Mickey Shunick Missing

Video:
http://www.katc.com/news/mickey-shunick-s-mother-speaks-one-month-after-daughter-s-disappearance/#!prettyPhoto/0/

Sad, sad, sad. There's just way to many missing girls/women and I just don't think they're OK. I don't know how the families make it thru' these horrible times.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120625/NEWS03/120625014/Still-no-answers-case-missing-Mickey-Shunick?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

I joined mainly because of this case, I have been following it as it progresses and feel a special connection to it as I attended the same college that Mickey has been attending & lived in Lafayette for 7 years.
1st - my heart goes out to the Shunick family, they have been through hell and back and not once have I seen them slow their momentum down, always keeping positive and being persistant on their mission from the beginning, "Bring Mickey Home."
2nd - Lafayette is a "small-big city" that has a lot of the small town charm but a bigger city atmosphere that has shown amazing support for this family and this case. I'm proud to say that I have lived there. Many summer intermission classes teachers from UL were giving their students extra credit for volunteering, and you can't walk or drive a block in that town without seeing a "bring Mickey home" sign.
3rd - As for the case itself, I can't bring myself to say I think she is dead. Ever since the first day I heard about her missing something in my gut told me she was alive still. I hope I am right, and that Brandon Lavergne will do something decent and end the nightmare that has been plaguing Louisiana.

I keep the flyer taped to my desk @ work, and every time someone makes the comment about "oh she's dead by now.." I tell them about Elizabeth Smart. Yes, things are drastically different between the cases but the point being that "miracles" can happen!!

If anyone has specific questions on the city/areas/etc I'd be happy to answer what I can.

If I did the link correctly its a video of Mickey's sister, asking people not to protest on the day Lavergne meets with the Grand Jury.

http://www.katc.com/videoplayer/?video_id=13138&categories=2183

Nice post Jess.

I keep the flyer taped to my desk @ work, and every time someone makes the comment about "oh she's dead by now.." I tell them about Elizabeth Smart. Yes, things are drastically different between the cases but the point being that "miracles" can happen!!

I agree. The positive thoughts are what Mickeys family are asking for and you have it going on.

to VH, JustanOtherjess!! Thank you for the posts about this case.

Posted: Jul 12, 2012 6:45 PM by KATC
Updated: Jul 12, 2012 10:16 PM

There are multiple updates to this story. Please click here to get the latest information.

Updated timeline in Mickey Shunick's disappearance (information from Lafayette Police, unless otherwise stated)

May 18, 2012, 10:15 p.m. : Mickey and friends attended a concert at Artmosphere.

May 19, 2012, 12:44 a.m. : Mickey rides bike back to Ryan Street residence with a friend.

May 19, 2012, 1:24 a.m.: Mickey seen in surveillance video at Taco Bell.

May 19, 2012, 1:31 a.m.: Mickey receives a call from her friend; it was the last time her phone was used.

May 19, 2012, 1:45 a.m.: Mickey begins to ride her bike home from the Ryan Street residence.

May 19, 2012, 1:47 a.m. : Mickey is caught on camera, riding her bike, on Versailles Boulevard.

May 19, 2012, 1:48 a.m.: Mickey is caught on camera, riding her bike, on St. Landry Street. Police say between St. Landry and Blackham Coliseum, Lavergne allegedly kidnapped Mickey. Her bike's damage is consistent with being hit from behind by a vehicle.

May 19, 2012, approximately 3:00 pm: According to a police report from Jefferson Parish, Lavergne says he was attacked at a gas station in the New Orleans area, repeatedly stabbed by an unknown man.

May 19, 2012, 6:30 p.m.: Mickey's family reports her missing to police.

May 19, 2012, 11:00 p.m.: Lavergne is interviewed by Jefferson Parish deputies in connection with an aggravated battery/robbery against him earlier that afternoon. The interview happens at a hospital in New Orleans as Lavergne is being treated, according to a police report. Lavergne can't recall where it happened.

May 20, 2012 : The first search party is organized.

May 25, 2012: The video surveillance photos were released to the public.

May 26, 2012: Mickey's bike was located under the Whiskey Bay Bridge.

May 31, 2012: Lafayette Police say Lavergne's truck was found burned in San Jacinto County, TX.

May 31, 2012: Montgomery County Sheriff's Department says Lavergne reports his truck missing.

June 4, 2012: Don's Wholesale in Lafayette Parish says Lavergne bought a white, Z-71 pick up truck. Police say the truck is just like his previous truck, found burned in Texas.

June 14, 2012: Lafayette Police get the tip the white truck of interest was found burned in Texas. Lafayette Police say it's Lavergne's truck.

July 5, 2012: State Police stop Lavergne on a traffic stop in a new white truck and arrest him on a warrant related to registering as a sex offender. He's also booked on first degree murder and kidnapping charges. Police say he is not cooperating.

July 18, 2012: Lavergne is scheduled to appear before a grand jury in Lafayette Parish.

http://www.katc.com/news/additional-information-added-to-timeline-surrounding-mickey-shunick-s-disappearance/

Texas Equusearch returns to Acadiana to search for Shunick
9:11 AM, Jul 16, 2012 The Advertiser

Written by
Megan Wyatt

Mickey Shunick went missing May 19. Although an arrest has been made in the case, she still has not been located.

Texas Equusearch returned to Acadiana last week to assist local authorities with the search for Mickey Shunick.

According to Tim Miller, director of the Houston-based nonprofit organization that searches for missing people, Lafayette police contacted him after arresting Brandon Scott Lavergne with charges of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping of Shunick.

Miller said the team has been searching in three Acadiana parishes – St. Landry, Acadia and Lafayette – since early Tuesday morning.

“I’m tired and wore out and beat up and abused,” Miller said, laughing. “I’d like to find her today and go home.”

This time around, Equusearch and police only want trained professionals involved in the search, not local volunteers, to reduce the risk of compromising important evidence.

So far, however, no evidence has been retrieved, according to Miller.

“We have not located anything that has anything to do with this case,” Miller said. “We eliminated a lot, a lot of areas, but we’ve still got many to eliminate. But we’re with detectives every day looking at the maps and planning what we’re going to.”

Although the community cannot go out on searches with Equusearch, Miller asks for Acadiana’s support and prayers. Miller does not want to leave the area without returning Shunick to her loved ones.

“We just need the community’s support and prayers,” Miller said. “I’ve been where Mickey’s family is right now, and I know this for a fact: There’s one thing worse than having a murdered child. It’s having them out there deceased. We need the family to be able to say goodbye to their loved one.”

For more information on Equusearch or to donate to the nonprofit, visit TexasEquusearch.org.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120716/NEWS01/120716011/Texas-Equusearch-returns-Acadiana-search-Shunick

The story of the disappearance of University of Louisiana at Lafayette student Michaela "Mickey" Shunick has become part of our lives.

As we have followed the story to its tragic end, many have felt as though we have become part of the story.

We hoped and despaired at the same time, as new clues were uncovered.

There have been those who, from time to time, have wondered why it was that this young woman's plight so captured the attention of people around the nation.

Other young women have disappeared. Others have met tragic ends. Why did their cases not capture such attention?

The answer is simple: Mickey Shunick's family and friends.

They were organized and vocal and seemed to know how to attract the attention of the media to their cause.

This does not in any way detract from the families of others who have gone missing or who have met tragic circumstances. Most of us would not be able to react and marshall the troops the way they did. Most of us would simply not even know where to start.

But they did.

And they are not alone.

Years later, we still remember Natalee Holloway, who was murdered while on a trip to the Caribbean, because of the extraordinary efforts of her mother.

And closer to home, the family and friends of Davina Chapman who was murdered in 2009, have kept their vow to be present in force every time her accused killer, Larry John Snyder, made a court appearance in New Roads.

The organized efforts of the families have been news stories in and of themselves.

It is unspeakably tragic that the tremendous effort of Mickey Shunick's family and friends could not bring her home.

At this point, although some still hold on to hope, it is unlikely that there will be happy ending.

But in light of the events of the past week, it seems as though the efforts of the family and friends of one young woman who made her plight highly visible will have a ripple effect that will touch the families of other women who have faded into invisibility with the passage of time.

Already, Brandon Scott Lavergne has been charged with two counts of murder — one for Shunick and one for Lisa Pate, a Youngsville woman whose murder has remained unsolved for years.

And law enforcement agencies around the state are said to be re-examining cold cases in their jurisdictions.

Would law enforcement agencies have found Lavergne without the concerted efforts of Shunick's supporters?

Probably. But it also probably didn't hurt to have so many eyes and ears alert and looking for something — anything — that might help.

It is probably small comfort at this time to Shunick's family that their efforts have touched the lives of other families.

But perhaps in the future, they may take some solace in knowing that they were instrumental in helping at least one other family find closure.

http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20120722/OPINION/207220310

Face expert examining possible Mickey Shunick remains

11:07 AM, Aug. 8, 2012
Written by
Associated Press

Tip leads Lafayette police to body believed to be Mickey Shunick's
Chief Craft: "We believe these remains are Mickey Shunick's"
LAFAYETTE — Officials at the Lafayette Parish Coroner’s office say the body believed to be Mickey Shunick is in such an advanced stage of decay they had to send it to face identification expert at LSU.

Keith Talamo, chief medicolegal investigator at the coroner’s office, said Wednesday Mary Manhein at the LSU FACES Laboratory will be handling the investigation of the body. Police found it buried at a cemetery about 100 yards off of La. Highway 10.

Talamo said it will be 24-48 hours before they will be able to identify the remains.

Cpl. Paul Mouton, spokesman for the Lafayette Police Department, said a credible witness lead them to the site Tuesday morning. He said they strongly believe the body belongs to the university student who went missing in May.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120808/NEWS03/120808001/Face-expert-examining-possible-Mickey-Shunick-remains?odyssey=nav%7Chead

http://www.klfy.com/story/19230643/shunick-headquarters-remains

Message from Mickey's parents after body was definitely identified as her..

http://www.wafb.com/story/19241767/investigators-body-found-in-evangeline-parish-is-mickey-shunick

Thanks, Sam. So damned sad!!

http://www.katc.com/news/mickey-shunick-s-family-proud-mickey-fought-back/#!prettyPhoto/0/