Located Deceased: Michaela "Mickey" Shunick--LA--05/19/2012

[LoriDavis]

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/DG/20120603/NEWS01/206030341/Mickey-Shunick-search-You-just-got-hope-?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Mickey Shunick search: 'You just got to have hope'

12:54 AM, Jun. 3, 2012
Written by Megan Wyatt

Side by side, Michaela "Mickey" Shunick and her sister Charlene "Charlie" Shunick are doppelgangers. Both share blue eyes, a fair complexion and that curly, bright blonde hair.

The sisters' personalities differ greatly, however. Friends and family describe Mickey, 22, as reserved and Charlie, 24, as outgoing.

Publicly, the Shunick family has remained hopeful amid Mickey's mysterious May 19 disappearance, with Charlie actively involved in volunteer search efforts. Even two weeks after her sister vanished — a case that has confounded police and drawn widespread interest locally and nationally — Charlie feels upbeat and positive about her sister's whereabouts.

"Usually, I get a good cry in the morning, the afternoon and in the evening," the older Shunick sister said. "But I feel equally as positive when I'm alone as when I'm with other people. I mean other people just make it so that I'm thinking about other things and doing things rather than just sitting at home going, 'Mickey, where are you? Where in the hell is Mickey?' So it's been OK."

Behind closed doors
Away from the masses, officials and media, the Shunick family speculates about Mickey's whereabouts much like the rest of Acadiana, Charlie said.

"We're doing what the masses are doing, speculating, too," Charlie said. "Trying to figure out well, if this is the case with this kind of stuff and this is going on over here, how could this be related? How could this not be related?"

Although the missing Lafayette woman's parents have remained visible through the search, their son, Thomas "Zack" Shunick, has shied away from the public eye.

"I think he's spoken to one person about this," said Charlie. "He's doing OK. He's just a really, really private person, and he's very shy. He's been pretty lighthearted and trying to make fun of me and the family and making all these jokes, so he's kind of been the backbone of making the family smile and being goofy and being a little jerk because he's a little brother."

According to Charlie, her mother Nancy Rowe and father Tom Shunick look a "little bit better and more hopeful" each time she sees them, noting that they can finally eat, sleep and work.

When the four can get some alone time, they often find themselves brainstorming, searching for some overlooked clue as to what happened to Mickey.

"From the very beginning, I felt that somebody probably took her, like I just felt that inside of me," Charlie said. "So we've just been speculating: Could it be someone we know? Could it be someone I know and dated since we look so similar? Could it be someone from school? Could it be some random person who was driving or speeding? — just trying to figure out things like that and think if there's anyone we know that's been weird.

"We haven't come up with anything."

Reacting to clues
The first several days of scouring the city for clues of Mickey's disappearance yielded no solid leads, so when police released surveillance footage of Mickey riding her bike alongside the Lafayette Consolidated Government building, the Shunick family felt relieved.

"It was good to see her on her bike," Charlie said. "It was good to see that she got away from Brettly's house, because that cleared him, because I spent a lot of energy and time defending him because we stood behind him from the beginning."

According to Charlie, seeing Mickey on her bicycle confirmed the family's inclination that Mickey had been abducted.

Two days later on May 27, fishermen at Whiskey Bay, about 30 miles from Lafayette, found a black and gold bicycle and reported it to officials. Charlie identified the bicycle as Mickey's, which left her feeling the least hopeful she had since her sister's disappearance.

"I was really upset about it for a while," Charlie said. "But that was also a positive thing, you know? My family took that better than I did. We found her bike, and we didn't find her. So that's awesome. It's just been kind of one of those emotional roller coasters."

Later that day at the concert benefit at Parc International, Mickey's mother had a message to the person who had her daughter in his or her possession: Drop Mickey off in a public place.

"We really think that somebody had an accident," Rowe said. "An accident, and maybe hit her bike. What they need to do is go to some truck stop, a public place. Just drop her. By the time that they take an hour to figure out who she is, they can be in another state. Just drop her. Drop her and run. Don't hurt her. A mistake is a mistake."

Mickey's father could not prevent questions — What's happening to her? Has she been fed? Has she got any water? — from cycling through his mind.

"We just hope she's still alive, and that's about all I can say," Tom Shunick said.

Sisterly love
Charlie and Mickey did not become close until the two were teenagers, according to Charlie.

"Growing up, I wasn't the nicest big sister in the world," she said. "I was just a butthead."

Charlie alternated between laughing and animatedly telling a childhood story of the time Charlie punched her younger sister in the face.

"We had been fighting a lot, and my brother was being really aggravating or something," Charlie said. "(Mickey) just said something — we were out in the backyard — and I just punched her in the face. And she just immediately goes 'Mama!' and ran inside. I've never hit anybody after that because I got into trouble."

Mickey's biggest quirk, according to family and friends, is her hatred of feet. With a sheepish expression, Charlie admitted that she caused her sister's fear of feet.

"That's my fault. It's disgusting," Charlie said with a hearty laugh. "For softball, you know you have to wear cleats all the time, so I got athlete's foot really bad. And I don't remember doing this, but apparently I peeled it off and threw it on her. And ever since then, she ... just hates them. And I always bothered her after. I'd be like 'Hey, look at my feet,' and put them all over her."

Anyone with any information about the case, please contact the Lafayette Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 337-232-TIPS.

Charlie's message to Mickey through the search efforts is a simple one: to be smart.

"Be smart and think smart and be safe and we're coming to get you," said Charlie. "Hope it's not too fun over there — I'm sure it's not — because we're going to come find you and take you away from there, so just be smart, little sister."

And the very first thing Charlie said she will tell her sister in person is an apology.

"Sorry I've been wearing all of your clothes," Charlie said, smiling.

Community support
Inside of the volunteer headquarters at Blackham Coliseum on the UL campus, public and private donations of more than just food, water and time uplift the ones who love Mickey.

Dozens of colorful butterflies decorated by children at The Little Paintbrush line the walls of the coliseum. A stuffed puppy, donated by a 4-year-old boy named Jack, sat on Charlie's shoulder. A large banner with the message — "Lafayette is missing a little sister. Don't give up!" — caused Charlie to tear up.

"All these little girls are like, 'You're my idol. I hope I can do this for my sister someday in some way,'" Charlie said.

The community support and volunteer efforts have inspired and overwhelmed the family with emotion over the past two weeks, Charlie said. It can be hard for her to place blame on anybody from the area for her sister's disappearance after the support the community has given her.

"I don't want to accuse people of anything because look at what Lafayette has been doing," Charlie said. "This probably isn't a Lafayette thing. I think if she was in Lafayette, someone would have said something by now because literally everyone is looking for her. But that's not to say she's not here."

Although she does not want to trust her intuition too much, Charlie feels "like something is going to happen soon."

And keeping positive is what has gotten her and her family this far.

"Why would we be negative until we have something to be negative about, really?" said Charlie. "None of us feel like she's dead, and most of us feel like she's doing OK. Everyone else has been so positive, and we've been positive. You just got to have hope."

[LoriDavis]

http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2472127&spid=

Investigator has suspect in disappearance of Louisiana student

Posted: 6/8/2012 12:04:14 PM
Updated: 6/8/2012 12:10:14 PM

LAFAYETTE, La. (WLS) - A private investigator hired to help find missing Louisiana college student Michaela "Mickey" Shunick believes that he may have information about a suspect.

John Abdella, a P.I. hired by private donors trying to help solve the case, told ABC News affiliate KATC that he has received two tips from independent sources describing the same person.

“And their description was almost identical,” said Abdella.

Abdella noted there may be two credible suspects in the case, based on the tips he has received in the past week.

“They appear to be very credible and they appear to be very knowledgeable,” Abdella told KATC. “And I thought it was more than coincidental that both of their descriptions were the same.”

Abdella said he plans to meet with police to share his information about the leads.

For Shunick’s family, Abdella’s information is welcome news as they try to stay focused on finding the 21-year-old.

“Hopefully it takes us somewhere in the next couple of days,” the missing woman’s brother, Charlie Shunick, said.

“Everything we are doing, everything that’s going on here, everything people are doing is to find Mickey. It has nothing to do with anything else. Our goal is to find my sister,” Charlie Shunick told KATC.

Abdella said he believes that the Lafayette police, who are the lead agency on the case, are working hard to find Shunick, who disappeared in May while riding her bicycle home from her friend’s house in the middle of the night. Shunick’s bicycle was later found badly damaged under a bridge about 30 minutes from where she disappeared.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.wafb.com/story/18738953/police-torso-not-that-of-missing-lafayette-woman

Police: Torso not that of missing Lafayette woman

Posted: Jun 08, 2012 12:19 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 08, 2012 12:19 PM EDT
By Renee Johnson

BAY ST. LOUIS, MS (WLOX) - Officials in Lafayette, LA say a woman's torso found washed up on the beach in Bay St. Louis is not that of missing woman Mickey Shunick.

Officials had been in contact with investigators in Bay St. Louis since the body was discovered Thursday. There were several body piercings found on the torso, but Corporal Kyle Soriez with the Lafayette Police Department said they do not match those of Mickey Shunick.

An autopsy was underway Friday morning on the remains. Officials hope to have an identity later today.

Hancock County authorities said the torso appears to be that of a white female in her late teens or early 20s. They aren't sure if the limbs were intentionally removed. The body was stabbed once in the chest, and had three piercings, one in each nipple and one in the navel.

The torso was found near Bay Oaks Drive in Bay St. Louis where crews are working on the county's beach replenishment project.

Three young women from the Gulf South area are currently missing: Mickey Shunick from Lafayette, Jaren Lockhart from New Orleans and Brittany Nicole Wood from Alabama.

[Shannon]

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/DG/20120609/NEWS01/206090313/Trained-dogs-aid-search?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Trained dogs aid search
 
2:42 AM, Jun. 9, 2012

Written by: Amanda McElfresh

For the third day, specially-trained dogs used their paws and noses to skim the waters near the Whiskey Bay Pilot Channel Friday as part of the ongoing effort to find missing Lafayette woman Michaela "Mickey" Shunick.

Special K-9s Recovery Specialists, a Texas-based nonprofit organization, trains the dogs, said Mike Candella, a Carencro resident who works with the group.

"These dogs are trained for blood, mostly. They can also sometimes train them to exclude blood," Candella said. "They're taught to exclude other bodily fluids. They're also taught to take methane gas in context, because there is so much of it out here in the water."

Candella said the search dogs began working Wednesday. Friday would likely be their last day, because trainers and handlers have to take special precautions to make sure the dogs do not get exhausted or overheated.

Searchers concentrated in the water and woods near the Interstate 10 Whiskey Bay exit, as Shunick's bicycle was discovered there about two weeks ago.

Several dogs were used in the search — two in the water and four on land, Candella said.

"The dogs are hyper-focused and in a hyper state of alert," he said, adding that the handlers do everything they can to ensure there are no unnecessary distractions when the dogs are working.

"It's a solemn process," he said. "It is difficult. There's a lot of heat and the emotions are very high. The signals the dogs give can be very subtle, so that's why it's important to not have any distractions. They may look at the handler very quickly, or just glance at them, and we have to be able to notice that."

Candella said it can cost about $5,000 per year per dog to cover all of the training costs.

Meanwhile, Shunick's sister, Charlene "Charlie" Shunick, said she was hoping for a strong volunteer turnout this weekend as searches are scheduled to continue throughout Acadiana. Searchers will gather at the Blackham Coliseum headqurters starting at 8 a.m.

"We definitely need more people," she said. "We're really hoping to have a great weekend. We know people have to work during the week and sometimes the turnout can be a little low, but we're really hoping to have a great next couple of days."

When a female torso was discovered on a Mississippi beach late Thursday night, Shunick said she quickly determined it was not her sister's. Shunick said she spoke to law enforcement officials on Friday who confirmed the Bay St. Louis discovery was not connected to her sister's disappearance.

She said she was more convinced when she learned the torso had multiple piercings, unlike her sister.

"I think my stomach did one flip when I first heard it was a young woman, but once I heard her described, I knew it wasn't Mickey," she said. "I just don't believe that she's dead. I still do believe that she is alive."

[Shannon]

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981388440

Mickey Shunick Update: White Truck Cleared

June 10, 2012 12:55 PM EDT

by Chelsea Hoffman

The Mickey Shunick disappearance is still an active high-profile case, especially with recent reports of a white pickup being found abandoned in East Texas. Private investigator Bill Warner had mentioned this shocking discovery several hours ago. Come to find out, the owner of the white truck has been cleared. This pickup is not connected to the disappearance of Michaela Shunick.

In a private email, both P.I., Bill Warner and P.I., Jordan Hamlett of Averlock Investigations clarified that the plates had been run and the driver of the white pickup cleared of suspicion in the disappearance of Mickey Shunick. This information clears up confusion regarding whether or not a suspect could have gone on the run from Louisiana. It was earlier stated that the truck, with Louisiana plates, was found "abandoned" in East Texas, but the fact of the matter is that the driver had parked the truck there while he was away from work.

Bill Warner isn't the only investigator to clarify on the white pickup truck found in Texas. Jordan Hamlett of Averlock Investigations had the following to say via email:

The owner parked the vehicle there while going work offshore and has always done so. This has all been confirmed with the owners of the vehicle, their family, and the Franklin Parish Sheriff's office, which is the parish where the owners of the vehicle reside.

So this brings the case back to square-one in regards to the elusive white pickup truck seen in surveillance. Michaela "Mickey" Shunick is still missing and there haven't been any definitive updates in her case since the discovery of her mangled bicycle.

As for the driver of the truck found in Texas, certainly he is a little on edge now after being unwittingly included in a high-profile disappearance. This is also reminiscent of the disappearance of Lauren Spierer in which the notorious white truck scene in surveillance was "cleared" of suspicion and released. She's still missing as well, and the truck seen in her surveillance footage is the same exact model as the pickup spotted on surveillance in the search for Michaela Shunick.

[Kelly]

Project Jason Profile:

Name: Michaela Elizabeth Shunick

Alias: Mickey Shunick
Date of Birth: 05/21/1990
Date Missing: 05/19/2012
Age at time of disappearance: 21
City Missing From: Lafayette
State Missing From: Louisiana
Gender: Female
Race: White
Height: 5ft. 1 in.
Weight: 115 lb.
Hair Color: Natural blonde lightened to platinum
Eye Color: Blue

Identifying Characteristics: Her left nostril is pierced and her right upper lip pierced ("Marilyn") She has a small bike tattoo on her right ankle.

Clothing: Mickey was last seen in a multi-colored boatneck shirt, tan slim-fit jeans, and silver pointy-toed shoes. She had a small brown coach backpack.

Circumstances of Disappearance: She left a friend's home at about 1:45 a.m., riding a bike to her parents' home.
which is approximately 4 miles. her phone was turned off shortly after departure, and none of her personal or clothing items have been found. Mickey's bike was found dumped in the Atchafalaya River 8 days later; this is about 30 miles from the point where she was last seen.

Investigative Agency: Lafayette Police Dept.
Agency Phone: (337) 291-8633

[LoriDavis]

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120624/NEWS01/206240332

Coping with the trauma of Mickey's disappearance
12:48 AM, Jun 24, 2012
Written by Megan Wyatt

There is no "normal" when it comes to coping with the loss a loved one. There is even less normalcy when that loved one is missing, when family and friends have no clues about his or her whereabouts, or whether the person is dead or alive.

Since Mickey Shunick's mysterious May 19 disappearance, her friends and family have kept optimistic, openly expressing their belief that Shunick is still alive. Over a month later, some of that enthusiasm has waned, but the optimism remains.

"I guess the only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I think she's alive and that all these people are still reaching out to our family and doing what they can," Shunick's sister, Charlie Shunick, said June 19, the one-month anniversary of her sister's disappearance. "So people not giving up makes us feel like our ideas are validated in some way."

For Elizabeth Smart, who survived nine months after being kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home at age 14, each missing person case feels like the worst news she has ever heard, she said. Smart, now 24 and a contributor to ABC News, challenged the community to keep the faith that Shunick could be alive.

"Most often, when people hear of a kidnapping or missing person, they think, 'Well, they're dead. We're never going to hear from them again,'" Smart said in a phone interview with The Daily Advertiser. "In my case, I did come home alive. Until that person is found, nobody can say, 'We can give up. They're never coming home.' It does happen."

Although Mickey's mother, Nancy Rowe, initially felt sad over her daughter's disappearance, a new anger has surfaced recently.

"I'm at the point now where I'm getting tired of this, and I'm getting pretty pissed off," Rowe said a month after her daughter's disappearance. "It's just gone on too long, and we're sad that Mickey hasn't been here for the past month. But now, the person who has her needs to stop and give her up and go lay low. Or expose themselves to us and let us beat the holy he — out of them."

Licensed clinical social worker Cynthia Gaydon calls Rowe's anger a "very healthy reaction."

"Once the shock wears off, and you begin to realize that this is really happening and this is really true, anger is a very normal part of the process. Anger gives you energy," she said.

Gaydon's daughter is friends with Charlie Shunick, so Gaydon has followed the case closely. But even people who never knew Mickey can empathize with the situation, Gaydon said, because of their experiences.

"In the case of any sort of traumatic incident, people are reminded of their own traumas from the past," Gaydon said. "Sometimes it can trigger memories or feelings from things they have experienced, and that can multiply to the current situation."

Others in the community may be feeling fearful in response to the uncertainty surrounding Shunick's disappearance.

"It's such an individual response," Gaydon said. "I don't know that there is a normal."

Lafayette resident Tasha Peschire carries her new Taser instead of her cellphone while walking from her vehicle into a store. She doesn't allow her daughter to play outside only a few houses from her own.

"This place is dangerous now," she said.

Barbara LeBlanc, also a Lafayette resident, carries pepper spray and constantly looks behind her during her daily 7-mile walk.

"And most importantly," her husband Milton LeBlanc said, "she changes routes every day."

At his job at a local retail store, Terrence Jones has noticed changes in women's buying habits.

"I've seen more females getting more Tasers and guns and pepper spray," Jones said. "People are being more aware."

Even with the disappearance of her daughter, Nancy Rowe does not think of Lafayette as a dangerous place, nor does she want it to be called a dangerous place.

"That would be a terrible thing for Lafayette if it were no longer a place where you could push a stroller down the street or walk around or ride your bike or skate alone," Rowe said. "I mean that would be a terrible thing. It's a college town. We like to drink too much and fuss and fight, but we don't snatch somebody's family member and keep them.

"She's been kept too long."

What happens next
Shunick's parents have been splitting their time between work and the Mickey Shunick Headquarters. Charlie Shunick has canceled her summer internship but recently let her adviser know she will be back in Dallas for graduate school in the fall.

Louis Deshotels, another licensed clinical social worker, thinks the Shunick family should return to school and work only when they feel they are able to.

"It's concern about Mickey and also being practical and making sure you've got the money that you need," Deshotels said. "That's all working together. Some of it is up to them. They have to find their way and what makes sense to them, what they can tolerate and what they can stand. I'm an outsider. I don't know what they're feeling. They've got to find their way."

Smart's advice to Shunick's family is to stick together.

"My family was already very close, and I know having a child being kidnapped can either really make or break a family," Smart said. "So I would encourage the Shunick family to come together and trust each other and draw on each other's strengths. Be strong for her. Be ready for her to come home. Be ready."

It is in talking to others who have had siblings go missing that Charlie Shunick draws the most strength and hope. They encourage her to trust her intuition that her sister is still alive. Through Facebook and other social media, Charlie Shunick has found people who immediately felt their siblings were dead and others who felt strongly that their siblings were alive. In most cases, the siblings' gut instincts have been spot on, she said.

Lack of evidence also instills hope.

"Where's the wallet? Where's DNA evidence?" Charlie Shunick said. "Where's skid marks on the road where her route was? Where's the random crap that she was carrying, you know? If she was hit and killed, we would have found some kind of evidence from it, and we haven't."

If Shunick is alive, perhaps being held against her will somewhere, Smart has advice for her: "Never give up."

"No matter what it is, never give up," Smart said. "Do it, no matter what it is. Nobody can ever judge her or think about, 'Oh, she should have run away.' Nobody has the right to ever say or think anything like that because they are not in the situation. They do not know what dangers she's in or what she's being threatened with."

[Shannon]

http://gma.yahoo.com/mickey-shunick-case-police-charge-sexual-offender-murder-072018344--abc-news-topstories.html

Mickey Shunick Case: Police Charge Sexual Offender With Murder

By ANTHONY CASTELLANO

July 06, 2012

A registered sex offender has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of Mickey Shunick.

Cops arrested 33-year-old Brandon Scott Lavergne Thursday at his home in Church Point, La., just six miles from where Shunick was last seen riding her bike. Lavergne has been charged with first degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.

St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz told The Associated Press that the arrest came as his department helped Lafayette police search Lavergne's residence for evidence. Police would not comment on how they connected Lavergne to the Shunick case.

ABC News has learned that Lavergne appears on the Louisiana Sate Police website as a registered sex offender. The website says Lavergne was convicted in 2000 of aggravated oral sexual battery. He was released from prison in 2008.

A 1 p.m. press conference is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

Shunick, a senior at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, left friend Brettly Wilson's house on her bike just before 2 a.m. on May 19. More than a week after she went missing, surveillance video showed her on a bicycle the night she disappeared. Police were trying to track down information about a white pickup truck seen on the same video.

On the sex offender website, Lavergne is listed as to having a white 2011 Chevrolet Silverado.

As news of the arrest spread late Thursday, volunteers who have spent months searching for Shunick said they were crushed.

"Faith and prayers believe me. We're going to be saying them nonstop," said Margaret Bearb.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57467762-504083/michaela-mickey-shunick-suspect-in-case-of-missing-college-student-was-arrested-on-unrelated-warrent/

Michaela "Mickey" Shunick: Suspect in case of missing college student was arrested on unrelated warrant

July 6, 2012 3:41 PM
By Casey Glynn

(CBS) LAFAYETTE, La. - Lafayette police say Brandon Scott Lavergne, now charged with first degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in the disappearance of Louisiana student Michaela "Mickey" Shunick, was arrested yesterday on an unrelated warrant connected to his sex offender status.

Pictures: La. college student missing after bike ride

Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said at a press conference Friday that authorities were led to the 33-year-old suspect after receiving a tip from a concerned citizen on June 14. The tip came after police released surveillance footage of a white pickup truck linked to Shunick's disappearance.

Craft says the Chevrolet Z71 pickup truck truck, reported stolen in Texas and later found burned, was registered to Lavergne.

Shunick was last seen shortly before 2 a.m. on May 19, days before her 22nd birthday. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette student had left a friend's house to ride her bicycle home. Her bicycle was found eight days later in a remote, swampy area under a highway bridge in Iberville Parish, about 25 miles from the spot where she was last seen.

Craft says Shunick's bicycle had damage consistent with being hit by a vehicle, but they have not gotten the lab reports back yet. Police were also able to place Lavergne near the location where the bike was found.

When asked for a possible motive, Craft said the suspect may have been looking for someone to attack.

Craft says Lavergne requested an attorney and refused to cooperate further with authorities.

The sex offender website says Lavergne was convicted in 2000 of aggravated oral sexual battery. He was released in 2008. Lavergne is currently being held without bond.

Craft said Friday that police will not rest until they find out fully what happened to Shunick and bring her home.

John Abdella, a private investigator hired by the Shunick family after their daughter disappeared, told CBS News that the whole ordeal has been "rough on the family."

"She was just a sweet, sweet 22-year-old girl," said Abdella.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20120707/NEWS01/207070328/Teams-continue-search-clues-Shunick-suspect-s-property?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Search continues at home of Lafayette murder suspect

10:24 AM, Jul 7, 2012

LAFAYETTE -- Teams of investigators on Friday were combing the home and property of Brandon Scott Lavergne in a rural area near Swords, a small community between Opelousas and Eunice just off U.S. Route 190.

Lavergne, 33, has been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the case of Michaela "Mickey" Shunick, a 22-year-old University of Louisiana at Lafayette student who went missing May 19.

Assisting with the investigation, which is under the direction of the Lafayette Police Department, were detectives and crime scene experts from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office.

"When we got out here yesterday, they told us this would be an eight-hour operation, and we are still here. They are being very through," said Lt. Megan Vizena, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

She said Lavergne's trailer and numerous cars on the property all are being examined and teams also are searching the grounds for clues to what happened to Shunick.

While much work remains to be done, Vizena called it a good day.

"It's a good day not only for law enforcement, but for the entire community. We are finally getting some answers. I know as a parent I'd be relieved to know justice had been served," Vizena said.

Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said Lavergne, a convicted sex offender, had been a target of the investigation for weeks, especially since his truck was found burned in Texas in mid-June.

"Lafayette PD has been on top of this since the beginning. They have done a wonderful job. I'm just happy we can assist them," Guidroz said. "We are doing what we can to get enough good evidence to ensure a successful prosecution."

Vizena said Lavergne, originally from Acadia Parish, had been arrested in Evangeline Parish in 1999 on a charge of aggravated oral sexual battery. He pleaded guilty to that charge in February 2000 in exchange for a prison sentence of no more than 10 years and the dismissal of a related burglary charge.
He was released from prison in 2008, which is when he moved to his current address.

"He has kept pretty much to himself," Vizena said.

Neighbors agreed.

"I only knew him to say 'hi' and 'bye.' He seemed like a normal person to me," said Lloyd Mitchell, who regularly mows the grass at his grandmother's house.

His grandmother's home at Jessie B Road and Elaine Lane is the closest to Lavergne's gray trailer at 143 Elaine Lane, a dirt road that serves a small number of houses in this area of farm land that is gradually giving way to houses and trailers.

Mitchell said it is a quiet neighborhood in which people mind their own business.

"I'm shocked. My grandmother is really shocked," Mitchell said. "It took us totally by surprise to discover someone like this lived this close."

Shirleen Thomas, who lives about a block away but still counts as one of Lavergne's nearest neighbors, said she had never met him. Thomas said she only learned of his existence when she got a sex offender registration notice in the mail last year.

"I'm freaking out." she said. "You never know."

[LoriDavis]

http://www.ksla.com/story/18984354/mickey-shunicks-father-talks-about-lavergnes-arrest

Mickey Shunick's father talks about Lavergne's arrest

Posted: Jul 09, 2012 5:42 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 09, 2012 7:25 PM EDT
By Cheryl Mercedes
Posted by Amber Stegall

LAFAYETTE, LA (WAFB) - The father of the missing UL student thinks more than one person is responsible for his daughter's disappearance. He says that person could be the missing link in the case.

An obviously shaken Tom Shunick is trying to process the chain of events that led to the arrest of Brandon Lavergne; the man police say is responsible for his daughter's disappearance. "I knew they had a suspect they thought was involved in this thing a week before the arrest was made," said Tom Shunick, Mickey Shunick's father.

Police believe Lavergne was driving the white truck following Mickey on her bicycle on May 19, 2012. It was captured on surveillance video outside the Lafayette Consolidated Government Building, the night Mickey went missing. Detectives said when fishermen found Mickey's bike at Whiskey Bay seven days later, the back tire was damaged. Mr. Shunick says he thought he had figured out what happened to his daughter.

"You can look at all the scenarios that could have happened. And this is one of them; a probable one. Somebody may have been out there, bumped her, grabbed her," said Tom Shunick.

That was just the beginning of the story. Tom later learned Lavergne was a convicted sex offender, a man who had been through the system as he put it. Just three days after the surveillance photos were released, authorities in San Jacinto County, Texas confirmed they found Lavergne's truck abandoned and burned. While investigators say they don't expect to make any more arrests in the case, Tom is convinced someone helped Lavergne.

"It was burned somewhere in Texas. Somehow he got there and got back. Did he ride with someone? Did he walk back? How did he get back?" said Tom.

Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft would not comment on similar questions at Friday's news conference. Tom says he has told detectives to keep any new developments in the case to themselves. He says he just wants to know when his daughter is found.

Tom believes that authorities will find his daughter. "Maybe not alive, but they will find her."

As for what Tom has learned about his daughter's alleged kidnapper so far, he says he is not quite sure how, if convicted, Lavergne should be punished.

Meanwhile, a private investigator involved in the Shunick case is pooling additional resources.

John Abdella said he has been bombarded with phone calls since Lavergne was arrested on Thursday. He said most of the calls have come from Lawtell, La., the same community where police searched Lavergne's home for the better part of two days.

Abdella said he is checking on tips from people claiming they have found articles of clothing and "unfamiliar" tire tracks in their neighborhood.

He said a church group has offered him 4-wheelers and other resources to help him comb the areas police have already checked, just to make sure they didn't miss anything. He said volunteers have been helpful, but there is only so much they can do.

"Not anyone can go into pond and come out safely and conduct a constructive search," Abdella said.

Abdella said it might come down to draining ponds and digging to follow up on some of the leads he has gotten.

He also adds he is not sure the search at Whiskey Bay is done.

A friend of the Shunick's hired Abdella to help find Mickey.

[Shannon]

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/07/deputies_investigate_possible.html

Deputies investigate possible grave for missing Lafayette woman

Published: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 9:20 AM     
Updated: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 9:42 AM

St. Landry Parish sheriff's deputies have brought cadaver dogs to a site about two miles from the home of a man booked with murder in connection with the disappearance of a Lafayette college student.

Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says a farmer called about three mounds of dirt near his fields. Guidroz says two have been ruled out as graves, and investigators are waiting for details about the third. The field is near St. Ann's Catholic Church in the community of Swords near Opelousas.

It's about two miles from the Lawtell home of Brandon Lavergne, who has been booked with aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder of Mickey Shunick. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette student has been missing since May 19.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120714/NEWS01/207140309/Shunick-case-has-residents-anxious-about-safety?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Shunick case has residents anxious about safety

12:39 AM, Jul 14, 2012
Written by Kris Wartelle

The arrest of a St. Landry Parish man on aggravated kidnapping and murder charges in the disappearance of Mickey Shunick is casting a pall over a town that normally enjoys a feeling of safety and security, unlike many cities its size.

Lafayette has always enjoyed a reputation as a safe place to raise a family, and many aren't ready to say that has changed. But the feeling among some residents is that there is a new awareness regarding safety issues.

"I've always felt safe here," said Christene Zagone, a mother of three. "I could have moved to Baton Rouge or anywhere, but we chose to live in Lafayette. I think that people who live here want to be here."

Zagone's youngest daughter just turned 18 and is at the age when most young people like to go out and do things with minimal parental supervision. Recent developments have Zagone worrying more about things that didn't necessarily cross her mind.

"My first thought was that she (Mickey Shunick) shouldn't be riding a bike at 2 a.m.," Zagone said. "But I also understand that college kids don't think much about that because that's what they do. That's how they get around. Mostly, I'd rather my girls just stay where they are and don't try to get home that late at night. I am more nervous, and I think it's made my daughter more aware of what can happen."

Zagone says she now asks her 18-year-old to check in regularly via text messages when she arrives somewhere, when she leaves and when she gets home. She also stresses that staying out till the "wee hours" as she puts it, is not something she encourages and something her daughter rarely does.

Tony Bonomolo of the Bike Lafayette organization has a somewhat different view. As someone who uses his bike regularly as transportation, he says he knows plenty of people who travel that way and won't necessarily change their habits over safety concerns. Bonomolo says he doesn't feel less safe on a bike and says for many, biking is just a way of life.

"For me and most of my friends, we don't feel less safe," Bonomolo said. "Not much changed. But one of the big things I've told people is, 'Just because you don't feel safe doesn't mean it's not safe (to ride a bike).' There are others for whom this is a normal pace of life because they would rather get around on their bike."

Bonomolo adds that being aware of one's surroundings is key to traveling safely, no matter what your chosen mode of transportation.

Lafayette Parish President Joey Durel says one thing is clear from talk around the community: This case has caused residents to be more cautious and aware of things that could go wrong even in places where crime rates are generally considered low.

"My wife said it's so scary to think that there are people like that in this world," Durel said. "I think this is a wake-up call to us that there are people like that; we are just not used to seeing it so close to home. What makes this unique is that it really was a random act. So there is no doubt that it is a wake-up call for people to know that there are bad people out there. And while we do live in a safe community, there is nothing to prevent a predator from coming into our community."

Durel says he hopes that message can be made clear to young people, who oftentimes simply don't think much about their own safety.

"At that age, those are the years they think they are invincible," said Zagone. "I think this case has caused my daughter to take a step back and say, 'Wow, I need to be more careful.'"

[Kelly]

Project Jason Profile:

Name: Michaela Elizabeth Shunick

Alias: Mickey Shunick
Date of Birth: 05/21/1990
Date Missing: 05/19/2012
Age at time of disappearance: 21
City Missing From: Lafayette
State Missing From: Louisiana
Gender: Female
Race: White
Height: 5ft. 1 in.
Weight: 115 lb.
Hair Color: Blonde, lightened to platinum
Eye Color: Blue

Identifying Characteristics: Mickey's left nostril is pierced, right upper lip pierced ("Marilyn") and she has a small bike tattoo on her right ankle.

Clothing: She was last seen wearing a multi-colored boatneck shirt, tan slim-fit jeans, silver pointy-toed shoes and a small brown coach backpack'

Circumstances of Disappearance: Mickey left a friend's home at about 1:45 a.m., riding a bike to her parents' home, which is approximately 4 miles. Her phone was turned off shortly after departure, and none of her personal or clothing items found.  The bike was found dumped in Atchafalaya River 8 days later, which is about 30 miles from the point last seen.

Investigative Agency: Lafayette Police Dept.
Agency Phone: (337) 291-8633

[LoriDavis]

Eight weeks later, still questions in Mickey Shunick case

10:43 AM, Jul. 16, 2012
Written by Megan Wyatt
Louisiana Gannett

LAFAYETTE -- It has been eight weeks since Mickey Shunick disappeared. As the second month of the communitywide search for the young woman drew to a close, three volunteers spent Friday night sitting outside of Counter Culture behind a makeshift table of TV trays that held Mickey paraphernalia: bright T-shirts, rubber bracelets and bookmarks.

The case had grown quiet in the weeks following the identification of the college student's black and gold bicycle, found May 27 in Whiskey Bay, about 30 miles east of Lafayette. Shunick was last seen on surveillance footage at about 1:45 a.m. May 19, just two days before her 22nd birthday.

The biggest break in the case came July 5, when Lafayette police took Brandon Scott Lavergne, an offshore worker from St. Landry Parish, into custody on charges of aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder in connection to the Shunick case.

A week later, authorities received a tip from a farmer who noticed three freshly turned mounds of earth on his property near Lavergne's home in Swords. The possible grave sites turned up no remains or clues, leaving officials back at square one and those closest to Shunick with the same glimmer of hope they've held throughout the two-month roller coaster ride.

Similarly, Mickey Shunick's mother, Nancy Rowe, finds Lavergne important only because he could be the key to finding her daughter.

Reacting to arrest
Brettly Wilson, whose Ryan Street home Mickey Shunick biked away from the morning of May 19, spent Friday evening raising funds for the search efforts at Counter Culture. Instead of funneling frustration toward Lavergne, Wilson has kept hope Lavergne can help to bring his friend home.

"We haven't really felt a lot of the impact or antagonism or aggression specifically toward him that we've seen kind of rife throughout the community," Wilson said. "We're more just viewing this as the next step."

Charlie Shunick has found herself exhausted since Lavergne's arrest, especially since it has not yet led police to her sister.

Read more: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120716/NEWS03/120716013/Eight-weeks-later-still-questions-Mickey-Shunick-case?odyssey=nav%7Chead