Mickey Shunick Case ‘Vehicles of Interest’ Located, Ruled Out After Missing Student’s Submerged Bike Found

Nearly two weeks after Mickey Shunick, the 22-year-old Louisiana college student missing from Lafayette, disappeared, police say two leads on “vehicles of interest” in the case have not panned out.

In recent days, Shunick’s bicycle (which she is believed to have been riding at the time she vanished) was found submerged in Whiskey Bay, 30 miles from Lafayette. Fishermen noticed the bike under a bridge, hidden from public view, and police told press that the bike had significant tire damage, possibly indicating a hit and run coverup.

Cpl. Paul Mouton of the Lafayette Police Department said of the development:

“We strongly believe that the person, or perpetrator, drove down to the edge of the water and dumped the bike into the water for it not to be found.”

Further, after reviewing surveillance tapes from the route Mickey Shunick is believed to have taken before her disappearance, two cars seen on the tape piqued the interest of police. Upon finding the vehicles and their drivers, however, cops say that they believe neither is linked to Shunick’s disappearance.

Despite a frustrating lack of evidence in the case, Shunick’s sister says she remains hopeful that her sister is alive and safe- Charlene Shunick said that she thinks the bike discovery means Mickey is “still somewhere out there.” She explains:

“I think a lot of different things could have happened: someone made a mistake, hit her, picked her up or something and then they freaked out and have her somewhere… We didn’t get the bad feeling in the pit of our stomachs like, ‘Oh, my God, this is terrible.’ It was more like, ‘Oh, my God, finally we found something of Mickey’s.’ And we realized that someone definitely took her and this was planned out… whoever has her is thinking about these things.”

Mickey’s dad, Tom Shunick, said that the family is stricken with worry and “all we do is we get up every day and hope to hear a phone call about something … I’m helpless.”