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

[Isabelle]

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.

You'd think with the price of gas today, whoever owns a car like that wouldn't be driving very far or very often, unless they were fairly well off! Those are real gas guzzlers!

 

[angelainwi]

Glad I'm not petite!

 

[Eavesdropping]

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?

They do contract out for security, and the name of the company is eluding me right now. I work on a 7/7 rotation, and I've been off since Wednesday. I was working at one of the bases "down the bayou" and there were no fliers at that location. We did have a few large crew changes that day, and I know some of the guys were talking about it.

 

[mel_noah]

I am a local. I grew up in a small South Louisiana town (population less than 5,000) & when I first moved to Lafayette to attended UL 12 years ago I very much had a small town mentality. I rode my bike everywhere at all hours of the day & night. I also ventured out on foot at night (as it was not unusual to do so in my home town) and twice I met with incident. Once I was offered sex for money by a man in a truck & another time two men in an SUV stopped and asked me for directions. When I approached the vehicle, the driver grabbed for me and I'm pretty positive he would have pulled me through the widow if my friend wouldn't have turned up at that very moment. Needless to say, I never walked anywhere alone after that BUT I still rode my bike thinking nothing like this could ever occur while I was riding. Point is, unfortunately Lafayette has been a dangerous place for a very long time. At that time, 12 years ago, I fit Mickey's description (but with red hair). I think anyone who walks/bikes without ever being confronted by a perv simply doesn't fit the description of the women being targeted. Years later when I returned to UL for a second time, I was blessed to own a vehicle. I was even nervous to walk on campus alone after dark. I pray for Mickey even though I don't know her because over a decade ago this could very well have been me!

 

[bonbonbelle]

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.

And yet you have to admit that the similarities are pretty striking. But I know that correlation does not equal causation--the chances of the same person being behind all of the disappearances is slim. Still, a theory.

 

[wfgodot]

Hello mel_noah, and welcome to WS.

 

[Billiam]

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.

3. is spot on to me and welcome to the thread.

I am also a local who joined because of this case and I couldn't agree with you more about the bike being "planted" by the suspect. This whole week my friends and I discussed the basin. I simply can't come to think that Mickey is near the Atchafalaya at this point. The "bike site" seem to be a bit too accessible to anyone. However, there's many more options out there in rural parts etc... ponds, marsh, swamp, the Mississippi. Nothing can be ruled out at this point until we get further information.

 

[ktgirl]

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.

Good point. I had started to wonder why no one in LE was asking for info on the cars at Circle K or for anyone who had been at Circle K during those times to come forward as well.

Makes me hopeful they know much more than they are telling the public.

 

[Darcyline]

wfgodot (By the way, I just got your username)-I agree. Furthermore, some of the girls listed don't even fit the mold. Like, one was going through a nasty divorce and the husband was the last to see her, one feels very obviously done by a local/someone who knows the victim (Bobo, in my opinion), one was an older mother who was actually found near her home and likely murdered by someone close to her, etc.
I wouldn't rule it out, but sometimes you have to look at more context than just somewhat similar hair color.

I guess I just need more evidence that they are all connected. It would be crazy if they were. If so, I would tend to think the connected ones would all fit a pattern (so, ones out late at night near universities like Lauren/Mickey) rather than literally every blonde that is missing.

 

[wfgodot]

And yet you have to admit that the similarities are pretty striking. But I know that correlation does not equal causation--the chances of the same person being behind all of the disappearances is slim. Still, a theory.

True. It's interesting. But we're a big country and the chance of coincidence of similarities is much better than a that of a single predator at large.

As always (I should tack this on to each post!) I could be waaaay wrong.

 

[Inspector Gidget]

Excuse me... meant to say, "throw the BIKE over the side"

How far is it from the bridge to the water?

 

[ktgirl]

3. is spot on to me and welcome to the thread.

I am also a local who joined because of this case and I couldn't agree with you more about the bike being "planted" by the suspect. This whole week my friends and I discussed the basin. I simply can't come to think that Mickey is near the Atchafalaya at this point. The "bike site" seem to be a bit too accessible to anyone. However, there's many more options out there in rural parts etc... ponds, marsh, swamp, the Mississippi. Nothing can be ruled out at this point until we get further information.

Again, hope the bike isn't a weird planted distraction like Morgan Harrington's t-shirt. I've lost sleep wondering what the "h-e-double you know what" is up with that t-shirt & how/why it got there.

 

[MamaRoux]

I am also a student at the same University.

Cases like this interest me because although the streets near my area are not safe, a crime such as this one is not very common. This reeks of a serial suspect which shouldn't be underestimated. Obviously the FBI hasn't. I remain with the belief that the bike was recently planted until I am presented with evidence saying otherwise.

MICKEY IS STILL OUT THERE!

Yes, serial also came to mind with me...speaking of which, is the case of the murdered women in Jennings at a standstill?

 

[Curlyred]

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

Me too. I joked to my husband that I guess I shouldn't worry about myself because I'm redheaded and overweight. And old!

 

[lacigirlie]

I actually know this man. I know where he is employed, and while it is technically an Indian restaurant, they are contracted out by another company in Lafayette and he runs the kitchen there. I worked for the company that contracts him out. So unless he also works at the restaurant at nights, I highly doubt MS ever met him. He is a very nice man, doesn't seem sketchy at all. (But that really means nothing.)

I think I know him too. I'm skeptical of a lot of people but my radar never went off around him. I was actually shocked when I found out he was a RSO, as were all the people I work with. Just wanted to throw that out there.

 

[MamaRoux]

How far is it from the bridge to the water?

Serial killer Derrick Todd Lee was able to just toss Carrie Yoder off of the bridge into the water at Whiskey Bay.

 

[ktgirl]

Yes, serial also came to mind with me...speaking of which, is the case of the murdered women in Jennings at a standstill?

YES. Still at a standstill & no one (aside from people on WS & the girls' families seem to care....)

 

[bonbonbelle]

Me too. I joked to my husband that I guess I shouldn't worry about myself because I'm redheaded and overweight. And old!

Ha, well I used to pray to stop growing when I was younger! In recent years I've been glad I didn't. I know none of us are invulnerable but it sure as heck helps to be looming up around 6 feet, lol.

 

[krisstanamus]

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

Although I am an outsider looking in, from Indiana...I totally agree

 

[MamaRoux]

YES. Still at a standstill & no one (aside from people on WS & the girls' families seem to care....)

Pathetic indeed.