LA - Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette, 19 May 2012 - #16

[chicken fried]

I am under the impression the bike was found by the 'work canal' since media has reported it was near the boat ramp. Is there a boat ramp into the pilot channel at the WB exit? If not, I suppose that would confirm the bike was in the 'work canal'.

There is a very small, short, primitive boat ramp at the west end of the exit area, into the Pilot Channel. That's why the reporting is incomplete. We have no idea, from the current reporting, which side of the area the bike was found on - and it makes a huge difference.

 

[CajunSarah]

I marked it better. If he had her inside the truck, he could have taken her down there to the parking lot. There looks to be, further back behind the parking lot, tractor trailers. Don't know what that would be.

I think the "tractor trailers" you mentioned are actually busses that are part of the UL Lafayette transit system that transports students to/from Cajunfield parking and campus.

 

[mamamia54]

I just can't figure out how he did this, each street that she could have gone down, and any large parking lots that she could have gone down would have been captured on camera, at least most of them. I can't imagine that LE doesn't have someone and her going thru one of those lots. And, if she got down to that large parking lot, that's about the only place that would be easy to knock someone off her bike, pick her up off the roadway and load she and her bike into the truck. This couldn't have been done on streets with homes all around, unless those who live there were totally unconcious.

 

[chicken fried]

chicken fried, maybe this photo will help clarify as to where the bike was found. LE is parked and searching by the boat ramp into the 'work canal':

This is a screenshot grabbed from the DOTD I-10 camera on 5/28/12.

But there are also photos of LE vehicles parked by the Pilot Channel (the first photo released early on of the search). Those photos tell us nothing. We have nothing credible on the bike's location.

 

[HouDat]

I am under the impression the bike was found by the 'work canal' since media has reported it was near the boat ramp. Is there a boat ramp into the pilot channel at the WB exit? If not, I suppose that would confirm the bike was in the 'work canal'.

The preponderance of support given by the photos taken the day of the first Whiskey Bay search seem to indicate that the bike was found on the east bank of Whiskey Bay, just a few hundred feet west of LA 975.

Besides, if I'm trying to get rid of something stealthily, I would think that placing it at a heavily-used boat ramp would not be a wise move. However, trekking over lightly-traveled terrain in order to dump said object in a swift-moving body of water might seem like a viable option.

 

[chicken fried]

HERE is a Google-Earth photo of the Whiskey Bay area, with the waterways labeled. i am going to send it to Amanda McElfresh of the Advertiser to see if she can more accurately describe the bike's location. Semantics are everything.

Note that whether it was found in the Pilot Channel or the Work Canal is a pivotal difference, and we don't have this info, as of this morning.

 

[Eavesdropping]

I am slowly reading through the threads but do we know if the times from the cameras are accurate and/or synced to each other?

 

[JurysOut]

The preponderance of support given by the photos taken the day of the first Whiskey Bay search seem to indicate that the bike was found on the east bank of Whiskey Bay, just a few hundred feet west of LA 975.

Besides, if I'm trying to get rid of something stealthily, I would think that placing it at a heavily-used boat ramp would not be a wise move. However, trekking over lightly-traveled terrain in order to dump said object in a swift-moving body of water might seem like a viable option.

Hmm...Maybe he thought someone would make off with it, if it's a nice bike.

I've often thought if I wanted to get rid of a car that I couldn't sell, there are a few places I could just leave it and it would disappear.

Then again, I know nothing of the area. 'Round here, getting rid of bulky, valuable evidence only takes leaving it in the right place.

I have no idea why I often think about the best place to abandon a car and I'm not going to look at that too closely.

 

[crzimmer]

Depending on how old you were, a BMX wasn't that light back then. Maybe a modern Schwinn of this type is ultra-light? And big tires (more air)?

From what I could find, the Schwinn Cutter weights 27 pounds. This is a fairly heavy bike. One review describe it as a "tank". If the hollow frame was moderately airtight, it might add some bouyancy for a short period.

 

[HouDat]

I am slowly reading through the threads but do we know if the times from the cameras are accurate and/or synced to each other?

We don't. (I raised this same question a day or two ago)

But I have to assume that LE has taken that into consideration, though, and made a best-possible attempt to determine a) the time (plus/minus) relative to the atomic clock; and b) the lag time between the cameras in question.

At least that's my hope.

 

[pjcitizen]

HERE is a Google-Earth photo of the Whiskey Bay area, with the waterways labeled. i am going to send it to Amanda McElfresh of the Advertiser to see if she can more accurately describe the bike's location. Semantics are everything.

Note that whether it was found in the Pilot Channel or the Work Canal is a pivotal difference, and we don't have this info, as of this morning.

That is probably the best way to get your answer. Thanks for sharing, it helps me to see the difference for sure.

 

[GulfCoastKAT]

From what I could find, the Schwinn Cutter weights 27 pounds. This is a fairly heavy bike. One review describe it as a "tank". If the hollow frame was moderately airtight, it might add some bouyancy for a short period.

I believe Mickey had a Schwinn Madison.

 

[chicken fried]

From what I could find, the Schwinn Cutter weights 27 pounds. This is a fairly heavy bike. One review describe it as a "tank". If the hollow frame was moderately airtight, it might add some bouyancy for a short period.

It's not a Schwinn Cutter. it's Schwinn Madison = 22.5 pounds. And if she had had the rear brake taken off, a popular mod, it would have been lighter, the reviewers say.

 

[Eavesdropping]

We don't. (I raised this same question a day or two ago)

But I have to assume that LE has taken that into consideration, though, and made a best-possible attempt to determine a) the time (plus/minus) relative to the atomic clock; and b) the lag time between the cameras in question.

At least that's my hope.

Thanks. I'm at work [:jail:] and I can't keep my eyes glued to the forum so I skip a good bit. (esp. truck talk)

 

[A.C.I]

If the frame were sealed-tube construction, it may have trapped enough air for long enough, along/w the inflated back tire and the current, to have stayed suspended in the water column long enough to make it to the back. Would you mind putting that through your buoyancy knowledge? 22.5 lbs, not 27 lbs.

Indeed possible and plausible. But several conditions would have to be just right for that to occur. Im more inclined to think it was fully submerged and the fisherman happened upon it out of luck as they so often do. Hitting it with their boat, fish finder saw a big mass under them, saw a glint if light in the water, were looking through the trash, who knows.

 

[JurysOut]

From what I could find, the Schwinn Cutter weights 27 pounds. This is a fairly heavy bike. One review describe it as a "tank". If the hollow frame was moderately airtight, it might add some bouyancy for a short period.

Cutter? I thought it was a Madison. Or are they the same thing?

 

[perpetual curiosity]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yM_edwJlW0"]Whiskey Bay Pilot Channel at I10 May 21, 2011 - YouTube[/ame]

Does anyone know if this has been posted or discussed yet? Apparently this was recorded the Monday after the disappearance. I happened across it while researching the river and possible conditions. If the theory of dumping anything here by boat is correct, it's hard to imagine not having to run half the boat up on the bank to remain still long enough to dump the bike. If dumped upstream, what's the chances that the bike and the grips would all separately wash up in the same area?

edit: oops! ignore the part about the date...I'm off about a year..LOL

 

[Dee10]

If it was the work canal, I would think it would have to be someone local or have strong ties to the area to even find it.

 

[chicken fried]

From what I could find, the Schwinn Cutter weights 27 pounds. This is a fairly heavy bike. One review describe it as a "tank". If the hollow frame was moderately airtight, it might add some bouyancy for a short period.

other posters have mentioned how fast their bikes sank in a pool. I think newer bikes have more sealed-tube construction. The frame may have trapped air for londer than people think. But that's just speculation, not having a Schwinn Madison to look at.

 

[HouDat]

Hmm...Maybe he thought someone would make off with it, if it's a nice bike.

I've often thought if I wanted to get rid of a car that I couldn't sell, there are a few places I could just leave it and it would disappear.

Then again, I know nothing of the area. 'Round here, getting rid of bulky, valuable evidence only takes leaving it in the right place.

I have no idea why I often think about the best place to abandon a car and I'm not going to look at that too closely.

I think if I wanted to get rid of something which could tie me to a crime, I'd not want the risk of having it found by anyone. Davy Jones's Locker seems most logical -- especially given the muddiness of Whiskey Bay (vs. the work canal, which can often be dark-but-clear).