself and donated time, events, resources, food, money, or whatever. I believe if it was my daughter who went missing, and I have a 2 year old, I would have not been able to hold it together without support of family and friends. And with the support of thousands, I believe we are giving a little strength to the Shunick family.

Now for my two cents.

1. I also believe or hope to believe that LE would not have came forward with pictures of vehicles without good reason to suspect they were either involved or close to where they think she was abducted. It's hard to say "let's look for this truck" and leave the vehicles at the gas station alone.

2. IMO, having lived here my whole life, I know the routes between Lafayette and the Basin Bridge very well. The thing I don't understand is if presuming they had sexual intentions in mind for picking her up, between University and the Basin Bridge is about 15-20 minutes. If I am going to go through the hassle of kidnapping someone for sexual intentions (thinking like a criminal or trying to), I'm not going to be able to get my "enjoyment" in 15 - 20 minutes. So I believe more in they were trying to get rid of the bike in the back of their truck. (I also could be way off here, because they could have parked under the bridge that night and did whatever they did, but I find that wierd because anyone could go down there to ex. Drink, Screw, get high, what have you...,and I wouldn't want to get caught)

3. In South Louisiana, there are different kinds of people just like everywhere else. If they lived in Lafayette their entire life, they may think a coulee, or a drain, or a patch of woods off a main street would be a good place to hide someone, but drive 2 minutes out of town and they have people who haved lived in the country their entire life who will say this is ridiculous. There are woods, the Gulf of Mexico, Rivers, swamps, and of course the Atchafalaya Basin where the bike was found. But also saying that, there are better places than an exit. Which leads me to believe it is someone from in town Lafayette who just figured this would be the farthest, best place to lose the bike.

That's it for now. I've got alot more in my head.

BRING MICKEY HOME!!!

PS - If any of the veteran sleuthers wants any information about the surrounding areas, I'll try to help. I'll log in later.

:welcome4:

 

[bitizen]

Kind of off-topic to the investigation at hand, but related to safety. I'm not even friends with Mickey Shunick (I do have mutual friends, apparently), but visiting her Facebook page tells me she works at the Willow Oaks Equestrian Center. If she was being stalked, how easy could it have been for a perp to see she works at this place and figure out where she lives by following her from there?

That's why every setting I have on Facebook is set to private, regardless of the significance.

 

[wfgodot]

Really, on the "blonde girl disappearance" thing, chances any are related are remote. There are enough crazy people in each of the missing girls's areas to account for their having gone missing. Occam's razor works against a single individual or individuals being involved in more than one of the cases. In the totality of individuals who have disappeared, the percentage of those who have lost their lives at the hands of repeat offenders is very small.

 

[chicken fried]

The Whiskey-Bay bike dump leads me to think it's someone from the Lafayette/Baton Rouge area, who knows that boat ramp. This would lead me to exclude the carnys. I still get chills passing over that bridge, just remembering that while one of DTL's victims was missing, I made a late-night trip back from N.O. and crossed over it in a spooky fog with no one on the road, and 2 days later they found the body under it. Methinks we're looking for a Laf/BR local, not a traveling perp from other states.

I remember how widespread the search was for DTL, because at a small gas station in Baldwin (in St. Mary Parish, 45 min south of Lafayette) a policeman saw my old van (which I later rolled in a ditch here in Laf, another story), and made me stay there for questioning and to check out the van. I wonder whether the search has spread to the small towns?