A busted rear rim, its tire dislodged, as well as hand grips that were separated from the handle bar is the latest news in the Mickey Shunick case since her black Schwinn bicycle was found submerged in the Atchafalaya Basin Sunday morning by fishermen near the Whiskey Bay exit on Interstate 10.
Lafayette Police Department's Cpl. Paul Mouton says Tuesday afternoon in a called press conference that the bike and other evidence at the site was given priority status by the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab where it will be examined and processed by forensic experts.
"The rear tire on that bike was damaged. It was the only damage that we could see to the bike," says Mouton. "Basically, the rim was bent and the tire dislodged from the rim itself."
Shunick, 22, has been missing since May 19 when she was riding her bike from a friend's house in the Saint Streets to her home in the Ambassador/Congress area.
Mouton says he does not believe the bike was thrown from the bridge, citing the traffic on I-10 as well as the lack of a shoulder there.
"Right now, we don't believe the bike was thrown from the bridge," he says, adding that the forensic investigation should be able to clear up that issue. "But I believe currently that the bike was dumped beneath the bridge and was not thrown from the bridge."
Mouton says the gold hand grips were found near the bicycle "submerged in the water right off the bank into the Atchafalya."
Mouton says the LPD didn’t want to release the new information about the damaged bike because the initial assumption would be that the bike was hit by a vehicle.
"We do not know that for 100 percent that that's where the damage came from," says Mouton. "We don't know if the bike was found and then damaged, or damaged when it was placed out beneath the bridge."
The bike and other evidence the corporal would not elaborate about that was picked up at the scene was sent to the state police lab. Mouton says tips continue to come in to the LPD about the three vehicles - two white pick up trucks and a four-door sedan with a body putty on right rear panel - seen in videos near where Shunick was traveling.
"We have not yet identified the operators or occupants of those vehicles. We'd still like to talk to those individuals," he says. "We stress that they are not suspects in this case, but only persons of interest that we'd like to speak with."
Mouton says the people in those vehicles may have "valuable information" on Shunick as far as where she was heading, if they might have seen her turn off somewhere.
The LPD spokesman says after further discussions about a similar missing person case between Lafayette investigators and those in Bloomington, Ind., that "based on the facts, we do not currently think the two cases are related."
JUNE 20 Here's the transcript of the esteemed journalist Rush Limbaugh's recent spot on Sen. Elbert Guillory. Guillory's video explaining why all black folks need to go running right over to the GOP (and no, one of the reasons given is not that you can't get elected Lt. Gov. as a "D" in this state) is "amazing" and a "tear-jerker" to Mr. Limbaugh. Of course, he doesn't mention that Guillory thought enough of the D party to join it so he could get elected to the state senate. But Rush doesn't disappoint; he does manage to make the spot about him in the end.
JUNE 20 Here's a WBRZ investigative piece on a foundation in Baton Rouge that may have some problems. Like what, you ask? How about under-reporting income by $700K or having a member who gets contributions by telling folks about her mystical experiences? This lady says it all began 30 years ago when a bishop who died "spoke" to her from his coffin, letting her know that she was not "out of her head." Um, OK.
JUNE 20 Here's another analysis (or post-mortem, as the case may be) for Gov. Jindal's recent post in Politico. This time, it's from the editorial board of the LSU Reveille. The kids say there were some problems with the column; mostly, they were related to Jindal insulting his friends, his enemies, and everyone in between, including himself. The contradictions Jindal displayed weren't lost on these students -- or anybody else.
JUNE 20 This post by the editorial board of the Picayune congratulates former Saint Steve Gleason on the "inspiring" way the man has responded to a mean-spirited and just plain appalling skit on a radio station about him and ALS, the paralyzing and fatal disease he has. As usual, the editorial states, Gleason directed attention from himself and to the disease, which he says is misunderstood, underfunded and ignored. Maybe this will bring some attention to the disease, the board writes.
JUNE 20 The Advocate posts this story about the sudden death of James Gandolfini, the television, stage and film actor probably best known for his role as Tony Soprano on the HBO series. Gandolfini died while vacationing in Italy, the story reports. He won three Emmys for the Sopranos role, but also was honored with a Tony nomination for God of Carnage.
JUNE 20 Clancy DuBos writes here about the legal, financial and political quagmire that is NOLA law enforcement these days. Sheriff Gusman and Mayor Landrieu are facing off in federal court, and as DuBos says, the stakes are high. Gusman's prison is "a hellhole," DuBos writes, and Landrieu claims the books there are "deliberately unfathomable." Gusman says everything's hunky dory, but it would be better if he got more money from Landrieu. What a mess.
JUNE 20 Blogger Tom Aswell says Gov. Jindal needs to quit touring the country bragging about his "gold standard" of ethics reform -- because it just ain't true. Aswell gives us a lot of statistics on our dismal ethics record, including a long list of violations committed by our fearless leaders and political groups. Taken all at once, it's not a pretty picture, and certainly not a golden one.
JUNE 20 This post in the Picayune reports that a contractor pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme that involved fake bids and kickbacks. The contractor said he cut a deal with a guy working for Orleans Sheriff Gusman to submit fake bids so his real company could "win" work for the sheriff, the story says. The former sheriff's employee already has pleaded guilty, the story says. Meanwhile, Sheriff Gusman says he hasn't been contacted by any investigators.
JUNE 20 Here's a Huff Post blog by Jason Linkins, taking a few shots at Gov. Jindal for his recent Politico column. For instance, he takes issue with Jindal's advice that the GOP "stop the bedwetting," pointing out that there were certainly some Jindal-positive patches on those damp sheets. But the main gist of the column is that Jindal was singing one tune back in November, but he's using a different score now. Either way, it's hitting a sour note with Linkins.
Most Read
in case you missed it
Subscribe to this comment's feed