Police: Check video surveillance footage
LAFAYETTE — Detectives are asking business owners and residents with video surveillance equipment to review footage from May 19 between the hours of 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. in the disappearance of Michaela “Mickey” Shunick, of Lafayette.
Shunick, an avid cyclist and animal lover, was last seen at 2 a.m. Saturday leaving a friend’s house on 100 Ryan St. on her black Schwinn bicycle.
She never made it to her family’s home about four miles away and was reported missing Saturday evening.
Shunick, 22, is blond with blue eyes, 5’1” and 115 pounds. She was last seen wearing a pastel, multi-colored shirt, light-wash skinny jeans and gray shoes and had a brown leather backpack purse. Her bicycle has gold rubber handlebar grips.
Without confirmation of the route taken by Shunick, she could have been captured by equipment not checked by police, spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton said Thursday in a news release.
Anyone with information about Shunick or anyone finding any footage of interest is asked to call police at (337) 291-8633. Starting Friday, police will begin daily media briefings on the investigation.
Thursday, the sixth day of the search for Shunick, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette student, produced no leads, police said. Texas Equusearch, a nonprofit mounted recovery and rescue team, led search groups and the effort’s headquarters moved from Ryan Street to Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic Church’s Student Center on the ULL campus.
The public is asked to visit the group’s website, www.findmickeynow.com, or the group’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/findmickeynow, for up-to-date information on donation needs and search efforts.
On Sunday, a benefit concert featuring Vagabond Swing and The Givers begins at 5:30 p.m. at Parc International downtown. Gates open at 5 p.m. The recommended donation is $15, but organizers say any amount will be accepted.
Family, friends and hundreds of residents held a candlelight vigil Tuesday for Shunick, whose case has drawn widespread national media attention.