LA - Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette, 19 May 2012 - #6

[JurysOut]

People in posts here make it seem like this creepy bad deserted place that only criminals, people with car trouble, or fishermen/boaters tend to get off at. Perhaps more security there wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Lots of municipalities have had to cut expenditures. I don't know of any community that can afford to secure deserted places.

I can't see how that much security is practical. Desirable, but probably not attainable.

 

[Isabelle]

I suppose you have to live here to be able to truly see that the similarities are probably most definitely coincidence. That is the most common truck here...period. i literally saw 5 yesterday parked side by side at a gas station. And as far as the bike dump area....thats also the place EVERYONE knows is where you go if you want to get rid of evidence. Ask anyone around here where they'd go if they had to get rid of a body and 9 times out of 10 the answer will be the basin. Its a vast, hot, humid swampland filled with predators of all sorts and the whiskey bay exit is the only secluded exit to get down there and hide something. If they did it at night, its possible they thought it was hidden better than it was. Drugs and stupidity could play a part.

DTL wasnt anything special. He commited his crimes in the most common truck around here and dumped his bodies in the most logical place. Similarities are pure coincidence (most likely).

DTL was the epitome of a Monster!

 

[spurdie]

People in posts here make it seem like this creepy bad deserted place that only criminals, people with car trouble, or fishermen/boaters tend to get off at. Perhaps more security there wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Sorry, my point was that there are countless thousands of such places all over the country. Just seems very Orwellian to have the government watching us everywhere for the sake of security doesn't it?

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety "

Ben Franklin

 

[chicken fried]

OK, here's the "Caddy," Photoshopped. I have used the liquefy brush to take the "fisheye" distortion away from the rear half of the vehicle. I also changed the lighting a bit to make it easier to see the body work at right rear. This is a much more accurate picture of the car we're looking for. I would recommend that anyone looking, use THIS fixed version, instead of the original surveillance capture.

Now, after fixing it, I have carefully examined it again, to see if it may be a Cadillac Eldorado (a 2-door car). What makes me reject the Eldo is the long ridge that starts over the front wheel well. The Eldo ridge starts much lower.

I reaffirm my opinion that that's a 1979-'86 Fleetwood Brougham or an '87-'89 Brougham, or, (very unlikely) an Oldsmobile Delta 98.

Please click HERE to see my Photoshop repair of the distortion that has made the car look curved in the original shot.

 

[cindysue]

Well could have camera's at all entrances and have light there so u could see who is coming and going

 

[manlet]

Lots of municipalities have had to cut expenditures. I don't know of any community that can afford to secure deserted places.

I can't see how that much security is practical. Desirable, but probably not attainable.

but it seems to be "the place that EVERYONE knows is where you go if you want to get rid of evidence" according to some posts on here. It seems odd to me that there is no kind of security there at all checking up on what people are doing there, if it's as bad as people say it is. Perhaps I'm just over-reading others comments based on what they have written.

 

[VOsRose]

I did have it occur to me last night that due to the lack of any signs of a struggle along Mickey's probable paths (nothing dropped, i.e. phone, mace, an earring, etc...) that this could be someone in authority or uniform who stopped her, told her that someone was loose in the area, a danger to her, for example and offered her a ride home. I know the idea of an off-duty officer or someone posing as one comes up from time to time in other cases; do the locals know if LE there keeps their vehicles when they go home from their shifts? Where I live they used to, but not anymore, due to budgets, so you sometimes see LE in uniform driving their regular cars.

JMO

There was a case in Lafayette that began in the early 1980s and continued to mid 1990s - a serial rapist had the town in his grips. I personally knew 2 possible victims - both teen-age girls at the time. It turned out to be a 20 year LE veteran of the Sheriff's Department named Randy Comeaux. It is entirely possible that someone that at least appeared to be in a position of authority picked her up - doesn't mean he wasn't an imposter, though.

 

[Cazzie]

There have been plenty of people (myself included, other posters have posted such as well) who had a "close call" or two. Anyone can make a risky choice, especially if they have a trusting nature, are confident, or for any one of a myriad of reasons, are not on their "top game" at the time. JMO.

 

[JurysOut]

I don't think it's fair to put the blame on BW or try to accuse him after evidence has verified his story. And this is coming from someone who was very suspicious of him at first. But no matter how "bad" we think her decision was, it was still Mickey's decision to ride off at 2 AM, and I don't think we should blame either her or her friend for what happened.

I had the same initial thought. But I do believe that if Mickey is a strong willed young woman and determined to get herself and her beloved bicycle home, it may have been difficult to argue with her. I'm a little like that. My family tells me my tombstone will read 'I CAN DO IT MYSELF'

It's not her fault, it's not BW's fault. We've all said "OK, whatever...but I think you're crazy for doing it".

Bad people do bad things and it's usually ordinary bad luck that puts a victim in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[PurpleHaze]

OK, here's the "Caddy," Photoshopped. I have used the liquefy brush to take the "fisheye" distortion away from the rear half of the vehicle. I also changed the lighting a bit to make it easier to see the body work at right rear. This is a much more accurate picture of the car we're looking for. I would recommend that anyone looking, use THIS fixed version, instead of the original surveillance capture.

Now, after fixing it, I have carefully examined it again, to see if it may be a Cadillac Eldorado (a 2-door car). What makes me reject the Eldo is the long ridge that starts over the front wheel well. The Eldo ridge starts much lower.

I reaffirm my opinion that that's a 1979-'86 Fleetwood Brougham or an '87-'89 Brougham, or, (very unlikely) an Oldsmobile Delta 98.

Please click HERE to see my Photoshop repair of the distortion that has made the car look curved in the original shot.

Pretty amazing what you know about car styles! Wish I was there to drive around and look for that car

 

[JW1893]

but it seems to be "the place that EVERYONE knows is where you go if you want to get rid of evidence" according to some posts on here. It seems odd to me that there is no kind of security there at all checking up on what people are doing there, if it's as bad as people say it is. Perhaps I'm just over-reading others comments based on what they have written.

It is a great place to get rid of evidence. But this isn't a high crime area, things like this don't happen very often at all.

They have cameras on the exits, and once you're off the interstate there are streetlights and such--it's dimly lit, but not pitch black. Again, it's not like someone comes down here to hide evidence every other week, most homicides in our area come from car accidents, hit-and-run, etc. It's not an area inundated with murders and abductions, most crimes are thefts, drug charges, DUI, etc.

 

[cluciano63]

There was a case in Lafayette that began in the early 1980s and continued to mid 1990s - a serial rapist had the town in his grips. I personally knew 2 possible victims - both teen-age girls at the time. It turned out to be a 20 year LE veteran of the Sheriff's Department named Randy Comeaux. It is entirely possible that someone that at least appeared to be in a position of authority picked her up - doesn't mean he wasn't an imposter, though.

I know...and I was thinking this might be the only possible way that Mickey would have gone with someone willingly, if an officer, real or otherwise, convinced her she was in danger.

Also, do we know for sure that Mickey's parents have seen the bike? Or assuming this, that for ID purposes, they would have seen it? I am not yet convinced it is damaged, just by what her mom said...of course she has to think this was an accident, with the driver "holding" Mickey. I can't see that happening at all. JMO

 

[JW1893]

I know...and I was thinking this might be the only possible way that Mickey would have gone with someone willingly, if an officer, real or otherwise, convinced her she was in danger.

Also, do we know for sure that Mickey's parents have seen the bike? Or assuming this, that for ID purposes, they would have seen it? I am not yet convinced it is damaged, just by what her mom said...of course she has to think this was an accident, with the driver "holding" Mickey. I can't see that happening at all. JMO

Yes, KATC reports that the family identified the bike as Mickey's.
It could have been a LE person who abducted her, but that would have been seen on camera as well and with the FBI involved, 'good old boy' wouldn't have gotten the perp very far, since LE couldn't have easily covered it up as they may have been able to do if FBI wasn't involved.

 

[Blue Bottle]

Heartless no.
I for one would not let a friend of mine ride a bike home alone that time or the night....Sorry.
Take her home and if your a guy ride with her! Have her stay the night!
Hellooooooooooooo dont send her out alone.

Called common sense!

Just a lurker in this thread but crashing in to do a one post wonder. I can't leave this alone. I agree with wfgodot's post... It's always easy to criticize people we don't know after the fact.

You cannot ever make an adult do what they don't want to do, no matter how much you may not like what they do.

I had a case once where I drove a mate who I have known for over 20 years (we call friends mate in Australia) home at about 3am after a party. He was as drunk as a skunk and all of a sudden, on a highway he wanted to get out to walk the rest of the way home.

Initially I said no way, and we argued a bit and his final remark back to me was.... If you don't stop I'll open this door and jump out and you have no right to keep me in your car against my will...

Yep... the way it happened, I had no choice but to pull over and let him go and then watch him walk, literally legless, along the Highway. I watched him for a while, saw him stumble into his street and took off. There was nothing I could do because him jumping out of the car would have been a horror for both of us and he could have easily told the cops I was holding him against his will. He was drunk enough to do that though I do know the next day his story would have been different and he'd never accuse me of trying to 'kidnap' him.

Sure, Mickey's case is different to this... still, it's something she did regular, cycle home at night and if she wanted to go, BW would have had no legal right to hold her back or to go with her had she wanted to go alone like she usually did.

 

[cluciano63]

Yes, KATC reports that the family identified the bike as Mickey's.
It could have been a LE person who abducted her, but that would have been seen on camera as well and with the FBI involved, 'good old boy' wouldn't have gotten the perp very far, since LE couldn't have easily covered it up as they may have been able to do if FBI wasn't involved.

But is it known exactly where on her route she was abducted?

 

[JurysOut]

I agree! Been thinking about taking her that way since the beginning:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7962346&highlight=mickey+shunick#post7962346




Well, some of my early thoughts were wrong, and now I also wonder if it was one or was it two thugs.... If just one, he would have had to hit her bike hard enough to incapacitate her..

I still see this a rule-of-three crime, where instinctively perps will abduct from one place, discard incriminating things at another, and most sadly hide a body at a third.

That the perps didn't care about or think about security cams shows that it crime was likely done spur-of-the-moment; seeing an attractive gal who looked easy to grab - he(they) acted upon without much though...
__________________

I guess I'm thinking it wouldn't take much to knock a little slip of a girl off of a bike in the dark. If she was speeding along, looking to get home, a tumble may have disoriented her. A scraped knee, a bruised elbow - interrupt her focus, disrupt her usual safety precautions just long enough.

Every time I type something like that, I get nauseous.

 

[JW1893]

But is it known exactly where on her route she was abducted?

It hasn't been released, but it is safe to assume they haven't caught her on any other surveillance along the route home or else they 1--wouldn't be as interested in these cars as they are, 2--would have released details of other cars in the areas where she was seen last if they spotted her elsewhere. This was the most secluded part of her path, she would have been seen by motorists if she had made it onto Cajundome Blvd./Congress/Johnston (in other words, any way she could have gone after leaving this area).

Edit to add: I would assume (opinion only!) that if they were reviewing other surveillance videos on her route home, they would have questioned any LE vehicles that passed through, just in case they saw something the tapes missed. LPD may not be a huge police force, and they may have hired a bad egg here and there in the past, but for the most part they are educated and thorough. I went to school with a lot of people who got hired on at LPD and they are as caring and invested in the community as the rest of Lafayette's citizens are.

 

[chicken fried]

All right folks, HERE I've taken the fixed photoshop of the "Caddy" and added descriptive text and the Tip Line number. Feel free to print it out, you locals, and drop it at gas stations and auto-parts stores!

 

[waltzingmatilda]

I've thought maybe someone clipped her on purpose. Could have been quiet if they nudged a tire or something. Seems like the easiest way to grab her would be to get her off the bike first.

I agree w/ you and ktgirl. I've gone over scenarios in my mind re: what would make me stop riding my bike if approached by a strange man. There are only 2 scenarios that I can imagine. The first one is the 'bumping her with his truck and pretending to be a good egg'. The other one is if he pulled up beside me and stopped, got out and called out "Miss, you dropped something back there." The moment Mickey reached out to retreive whatever faux object he was handing her would put her in a very vulnerable position.

Anyway, just my :twocents:.
And welcome to all new members!:seeya: I appreciate all the input from locals.

Prayers that Mickey is found safe.

wm

BTW, I wish all young (and old) ladies would carry a whistle with them. I always carry one when I walk the dog or ride my bike, especially after dark.

 

[Cortne]

All right folks, HERE I've taken the fixed photoshop of the "Caddy" and added descriptive text and the Tip Line number. Feel free to print it out, you locals, and drop it at gas stations and auto-parts stores!

You are amazing. Sure wish I was close enough to help. Hats off to you.

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