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Last updated on Wednesday, May 30, 2012
(LAFAYETTE,LA.) - Investigators in Lafayette, La., don’t believe there are links between their investigation of a missing college student and that of a student who has been missing for a year from Bloomington, a Lafayette police spokesman said Tuesday.
The case of missing University of Louisiana student Mickey Shunick caught the eye of police investigators in Bloomington.That's because they see similarities between this case and one they worked roughly one year ago.
The Bloomington case involves the abduction of Lauren Spierer, a 20-year-old woman whose physical description is very similar to that of Mickey Shunick.
But now, police believe there is no connection between the two cases.
Spierer is described as 4'11" tall and roughly 90 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. She was last seen on the morning of June 3, 2011 walking in Bloomington after a night of partying with friends.
In the case of Spierer, Police identified a white truck that was driving suspiciously in the area around the time that Spierer went missing. However, they later determined a discrepancy between the video camera and the reason why the truck appeared to go by twice.
Although the cases do seem at first glance to have striking similarities, the Lafayette Police Department does not feel the two cases are connected at this time.
Bloomington police Capt. Joe Qualters said that his department had contacted Louisiana authorities regarding similarities between Shunick's case and that of Spierer.
"We have made contact with officials in Louisiana and are waiting for a return call," Qualters said in a news release.
Cpl. Paul Mouton, Lafayette Police Department, explained the departments did share information but "We currently do not think the two are related, but we are looking at the information they provided us to see if there are any similarities."
"That agency may be fielding inquiries from other law enforcement agencies investigating missing persons cases, and we will just have to wait our turn," Qualters said.
Today the Lafayette Police Department as well as several other law enforcement agencies are focusing efforts in the area where Mickey Shunick's bike was discovered. Shunick's bicycle was found Sunday under a bridge in a swampy area about 25 miles from where she was last seen, police said. So far there have been no new developments.
"We're going to be out here as long as it takes for us to find something," Cpl. Mouton, noted.
Anyone with information on either case is asked to call police.
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