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

[mommyof6]

It could be possible that the person has been keeping up with the media and is trying to divert the attention away from Lafayette. Does anyone know if the searches have been called off in Lafayette?

 

[T3kt3hgrrl]

Actually, I searched the Vermilion River. Whiskey Bay exit boat ramp is gateway to the Atchafalaya Basin..... many miles away. And definitely should have been one of the very first places searched, after Derrick Todd Lee, or else this is a law-enforcement failure. You couldn't design a better place for a perp to do his deeds. Not wanting to impugn the great effort by local LEOs, I have to think the bike was dumped recently.

With all the social media hype and the news, the person who did this or had her bike is shaking in his/her boots. That would make sense to panic and try to get rid of evidence.

 

[chicken fried]

If the perp had a boat, why dump the bike? If the perp didn't have a boat, Mickey's not in the Basin.

Something doesn't add up.

 

[JW1893]

Frogzilla makes an excellent point. I agree that the suspect could have planted the bike in an attempt to divert police. Nonetheless, LE must search the Basin, but I must admit that it is a very vast area. If the perp doesn't have knowledge of the basin or access to a boat, I suspect more evidence will be found fairly quickly considering this was DTL demise. However, he could be using diversion techniques on authorities.

My husband thinks that it's a diversion--something to throw focus off of the white truck story, or even something as simple as getting off I-10, dumping the bike, and getting back on I-10 in the other direction. Of course, he's still thinking she was abducted for human trafficking, so Idk.

 

[Billiam]

Yes, we had rain on Monday. But it's been dry since then.

If indeed the bike and other evidence has been exposed to our climate during the past week DNA evidence would be unlikely. We had a very strong thunderstorm on Monday followed by extreme heat.

 

[mommyof6]

Does anyone know if the bike was in the water or was it on land? If it was on the ground, why not throw it into the water so it couldn't be found as easily?

 

[JW1893]

It could be possible that the person has been keeping up with the media and is trying to divert the attention away from Lafayette. Does anyone know if the searches have been called off in Lafayette?

They're still searching today in and around Lafayette.

 

[JW1893]

If indeed the bike and other evidence has been exposed to our climate during the past week DNA evidence would be unlikely. We had a very strong thunderstorm on Monday followed by extreme heat.

Definitely, even without just the heat, the humidity is enough moisture to be damaging.

 

[Chili Fries]

What JW said. Though it makes you wonder when the bike was put there. She went missing early Saturday morning. If it was dropped off recently, then it's possible that the bike had remained in a dry place, like inside the back of a covered truck bed (for example) There could indeed be evidence on the bike itself even if the person thought to wipe it down and wear gloves. Chili Fries is right on the handgrips. Here's to hoping.

I should have mentioned the saddle too, that's another soft, porous spot which could hold DNA. Maybe the tires as well. And DNA could be caught by the chain grease if it brushed against the perp's arm or leg (not sure if the grease would interfere with DNA recognition in analysis but it's a possibility).

 

[JW1893]

If the perp had a boat, why dump the bike? If the perp didn't have a boat, Mickey's not in the Basin.

Something doesn't add up.

That's not true. They could have dumped the bike and then tossed the body off the bridge at any point. I wonder how many cars pass on the basin bridge at 2-3 am??

 

[katydid23]

I really want to know if it was hidden in the brush, covered somehow, OR if it was lying out in the open alongside the road.

It is hard to believe it was not seen sooner if it was lying in the open.

 

[Kaliste]

I just joined. Am a local. Whiskey Bay is, of course, where two of Derrick Todd Lee's victims were found. There is nothing there but a boat ramp. No gas stations, no buildings, no nothing. It's a jumping off point to take a boat deep into the Atchafalaya Basin, and also the only exit nearby that can be completely deserted at night, due to the lack of any businesses. I have worried about Whiskey Bay because it's so obvious that it's almost not obvious, if that makes any sense. Let's hope this bike rumor is a false alarm, because there are "better" places for the bike to be found, as far as a good outcome.

To help eliminate this sort of outcome, I took my boat on the Vermilion for 7 hours last Tuesday. I put in at the Hwy. 92 bridge at Milton (a few miles downstream of Lafayette). I headed upstream and check every side cut and coulee mouth I found, and went as far up every coulee as I could get until I grounded. Went up past the airport until the Vermilion split into two bayous. Went up those bayous for about half a mile each until they became impassable. Then I came back down through the entire city, past Milton, and went down to Abbeville and back. No sign, no circling birds, no odor.

I was glad to hear that they put boats on the river yesterday, because almost no one uses the Vermilion at all. It's the most unused river going through a largish city I have ever seen. In those 7 hours, covering maybe 30 miles, I saw exactly one boat. The folks hanging out at the Milton Landing said that right before I pulled up again heading south from the city, they had seen a Vermilion Parish Sheriff's boat heading south toward Abbeville, with three officers. During my ride, as I passed some black fishermen on the banks near Hwy. 90, volunteers were going from person to person passing out flyers. I was impressed at the blanket coverage.

The main reason I signed up is that I wanted to help ID the car in the photos. I'm an old car buff and have studied the photo for awhile. In my opinion, that car is either a 1979-'86 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, or an '87-'89 Cadillac Brougham.

There are two points that inform my conclusion:

1. The back windshield is pretty small, due to the overlap of the vinyl top. From the research I did, the back windshield was bigger from '78 on back.

2. In '90, Cadillac extended the vinyl top to encircle the back half of the rear passenger windows. Looking at the photo, you can see the vinyl top reflecting white. Had it been a '90 to '92 Brougham, you would have seen the white reflection on the right-rear passenger window extending forward.

So, that's my opinion. That car should be easy to find, because there looks to be body damage to the right quarter, possibly involving the right taillight.

Chicken Fried, you're amazing. Thank you for all of that info and all that you've been doing personally. I'm so worried for Mickey, her family and the entire Community right now. Praying, praying, praying!

 

[tarabull]

If the perp had a boat, why dump the bike? If the perp didn't have a boat, Mickey's not in the Basin.

Something doesn't add up.

chicken fried,

it's obvious you are more than just a pretty face...thanks for joining us.

 

[Wheelz]

There is a camera at the W/B exit and has east and west views. Here is the west view... Hope the link works. Appears to be the exit to me...

http://hb.511la.org/multicamera.jsp?view1id=9188&view1name=I-10%20@%20Whiskey%20Bay%20(facing%20East)%20&view2id=9189&view2name=I-10@%20Whiskey%20Bay%20(facing%20West)&current_view=2

 

[Cazzie]

KATC FB reported they saw a K-9 unit at Whiskey Bay but couldn't see which organization (not a new post, the one from an hour ago). Am wondering if they have an HRD dog out there, and if trained to work via boat.

Heavy heart for Mickey, family and friends.

 

[katydid23]

That's not true. They could have dumped the bike and then tossed the body off the bridge at any point. I wonder how many cars pass on the basin bridge at 2-3 am??

But if you are going to dump a body from the bridge, why not dump the bike in the water too?

 

[Artis]

You're right. I would get an adrenalin rush of fear every time a white truck was near my vehicle when DTL was on the loose. Once one seemed to be following me and I pulled into someone's driveway, the owner there was gardening and he asked if he could help me. I told him no, but thanks, I was just afraid that the white truck was following me and I was going to a little inhabited area to see a patient!

At the psychic forum some people have actually posted images from Google maps saying, OMG, a white truck is there! FFS, those images are not recent and white trucks are all over the place.

 

[chicken fried]

Meaning... a perp worth his salt, with a boat, would have dumped the bike in the water.

Sooo... assuming the bike has been there since the night of the abduction..I see a hurried exit from Lafayette, a pullover 25 minutes later at dark Whiskey-Bay exit to sort things out (maybe secure Mickey better) and a hurried run into the bushes with the bike, and then peel out down I-10 heading east, with Mickey, w/o the bike.

OR, Mickey held somewhere and the bike disposed of... but why? If she's held somewhere, why not keep the bike?

Again, if they had a boat, the bike would be in the water and not found. So..... this looks like "dump the bike and split."

Crucial is going to be whether the police had already searched the area and not found the bike. The timing of the bike's appearance is critical.

What I don't want to think about it if Mickey and the bike were left there at the same time.

 

[Creeker]

There are a gazillion white trucks out there but couldn't help but notice this one at 215 St Landry in street view. Maybe this one lives in the neighborhood.

 

[tarabull]

That's not true. They could have dumped the bike and then tossed the body off the bridge at any point. I wonder how many cars pass on the basin bridge at 2-3 am??

Let's check the live traffic camera later during that hour and see how thick the traffic is...